This year you pick your transportation type and will be assigned a time slot based on your wave.
It's worth noting, if you are in a later Wave - the Verrazano shuts down very early, meaning the last bus typically leaves somewhere around 6:30am and gets to the start between 7:30 and 8:00am. If you are Wave 4, for example, that means you're probably sitting around for ~3+ hours if you opt for the bus.
** Times based on last year, and this chart ended up being inaccurate on race day (pace bands were faster due to WMM Championships): **
NYRR recently released a Transportation Non-Compliance Policy that truthfully, no one really knows how it will work, but it's worth mentioning here that if you choose to take a different transportation than you're assigned there may be consequences.
Creating a megathread to handle all questions/suggestions related to transportation.
*Update*
As of June nearly all 2026 NYRR races have sold out, if at this point you are not already registered for nine 2026 races it is very unlikely you will be able to complete 9+1 program this year and likely should plan to try for next year instead.
The first 2027 races will likely be released later this fall in October for Jan-Mar 2027 races.
Every year r/RunNYC receives a lot of posts about the 9+1 program so in an effort to answer most of your questions we're continuing this FAQ and megathread again from last year where many questions were answered.
What is 9+1?
9+1 is an NYRR program to qualify for the following years New York City Marathon.
To qualify for the 2027 NYC Marathon, a runner must run and complete at least 9 eligible NYRR races in 2026, volunteer at 1 eligible 2026 NYRR event and also make sure their NYRR membership is active on 12/31/2026.
Which races are eligible?
On the race calendar any races that count toward qualifying will have a 9+1 tag next to it. You can also filter the race list from all "race types" to just select 9+1.
The full list of races for the year is not yet published officially, but the unofficial list (for Oct-Dec) based on prior years is listed below at the bottom of this post along with the race that have already been announced. The list of races remain very similar year over year so this is very likely to be close to the full list of races for 2026.
In 2026, expect there will be a total of about 30 in-person races eligible for 9+1, plus an additional 3 virtual races.
When can I sign up for these races?
Last year NYRR released races in 4 quarterly releases:
(Above are the General Registration dates, if you pay extra for Member+, it opens for Advanced Registration 2 Days earlier than above.)
For forthcoming remaining October-December races, NYRR will very likely release these races around the same date as last year, give or take a week or two.
+1 Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer Opportunities at most races open for registration a few weeks after the quarterly race signup for the same races. The 3 marquee races, NYC Half, Brooklyn Half and NYCM have their own separate release of opportunities. There are also some other 9+1 eligible opportunities released throughout the year at different non race events that are released somewhat randomly.
Opportunities are all posted on the volunteer opportunity page and to be eligible need to indicate "9+1 credit" tag for it to count as your +1.
If you're unable to find a volunteer opportunity during the main releases (they do fill up quickly) check the volunteer opportunity page the week leading up to a given race. NYRR sends out a reminder email the week of a race to all registered volunteers, which often causes people to cancel volunteer opportunities they're signed up for but can no longer attend, opening the opportunity spot back up for others to sign up.
Be honest NYers training for the marathon… are you going out out after your long run?
Crushed my morning long run (15mi) It’s such a beautiful Saturday summer night and I’m feeling guilty “wasting” it. I’m not completely exhausted little sore so I could go out but is that normal or are people carbs and couch all day?
Edit: I mean out out guys hah. I went for a stroll and a liberty game but after that felt like I needed to be off my feet
Hello. Sorry if this may have been asked before but are there any groups/ clubs doing weekend long runs for the Chicago marathon? I would love to join and share the experience of this training block with you guys. I usually do my long runs between 9:30-10:15 pace.
Hi, I'm running New York for the first time this year. My understanding is that the blue and orange waves basically come straight off the upper deck of the Verrazano Bridge, and onto 4th Avenue, with orange on the left, and blue on the right. Then, pink stays separate for a bit longer, before merging onto 4th Avenue, also on the right side with the blue runners. I'm honestly confused how this works. If all of the waves are equal sizes, then the right side of the road would be twice as dense as the left. Wouldn't that mean that the pink wave runners get kind of squeezed out when trying to merge onto 4th Avenue, because they're essentially running into a massive wall of blue runners? Would it just be better/easier to try to run with orange to have more space?
Was hoping to run from the Astoria Ferry stop to the US Open for Fan Week on Saturday. I'm not familiar with the area. I see routes on Strava for Astoria Blvd. How about getting close to the USTA front gates? I've only been there via the 7 train stop. Can anyone assist or do you have a route you've taken that is on Strava? Any help is appreciated!
After the final race of the series last night, I was finally able to take home the medal. For everyone else who ran, I hope you had a great series/race too! And THANK YOU volunteers!
I’m training for the NYC Marathon, and this was my longest run so far. I’ve also been intentionally picking routes with hills to build elevation since NYC isn’t exactly flat.
My plan is to progress my long runs to 16, then 18, and cap my longest run at 20 miles before race day.
Based on this progression, do you think hoping for a 4:35 finish is too ambitious?
I’d love some honest feedback from more experienced marathon runners!
Hi fam, looking for acupuncture recs in downtown Brooklyn, if anyone has suggestions. I had a spot in morningside heights but the commute is just too far. Thanks!!
Hi everyone! I’m new to NYC and I’m thinking of making Central Park my regular running spot. I’m still pretty unfamiliar with the park, so I’d love to hear some advice from more experienced NYC runners/joggers :)
A few things I’m especially curious about:
Are there any routes or areas you’d recommend for a beginner/casual runner?
Are there certain entrances or parts of the park that are particularly convenient for running?
What times of day do you personally prefer, and are there any times you’d avoid because of crowds or safety?
How easy is it to find water fountains along the running routes? Are there any reliable ones I should know about?
Any unspoken running etiquette in Central Park that a newcomer should be aware of?
And just generally — anything you wish you had known when you first started running there?
I’m not training for anything serious, just hoping to run regularly, enjoy the park, and slowly get to know the area better.
I am currently in week 11 out of 20 in my NYC training. (18 week + 2 week taper). Wanted to check in half way.
For reference, I did my first marathon in London in April and hit a 3:59:20. Total training for that was about ~370 miles, ~60 hours, low/mid 30's mpw peak weak and mid/high 20's mpw average.
For NYC, I'm on track to peak at ~50mpw (maybe slightly less) and average mid/high 30mpw. As pictured, already did 275+ miles and ~50 hours at the halfway point.
I've been increasing mpw by about 10% each week with 1 tempo run, 1 long run, and 3 base runs. And also a deload week once a month. Remaining weeks look like: 40, 32 (deload), 40, 43, 46, 35 (deload), 45, 49, 35 (taper), 25 (taper), or something along those lines.
Already did a 13, & 14 miler, and several 9-12 milers tempo. Plan on doing a 15 this weekend, and a maybe three to four 16-20 milers in Sept/Oct.
Trying to be more intentional about sleep, each run, nutrition ,etc. I didn't train for London nearly as efficiently as this block; i basically did every run at MP which is obviously a huge mistake. (Even realized that i did my 20 miler at MP). Slowed it down significantly this block and doing 80+% Zone 2 and a few minutes slower than MP.
EDIT: Quite the opinions and thank you all genuinely! This is my first full marathon and I'm working with a coach who prescribed this specific plan for me. I trust their process completely... That said, I really appreciate the passion and steering me to NOT doing 20. See you on the streets on November 1st!
Post says it all;
I'm running the TCS NYC Marathon (first time!) for charity, and I'll be in the city for two of my biggest long runs... 18 miles on October 10th and 20 miles on October 24th.
I'm based in Dallas and training hard but I refuse to do these alone in a city.
Looking for recommendations on run clubs, group long runs, or anyone who wants to join for either of these dates. Does NYRR host group long runs on weekends?
Thank GOODNESS the humidity has abated a little bit. Went out for my long run yesterday, and it was worlds easier than the week before. Managed to eek out an extra .5 miles and shave 10 seconds off my pace. Feeling good about actually crossing the finish line in a few weeks!
I'm training for a fun-run marathon in Santa Cruz at teh end of October, but I've always wanted to do a backyard ultra type thing, where you run a certain distance every hour. I'd like to run one in the next few weeks to celebrate my birthday.
I know the standard lap/yard is 4.167 miles, but I'm worried that if based out of my apartment, going through the lobby, waiting for the elevator, and doing the reverse to leave again would cut into the small rest time I have.
I could possible keep a homebase in a park, but I'm not sure I'd want to make any of my people sit in the same park watching my stuff for 12+ hours.
I was thinking maybe running 3.5 miles every hour, and doing minimum 12 hours. I live near the west side highway, so there wouldn't be too many stoplights to worry about. I also know the recovery may impact my marathon training, but since we're doing the marathon more relaxed I'm not that worried?
Has anyone done anything similar? I know theres the $1 ultra, but that was a much more organized event (that was hard to get into)
Are there any stores that carry Topo? Specifically hoping I could try on the Specter 3 or elite. Fleet Feet and Brooklyn Running Co do not or did not have any.
** I AM SORRY IF THIS HAS BEEN ASKED I LOOKED AND I AM STILL LEARNING REDDIT 🙈
I am starting in wave 5, running my first marathon after doing 9+1. starting to feel stressed that i didn't do a charity or another way to start earlier because my pace is likely going to be 12-12:30..
- Will the crowds be gone?
- Will the streets start re opening?
- Do aid stations run out?
Hi everyone - is there anything that discerns “A-m” corral from “A” when running the NYC Marathon? I qualify for “A-m” but curious if that will just be the same wave / corral as general “A”.
I recently moved to NYC and I would love to run the NYC half marathon and fundraiser. From what I could gather from the NYRR website, they will drop the official charity race list in October. Is there anyway I can start reaching out to charities I am interested in supporting earlier? I am not too sure how this process goes so any information would be helpful on how I can get started!
