NYC Marathon 2026 Photo Spots: Where to Watch and Shoot

The TCS New York City Marathon runs Sunday, November 1, 2026, through all five boroughs. Here are the spots worth your morning, what you can actually get access to, and the light you will have at each one.

The 2026 race in brief

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course. More than 50,000 runners start at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and finish near Tavern on the Green in Central Park. The professional divisions go off between 8:00 and 9:05 a.m., and the general field follows in five waves from 9:10 to 11:30 a.m. Watching is free, the subway is the only sane way to move around, and for the first time in 15 years the course has changed, in the South Bronx.

You will realistically cover two spots, so choose them by the pictures you want, not by where they sit on the map.

Staten Island and the Verrazzano: you cannot stand here

Spectators are not permitted at the start village or on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, so the famous opening frame belongs to credentialed media. Your version of the Verrazzano shot is Bay Ridge, on Fourth Avenue just after runners come down off the bridge (the Fourth Avenue closure starts at 94th Street). The R, N and D trains run parallel to the early miles. Expect energy and fresh faces rather than skyline.

Brooklyn: Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg

Bedford Avenue closes from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and the stretch through Williamsburg, roughly miles 9 to 12, is one of the best crowd-and-runner combinations on the course. The street is wide, the sidewalks are packed, and the morning light comes in at an angle that gives faces some shape. The L train stops at Bedford Avenue. Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene, earlier in the borough, is a quieter alternative with tree cover and a closer crowd.

The Queensboro Bridge exit onto First Avenue

Around mile 16, runners climb the Queensboro Bridge, a long, quiet, shaded stretch with no spectators, then drop onto First Avenue at 59th Street into the loudest corridor of the race. That contrast is the picture. Stand a few blocks north of 59th Street, where the crowd is deep and runners are still reacting to the noise, and shoot faces as they go from silence to roar. Arrive early, because this is one of the first places to fill.

First Avenue, Upper East Side

First Avenue from 59th Street to the Willis Avenue Bridge is closed from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and carries some of the most emotional miles of the day, roughly 16 to 19. The Q, 4, 5 and 6 trains serve the corridor, and a Charity Cheer Zone is listed at First Avenue and 120th Street, which makes the upper end a good place to catch charity teams in matching shirts. The avenue runs north, so check which side of the street gets the sun before you choose a curb.

The Bronx: Mott Haven and the new route

This is the stretch where the marathon stops being fun, which makes it the most honest place to photograph it. After the Willis Avenue Bridge, runners now turn left onto East 135th Street, right onto Alexander Avenue, continue straight to East 141st Street, turn left onto Third Avenue, then turn right onto East 138th Street before crossing the Madison Avenue Bridge. Morris Avenue, East 140th Street and Rider Avenue are no longer on the route. The 6 train at Third Avenue and 138th Street puts you beside the new stretch. Crowds are thinner here, so you get cleaner frames and more room to work. Because the route is new, check NYRR's current course map before you commit.

Fifth Avenue and Central Park

Fifth Avenue from 138th Street down to 90th Street closes from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and the climb along the park is the hardest stretch of the course. Runners enter Central Park at 90th Street, run down East Drive past the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exit onto Central Park South around mile 25, head west to Columbus Circle and turn back into the park for the finish.

Access near the finish is controlled. There is ticketed grandstand seating, and NYRR lists a standing area from Columbus Circle to the south end of the grandstands that can close when it reaches capacity. A United Airlines cheer zone is listed at Columbus Circle. For most people, Central Park South at mile 25 is the reliable version of the finish. Sunset on race day is a little before 5 p.m., so the park is in shade by mid afternoon and the light disappears fast for late finishers.

Pick two, not six

The efficient plan for one photographer on foot is First Avenue in the morning and Fifth Avenue or Central Park South afterward, since a mid-pack runner passes both roughly an hour apart. For the start-wave math and more on timing, see How to Photograph the NYC Marathon: A Course Guide for Photographers.

Check the rules before you sell anything

You can photograph from public sidewalks, but race imagery is a commercial product. NYRR works with official imagery partners, and NYRR announced Getty Images as its exclusive commercial imagery provider in a multi-year partnership in 2019. Before you sell marathon photos, email NYRR's media office and ask what is allowed. It takes five minutes and saves a bad surprise.

Sell what you shoot, free

Whatever you shoot, the runners in your frames cannot find you by name. Upload the set to Surf Snaps as a gallery tagged by sport, place and date, and runners can search for the race and find themselves. It costs nothing to join or upload, there is no storage bill, and the Surf Snaps fee on a sale is up to 10%, which you can pass on to the customer so the full price you set is yours. Sell what you shoot, free. Create your account before Sunday so the gallery is ready when the finishers leave the park.

NYC Marathon Photo Spots FAQ

When is the 2026 NYC Marathon?

Sunday, November 1, 2026. The professional divisions start between 8:00 and 9:05 a.m., and five general waves run from 9:10 to 11:30 a.m.

Can I watch or photograph from the Verrazzano Bridge?

No. Spectators are not permitted at the start or on the bridge. The first public viewing is in Bay Ridge on Fourth Avenue, after the descent.

What is the best single spot for a first-time photographer?

First Avenue just north of 59th Street, where runners come off the Queensboro Bridge into the loudest crowd of the race.

Did the course change in 2026?

Yes. For the first time in 15 years, the South Bronx section was rerouted along Alexander Avenue and Third Avenue. Check NYRR's course map for the current path.

How do runners find photos after the race?

Runners can search Surf Snaps Explore by sport, place and date, with no account needed to browse. Photographers can start selling at surf-snaps.com/upload.