NYC Marathon

Race day itself is an event even before you get running. Two options exist for getting to the start line which you must choose about 2 or three months before race day. They do send you an email on this along with your choice of poncho or bag check. The options for the start line are busses from several locations or getting to the ferry terminal and taking the Staton island ferry where buses take you to the start line. We choose the ferry cause it's such a cool way to travel. Be prepared for an early start though as our ferry was at 6:15 for a race start of 09:50 Yikes. Don't panic if you turn up too early of late for your allotted ferry time as they are numerous. The trains to the ferry are frequent even at 5:30am and are pretty busy with fellow runners.

And so you arrive at camp start line. This is well organised into four coloured areas depending on your bib plus a great big general area. This general area has lots of toilets, free bagels, bananas and even dogs to cuddle if that's your thing. For some reason the coffee is in the individual coloured start areas - why so far from the bagels we have no idea. You can however go back and forth.

If you have selected bag check instead of a poncho then you should drop off the bag an hour before you go to your start gate. So lets say you have a start time of 9:50 that means the start gate opens at 8:50 so you really need to do the bag drop about 8:30 at the latest.

The start corals are well organised and have lots of toilets. You are in them until about 20 minutes before your start. Once you leave there are no toilets until well into the race. It's a short walk to the start line and you are looking at the Vesserano bridge with lots of noise and helicopters in the air. A great start occasion.

This is probably the best supported race in the world. Crowds are everywhere and very, very noisey.

This is a busy race but you don't actually feel too crowded apart from some small sections. The bridges represent the main hills though there is the uphill at central park to slow you down at the end.

The NYC marathon offers all the usual routes to get in, from ballot, time qualifier, international tours and of course charity. The time qualifiers are tough, but unlike the other majors this marathon allows you to qualify through a half marathon time as well. Cut off time for over 40's for male and female are 2:58 and 3:26 for the 2019 event. Half marathon times for same would be 1:25 and 1:37 so perhaps a bit more achievable. The registration opens in January.

Getting to New York from the UK is probably one of the easiest routes possible with about nine million flights per day going from London. Ok maybe not quite that number but there are lots of flights and lots of carriers. We went British Airways from Edinburgh and via London. Immigration at JFK was brilliant and little time was wasted. We used a pick-up limo firm for the cab to the hotel in Manhattan , Dial 7 , and we do recommend them. Cost of a luxury limo from airport to town including the tip and tolls was $74.

Getting to the expo in New York is easy enough on the metro. Line 1 takes you to within a 5 minute walk and trains are very frequent taking about ten minutes from Grand Central. The expo is one of the better ones where you can quickly get your number and tee shirt, be careful you don't join the queue for trying on the size of a shirt as we did. The medium size is ok for a UK medium person.

The official gear selection for sale is great compared to other races and probably reflects the sheer size of the event. Lots of other booths as usual offering everything you can imagine associated with running - apart from better legs, though perhaps we missed that stall.

Finally, this is an easy Expo to escape from should all you be interested in is getting your bib and tee.

Again, we didn't do it so shame on us. We did see thousands running along 42nd street so looks like it might be a good event. If you are staying near central park then that's really the place to go for your pre-run and you can choose your own distance. It's safe and can be a glorious colour in the fall /autumn.

Staton island

Central park

No free beer at the end of this one, but a well organised ending even if they do make you walk a long way before you can get out. We went for the poncho which meant a shorter way out than those who opted for the bag drop. The goodie bag is well loaded with good post run stuff including protein bars and drinks. Sign posted meeting areas are just after the poncho pick up and from there it's a bit of a nightmare to get into the normal NYC.

We stayed at the Grand Hyatt on 42nd street which was great for transport links but not much else. We will not use this hotel again but generally we do like Hyatt. We have also stayed at the Park Lane on Central park south and this is a great location at the end of the race. Previous visits have included the Hilton midtown which is not too far from central park. Lots of hotels in NYC but for this race you only need one close to the metros that also take in the central park area. Look for train lines that also take in Columbus circle for a quick exit.