Adrenaline and block party vibes have the power to carry runners through the first half of the marathon, but eventually the task of running 26.2 miles begins to take its toll.
Here are the most common places where people hit the dreaded wall or struggle in the back half of the race, according to runners and data from the fitness app Strava shared with The New York Times.
The Queensboro Bridge
Around mile marker 15, runners embark on a near-silent, crowd-free crossing of the Queensboro Bridge, a notoriously difficult section of the race because it involves a lot of climbing relatively late in the race.
For Ameerah Omar, co-captain of the Girls Run NYC running club who has completed the marathon four times, the bridge is the hardest part of the race due to the sudden absence of spectators for a long stretch of the course.
“You’re left with your mind and your training, and it can be very difficult,” Ms. Omar said. The Brooklyn resident, 45, adds: “The energy of the crowd is not there at that time and you’re kind of left to your own devices.”
Amir Figueroa, 42, who is running his sixth New York City Marathon, said the bridge is a predictive point in the race.
“I know that if I want to have a good marathon, I feel good at that point,” Mr. Figueroa said. “If I start to collapse, I know the last half is going to be horrible.”
First Avenue
Runners descend from the Queensboro Bridge into a sea of fans as they head up First Avenue. The sudden return of cheerleaders, however, is not enough to push some marathon runners to qualify.
About 200 runners left the race between Mile 18 and the 30K marker at about 18.6 miles — shortly after the bridge — during last year’s marathon, which was the largest number of runners to leave the race on any section of the course, according to the New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon.
On average, runners slowed about 16% at mile 20 compared to their pace during the first 8 miles of the race in the 2025 marathon, near the end of First Avenue toward the Bronx, representing a substantial drop, according to Strava data. Strava said more than 35,000 New York City Marathon runners have recorded the 2025 race on the app.
Connie Brown, an 82-year-old from Sarasota, Fla., who is preparing to run her 46th New York City Marathon and holds the women’s record for most New York City marathon races, said the last seven miles are the hardest and mark the true halfway point of the race.
“You feel like you’re almost there, but you’re not,” Ms. Brown said.
Fifth Avenue
For some runners, the Queensboro climb isn’t as challenging as the deceptively steep stretch of Fifth Avenue around Mile 24.
“It’s just a slow gradual climb,” said Jeff Thies, a 31-year-old Greenpoint resident who is running in the sub-elite field in his fourth New York City Marathon. He added: “Everyone’s legs are screaming at them. »
Strava data shows that runners slowed down by about 21% at mile 24, representing the largest decline over the entire length of the course.
It can happen anywhere
Runners are bound to encounter problems somewhere along the course, said Rich Campbell, a 69-year-old Upper West Side resident who has run every New York marathon since 1999. He also noted the difficulty of the end of the First Avenue stretch.
“Almost every runner has problems along the 26 miles, whether it’s mile 1 or mile 25,” Mr. Campbell said. “And that’s just part of the nature of the marathon. It’s a long event. So you just have to know that you can get through it, however you have to get through it.”
Gn sports
