We should just switch bibs. I gained entry through the lottery as well and put a very conservative estimated time of 3:05 in. My half marathon PR of 1:23 was set several weeks prior to lottery registration. Since then I haven't done shit and have gained a ton of weight. My longest run in this marathon "training" cycle is 14 miles and that was 5 weeks ago. I predict pain!

I raced the last two years and the corrals were enforced pretty well. I think you're out of luck with making a switch, unless there is something I don't know.

With that said, the race is chaos no matter where you start. I don't think it will matter much. Just start at the front of whatever corral you are in and motor out in front of everyone.

I agree that you should not worry about it and just stick with your current corral. Yes, you will have to weave in and out of a few runners, but losing a few seconds up front is not your primary concern in the marathon. In fact, I would say that it could even help temper the common urge to go out too fast for your intended goal time, especially in an exciting race such as NYC.

What I would additionally suggest is no surges or quick sprints to pass slower people. If you lose a second or two, or ten, or even 30 in the first few miles, there is plenty of time to make it up when the crowd thins out.

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Strava

probably your best bet is to get to your corral early and fight your way to the front. you may have to be a little oboxious but you can apologise to people and say you ended up in the wrong corral. just before a marathon people have better things to worry about than the oboxious guy fighting to the front.

In my first NYC marathon my first mile took 10 mins b/c of the crowd and I missed my goal time by 6 secs. I was bummed, esp given my effort in the closing couple of miles.

That said, enjoy the journey. it's a great race and when I look back, those 6 secs matter not a jot!

I'll echo Sch38. Stay in your current pen. Yes, you could try to sneak into another pen, but it's probably not worth the stress, and if you get it wrong you'll be surrounded by other runners who will probably run faster than you, increasing your chances of blowing up.

Yes, there'll be thousands of people in front of you, but this is always going to be the case unless you're sub 3:00 pens. Being around slower runners is a good thing as it'll keep you in check for the first few miles and help you ease into the run, if you don't surge and try not to get frustrated. You might lose some minutes in the first few miles, but that's OK given you'll be out there for at least 195-210 mins. It all frees up shortly after the bridge so you can relax into your rhythm them.

Don't worry about people shooting off ahead of you. You'll likely be seeing them again walking through Harlem or the drag upto Central Park. If you don't, heck, they were probably better runners than you.

Anyways, enjoy the marathon. It's a great experience.

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Swim. Overbike. Walk.

the corrals are very different than they were 15 years ago, as I found out when I did the race 2 years ago.
they put up temporary chain link fencing with 6ish? entrances.

once inside the fence through your strongly monitored entrance, the only seperating corrals is a rope. Usually there are 1-2 volunteers monitoring the ropes and looking for jumpers. But, if you stand at the rope, you can sneak under & get into the next corral... Suggest you wear a ski cap, stand at the rope, wait for your moment, sneak under, disappear into the crowd ahead removing hat so the volunteers can't see you. don't stop, keep moving forward and then stop in middle of corral for a few minutes. Repeat for next corral.

You also have an opportunity when they move you out of the fort onto the toll plaza pre start to slide up the sides, lots of room for the smart and hungry person to get where they want to be.

note, with your time and the waves, you can be anywhere.. there are three waves and each wave has three sets of corrals. you could be in the 1st or 2nd corral or can be in the 5th or 6th, there is no telling. They are set up so that by the time they merge and move onto narrower streets around mile 6 people have spread out quite a bit.

you will probably be in the 2nd or even 3rd wave with that start time. I did this 2 years ago and started 50 feet from the start line.

When I had a similar situation and needed to move from 4hr to about 3:30 pace, I waited in my normal corral until they dropped the ropes. There a good couple hundred yards between corrals and the start line. You can jog up the side... I easily wound up with the 3:20 guys before the start.

For each wave there are multiple corrals, correct? Based on previous wave and corral assignments I will be in the back of wave 4.

In a wave 4 will the race start one corral at a time with a couple minutes in between or will the entire wave start at once?

It seems like my best bet is to go to my corral and see if I can step over the ropes to move to the front of the wave or wait until the ropes are dropped and move up. I figure if I am in the front of wave 4 I won't have to worry about passing until I catch up to wave 3 and by that point everyone will be more spaced out.

Does this make sense?

Been awhile since I ran NYC Marathon but agree with the other replies that it's probably better to stay in your original corral and not worry about surging past people on the bridge since they'll help keep you in check early on, which will be a good thing and help you later on in the race. It does open up a bit once you get over the bridge and into Brooklyn so you'll be able to get into more of your regular rhythm there.

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"You can never win or lose if you don't run the race." - Richard Butler

Sadly you won't be able to do a thing about where they have placed you and "stepping over the ropes" won't work since it's manned, very very strictly enforced. Also, there are lots of corrals, you'd have to successfully bypass a ton of security who are specifically watching out for that kind of "rule breaking." I'm not saying don't try it, I'm just saying it's not worth your stress and effort to do so. And keep in mind you're one of 1,000s of others who likely want to be in different spot than assigned for whatever the reason.

But what I will say is that the position you're in will just keep you slower in the first mile going up the bridge. This is a good thing. You can pick people off coming down off the end of the bridge and once you get onto 4th ave, it's very wide and you should be able to open up and move much faster.

I will also add that simply running a 1:31 half won't necessarily translate into a sub 3:30 NYCM and definitely not a 3:15, but it WILL translate into something under 4 hours and something WAY under the 5ish you entered. Assuming you've had some decent long runs (18+ miles, 22 miles, et.) and have good base miles, I put you in the 3:40s. But maybe you'll surprise me. You should focus on having a solid, fun experience. I assume this is your first marathon? NYCM is a great one for a first marathon, enjoy it!


Buuuuuutttttt, if you DO somehow manage to jump all those corrals or sneak into an earlier starting position, I'm the official pacer for 3:35 so come run with me!

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Empire Tri Coach
Team Gatorade Endurance
USATF Coach | NYRR Distance Pacer
Dad of twins

Not sure what he's basing that off of. NY is a tough course, but it's not THAT tough. Assuming you've put in your long runs and have reasonable pacing skills, I'd be disappointed if you didn't go under 3:30. Having said that, there's a big difference between 3:15 and 3:30 so you'll need to solidify your goal time so that you can pace properly. Not like you can pace for 3:30 for the first half and make up the time if you feel good. Negatively splitting NY is possible, but we're talking a 1-2 minutes realistically unless you totally sandbagged the first half which is sub-optimal.

sub-3:15 might be a stretch, but I think 3:22-3:25 is a solid target. This assumes you've been putting in the miles. And I'm not talking about just getting in long runs. I mean putting in the miles day in and day out.

Stay in your corral and enjoy the race. It will be totally impossible to get to the very front of the fourth wave. You may be able to go over maybe one rope to the next corral but you would have to be extremely lucky and shrewd. Even if you were able to get over FIVE ropes, you will still be right smack in the middle of the 15,000 runners in your wave. Attempting this will only stress you out and waste your energy. If by God's Grace you end up in the front of the fourth wave (the very first corral), you will only be able to run fast for four or five miles and eventually hit the slow runners of the third wave. This is your first NYC and I would strongly suggest just enjoying the race. Trying to set a PR from the back of the NYC marathon and suffering while doing so isn't something you would like to remember.

It is a hard course no matter where you start. So JUST ENJOY THE RACE.

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absolutely correct. the goal I outlined above is NOT to get into another wave (impossible to do as they close the corral fences, move the first wave out to the toll plaza and then load the gates with the next wave) Your only goal is to move up to at least the front quarter of the line of corrals you are in. This will ensure you that you will not walk the first half mile to mile. That's my only concern. Not being at the front, though it's worked out for me that way. The goal is simply not to have to walk a 15 min mile for the first 1.5 - 2 miles.

Agree with most. It's a hectic morning just getting to your corral. It can take up to 2 hours to just get there. There is a lot of stress and the traffic of runners is high anyways, everywhere in the race. Just stay in your corral and enjoy the race.

BTW, if you've put in the miles, i think you can go 3:30 in NY, obviously run by feel and follow your plan but make sure that you save energy for the last 5-6. I can tell you that the stretch of 5th ave after the Marcus Garvey park when you're already on tired legs, and then the stretch at Central Park are tough. If you don't save some legs for those sections of the course you're asking for trouble.

I learned the hard way. Going for my second NY this year too. Good luck!

I am worried about the start because of the hill at the bridge. I guess I will just work with what's in front of me.

Worst case scenario if I get stuck behind walkers I'll have a new pair of new balances to show for it.
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