NYC Marathon Transportation to the Start
- crushyourrun
- Aug 12
- 6 min read
On August 19, 2025 NYRR will begin registration for NYC Marathon 2025 registrants to select their transportation options, an expo time and bag check. The registration period will end on September 9, 2025. I am going to go through the transportation options here and give My recommendation of which transportation and what time you should select.
My recommendations are based on my NYC Marathon experience. This will be my 12th consecutive year running this race. It will also be based on being born and raised in this city and living here all my life. I have ridden the ferry, the subways, LIRR and Metro North. I have taken the Midtown busses to the start village 5 times and the ferry 6 times. Both are good ways to get there but both are not practical for everyone or for every wave.
In addition to the ferry and midtown bus I will also give my input on the MetLife Stadium busses and getting dropped off in Staten Island.
One of the odd things with NYRR’s process is they ask you to select your transportation to the start while not giving you your official start time until mid-October. So for some it may seem impossible to know which of the 5 start waves to select. It really isn’t. If you look on your NYRR dashboard you will find your “best pace”. This is your best pace either from in person NYRR races you have done in the past two years or from your estimated finish time you gave when you registered for the marathon. You will be seeded in the marathon using that pace/time. Knowing your best pace (or submitted estimated finish time) in your dashboard will be what you use as a guide to select your transportation time.
Another thing you should be aware of is that there are 5 wave start times. 9:10AM, 9:45, 10:20, 10:55 and 11:30.
Midtown Bus
In my opinion the midtown bus is only practical for waves one and two. Every year I hear people in late waves taking busses as early as 5A and up until 6:30A. This includes people in wave 5 who then wait at the start 3-4 hours. Why? Wouldn’t you rather sleep more or relax in your hotel or home? There is nothing special at the fort. There is very little if any coverage from the elements. It’s not something I would want to do before running 26.2 miles. But to each their own.
The bus loading are is in front of the 42nd street and 5th NY Public Library. The queue for loading begins on 6th avenue and 42nd street and is convenient to walk to from many midtown hotels and takes a direct route to Fort Wadsworth. From the time you enter the queue, load onto a bus, depart the bus at fort Wadsworth and get in line for security will typically take 60-90 minutes.
Please note that most busses DO NOT have restrooms on them but there are portos at the queue area before you get in line for a bus.
Again, I only recommend this as an option for waves one and two but anyone can choose to take a bus if available when you make your selection. So do what makes you comfortable. Remember, in the past, the midtown busses end at 6:30AM. If you select bus in your dashboard it will show on your race bib. Please try to be there 15 minutes before your chosen bus time.
Staten Island Ferry
I love the Staten Island ferry for race mornings. There is a lot more excitement and energy on the ferries than you find on the midtown busses. Plus if you are visiting our wonderful city enjoy the beautiful skyline views and wave hi to Lady Liberty as we pass her on the right side of the ship.
The Staten Island ferry is a recommended option for all five wave starts. I highly recommend you select a ferry time 3 hours before your expected start and please stick to the time you picked. Yes the ferry is public transportation and anyone can ride at anytime, however, you need to hop on a shuttle bus on the Staten Island side to get to Fort Wadsworth and those busses are dispatched based on when runners select their ferry time. When too many people don’t stick with their selected time we get bottlenecks for the bus queue and it can be stressful waiting and worrying if you are going to get there in time. You likely will but do you need those emotions before running 26.2 miles? Of course not so everyone please keep your selected time.
The Staten Island ferry leaves from the Whitehall terminal in Manhattan. It is walkable from many lower Manhattan hotels and easily reached by public transportation. It is accessible by the 1 train (at South Ferry which is the last stop on the downtown 1 train) and the R and W trains (at Whitehall Street–South Ferry), in addition to buses on the M15, M20, and M55 routes. The MTA releases a weekend update every week called The Weekender with any service changes or disruptions. It is highly recommended that you check this out before finalizing your plans to get to the ferry (or bus). You can find MTA service changes here:
NJ BUS FROM METLIFE STADIUM
I have never taken the NJ bus so I can’t give you any first hand experience. It loads continuously from 5A-6A and there is no parking. You need to be dropped off. If you live in the towns around or south of MetLife it is a viable option. However it is a very early option, much like the midtown busses. So if you are in a later wave and you can get the person who is dropping you off to drop you off in Staten Island (see below) you may have an easier time before the start. To be fair other than it being early I have never heard any complaints about this option. The busses leave from Lot K near the quest diagnostics center. Be sure to get in the queue no later than 5:40AM. The whole trip should be no more than 60 minutes.
Getting Dropped Off in Staten Island by Car
Not something that is practical for me but if I lived in NJ or had to travel through NJ to get to the start and someone could drop me off at the drop off point I would jump at the chance. You get dropped off, walk about half a mile to security then head to your start village. Can’t get easier than that in my opinion. Definitely something to consider. Now remember this is if you are coming from the NJ side of Staten Island. It would not be practical to use this method if coming from the Brooklyn side because the Verrazano closes to traffic between 6:30-7A.
The private car drop off point is the intersection of McClean Ave and Ocean Ave. Give yourself extra time to get there due to possible traffic and some road closures closer to the fort.
Please, please, remember this is your race. No matter how you got your bib, you earned it. Don’t let getting to the start ruin your race. NYRR has been getting tens of thousands of runners to the start this way for decades with minimal issues. Trust the process. You heard my thoughts here and you will hear thoughts from others too and that’s a lot of information for a first timer. My only other advice is to select the transportation option and the time that makes you comfortable race morning. You need to run 26.2 miles and don’t need to be worried about anything else. If you have any questions about transportation that you can’t find here please feel free to join my Facebook NYC Marathon group if you have not already and post the question. If I don’t see it right away we have some great people in that group with lots of knowledge about this race. Other long time runners of this race, fellow coaches and even some NYRR staff members. You’ll get the answers you’ll need there. It can be found here:
One last thing. Have an amazing race!
Scott
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