It's pretty obvious. The NYC Marathon needs to start it's race in Central Park.

Sure, 50,000 people starting a race in Central Park will work.

The course is amazing and runs smooth every year. No reason to change at all.

There is no reason to stage the start in Staten Island. The residents there do not get to line the streets and see the runners anyway.

I would think that Staten Island would be more than okay with not having the start there as there is no benefit to the residents.

Actually, there are entrants who stay in hotels and motels on Staten Island the night before the race.

Well that may be.

I was not aware of that. That's a long subway/ferry ride after the race.

The original course was entirely in Central Park.

brutal hills.

How long have you been working on this plan??

NY Met wrote:

The course has remained almost the same since 1976 but originally there were 3000 runners. The Staten Island start was reasonable then.

Today with 50,000+ runners the course needs to be changed to make things easier for NYRR and the entrants in the NYCM.

Everybody would be able to get to the start on their own by taking the subway.

The 5 borough race would then become a 4 borough race. The finish line would stay the same as there seem to be no better options.

I'm not sure a central park start is logistically easy to handle.

While it's true that you don't run through Staten Island, the VN bridge is a tradition by now, so they will not want to change it. Path dependency.

I agree with making it a 4 borough race, but starting in Central Park would not work.

Here's my proposal: start in Hunts Point Bronx on Food Center Drive, end in Canarsie on Rockaway Pkwy near Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn.

On the way, hit Yankee Stadium, 125th St in Harlem, lap around Grant's Tomb, straight through Columbia College campus along 116th st (a bit dicey, but worth it), Central Park via 110 st. Follow the loop to 7th ave through Times Square (halfway done), pass Grand Central Station along 42nd st, enter Queens via the Queens Midtown Tunnel (a bit spooky, but ok), pass by First Cavalry Cemetery (at least you're not dead!), then a solid stretch in Bushwick and Brownsville before the finish in Canarsie.

Let's make it happen!

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=7164797

Doesn't the Department of Transportation lost a lot of toll revenue with the bridge being closed for hours on marathon day?

If it is going to be 5 boroughs then the bridge has got to be on the course. If Staten Island is not the start then runners would have to run over the bridge into Staten Island then back over the bridge to Brooklyn.

marathon course designer wrote:

I agree with making it a 4 borough race, but starting in Central Park would not work.

Here's my proposal: start in Hunts Point Bronx on Food Center Drive, end in Canarsie on Rockaway Pkwy near Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn.

On the way, hit Yankee Stadium, 125th St in Harlem, lap around Grant's Tomb, straight through Columbia College campus along 116th st (a bit dicey, but worth it), Central Park via 110 st. Follow the loop to 7th ave through Times Square (halfway done), pass Grand Central Station along 42nd st, enter Queens via the Queens Midtown Tunnel (a bit spooky, but ok), pass by First Cavalry Cemetery (at least you're not dead!), then a solid stretch in Bushwick and Brownsville before the finish in Canarsie.

Let's make it happen!

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=7164797

. . .and then 50,000 folks take the Belt Parkway home?

That's just kind of rude to skip Staten Island. The whole point is it hits all 5 boroughs. Make it 4, then 3, then just Brooklyn and Manhattan to make it most convenient to the yuppies. Fugghedboudit!

The conditions of the roads in Queens was noticeably poor. The worst road section of the course this year.

It was genius to make the race touch all 5 borroughs. The start on the Verrazano is classic. That bridge is on the winners medals. It's a symbol of the race!

Fort Wadsworth is a very good staging area. There's absolutely no reason to change. This thread is actually kind of dumb, because no one except the OP thinks that "it's obvious" NYC needs to change the course.

It’s = it is

MelRnr wrote:

It was genius to make the race touch all 5 borroughs. The start on the Verrazano is classic. That bridge is on the winners medals. It's a symbol of the race!

Fort Wadsworth is a very good staging area. There's absolutely no reason to change. This thread is actually kind of dumb, because no one except the OP thinks that "it's obvious" NYC needs to change the course.

This ^ End of thread.

The only thing that needs to change is your knowledge of the correct usage of its and it's

NY Met wrote:

Everybody would be able to get to the start on their own by taking the subway.

The thought of 50,000+ people using the NYC Subway system at the same time to use Central Park as a staging area and race start may actually give me nightmares. The subways are already messed up on a normal day.