New York Marathon 2018: Route, Course Map, Times, Road Closures, Event Details

The top marathon runners in the world will be in New York City Sunday for the 48th annual New York Marathon. From the spectacular start at the Verrazano Bridge through its 26.2-mile trip through all five boroughs of the city, it is a remarkable test for elite and competitive runners.

The race starts in Staten Island, goes through Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and goes to the Bronx. The marathon course is completed in picturesque Central Park.

Here's a link to the New York City Marathon map, as well as a visual of the route that 50,000 athletes will run.

The race commences at 8:30 a.m. ET and runners will take off in waves. Here's the schedule of how the runners will start the race:

    
8:30: Professional Wheelchair Division
8:52: Achilles Handcycle Category and Select Athletes with Disabilities
8:55: Foot Locker Five-Borough Challenge
9:20: Professional Women
9:50: Wave 1 (including Professional Men)
10:15: Wave 2
10:40: Wave 3
11:00: Wave 4 

The New York City Marathon is a huge event that basically shuts down vehicular transportation in the city throughout the day.

According to the event's website, the city and the marathon organizers give runners approximately six-and-a-half hours to complete the race, and that's when traffic can start to roll again. The areas at the start of the course open sooner than those near the middle and finish.

The upper level of the Verrazano Bridge actually closes at midnight Sunday and will not reopen until 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Central Park South closes at 9 a.m., and vehicular traffic will be able to resume at 6:15 p.m.

The marathon offers $825,000 in prize money that goes to runners in four divisions. The Open Division offers $100,000 to the winner, $60,000 to the second-place finisher and $40,000 to the third-place runner.

The USA Division, the Masters Division and the NYRR Division are also running for cash awards. In addition to the prize money, bonuses are also paid based on the time that runners complete the race.

The marathon will be televised on ESPN2 between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and it can also be viewed on the ESPN app on smartphones, tablets and streaming devices. 

Significant security measures are being taken to keep the race safe. As a result, all bags brought to the viewing areas are subject to search. Race organizers have urged spectators and race-goers not to bring bags. Additionally, marathon organizers have provided a long list of items that are prohibited from the premises.

The race organizers have an official list of rules. Among them, runners must cross over all official timing checkpoints, numbered bibs cannot be transferred and assistance by non-participant cannot be provided. 

American Shalane Flanagan won the women's marathon (open division) in 2017, and Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won the men's race (open division). Swiss racers Marcel Hug and Manuela Schar won the wheelchair division.