Mile 10: Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg.
Before the Bedford Avenue station throngs, it’s eerily quiet in the Hasidic part of Williamsburg. Marathon co-founder Fred Lebow used to come here with a megaphone and cheer runners on in Yiddish.

Mile 12–13: Greenpoint.
Right before the halfway point in this Polish neighborhood, there’s a sharp incline over the Pulaski Bridge. That’s where the adrenaline starts to wear off.

Mile 20: The Willis Avenue Bridge.
Over the Harlem River to the Bronx, the comedown after enthusiastic cheers from drunken First Avenue crowds sets in. This is where most runners decide they’d rather lie down on the sidewalk.

Mile 22–23: Upper Fifth Avenue.
When runners reach Museum Mile, the finish line is only 4.2 miles ahead. But the stretch before entering Central Park at East 90th Street is where cramps, shin splints, fatigue, aches, and nausea really kick in.