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This is where most NYC Marathon runners rip off their bibs: ‘a low point’

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Cite

Donlevy, K. (2026, October 29). This is where most NYC Marathon runners rip off their bibs: ‘a low point’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/29/us-news/mile-18-is-where-nyc-marathon-runners-drop-out-at-highest-rate/

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New York Post · collected 2026-10-29 · by Katherine Donlevy

Quick Summary

The New York City Marathon sees a significant number of runners drop out around Mile 18, where the enthusiastic crowds thin out. According to data from Road Runners, 203 runners quit between Mile 18 and the 30K mark in 2023, marking this stretch as the highest dropout point on the course. This half-mile section along First Avenue from 96th to 103rd Street is described by participants as mentally challenging due to the sudden change from crowd support to quieter streets.
Written by AI on 2026-10-31, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In the New York City Marathon, Mile 18 on First Avenue between 96th and 103rd Streets is known as "The Wall," where many runners face a significant mental and physical challenge due to dwindling crowd support. Last year, 203 runners dropped out in the stretch covering only 0.64 miles, marking the highest loss of participants between any two timing points according to Road Runners data. This area is particularly challenging because it transitions from bustling crowds to a quieter route with fewer spectators and more parking lots and municipal buildings. Despite some debate over whether "The Wall" begins earlier, Mile 18 remains statistically the most common point where runners give up, highlighting the psychological impact of fatigue and isolation at this stage of the marathon.

Written for “NYC Marathon Bib Removal” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 115088 · logged 2026-10-31

Story

📰 NYC Marathon Bib Removal
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Euronews
Hedges 1 of 30 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss the New York City Marathon, Article A provides an overview and anticipation for the upcoming marathon on November 1, while Article B focuses specifically on a particular aspect of the race that occurred in the past (ill-prepared runners dropping out at Mile 18).”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-31 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15525 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Katherine Donlevy
45 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 A lot of mental was really what it would be, but I do think it’s mainly based on the actual mile rather than exactly where it is.” What pulled Medjid through was seeing his friends and fellow running community members along the route — which helped him remember why he was running the race. “Before the race, write it on your hand.
🔮 The heavy patrol will include helicopters, drones, thousands of police barricades and more along the 26.2-mile route — which officials lined with colorful strips of paint Wednesday.
🔮 The local real estate broker admits that this year’s pumpkin is roughly 100 pounds lighter than last year’s — theorizing that the summer’s heavy rain may have been to blame for the stunted gourds. But he’s made up for the slight dip in size by planting several other pumpkins — ranging from 2 pounds to 120 pounds — and bales of hay across his 8th Avenue property.
🔮 A Paralympian and world-record holder will make history this weekend when she becomes the first blind solo cyclist to complete the annual 100-mile Century Ride race around the Big Apple.
🔮 First responders from across the tri-state will face off in a jiu-jitsu tournament this weekend to prove which agency has the most muscle — and celebrate those who put their lives on the line.
🔮 The folky tunes of an extremely rare piano will once again sound in Manhattan Friday — nearly a century after Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia banned the instruments from the city streets.
🔮 I want to know who they paid off and let the US Attorney do their job, because I’m not sure the local DAs will do their job,” he claimed.
🔮 “It offers nothing concrete for blue-collar drivers and carriage owners who will be financially crushed, stripped of their jobs, their licenses, expensive city-issued medallions, small businesses, and way of life.
🔮 Queen Camilla is apparently trying a soft approach, hoping that will work.
🔮 Michelle, who did not share her last name, sent a bone-chilling string of texts to her boy assuring him he and his brother would survive the bloodshed — and repeatedly reminding him: “I love you so much.”
Also by Katherine Donlevy
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 45 articles by Katherine Donlevy →

Topics

Greek Manhattan Post Road Runners The New York City Marathon

Subjects

Medjid PERSON · 2× Road Runners ORG · 2× Annie Reeves PERSON · 1× Brooklyn GPE · 1× Greek NORP · 1× Manhattan GPE · 1× Post ORG · 1× Queens GPE · 1× Reeves PERSON · 1× The Post ORG · 1×

Narrative

It’s where the wall-to-wall crowds begin to thin out and runners face comparative silence — especially coming off the heels of the deafening roars that greeted them off the Queensboro Bridge just two miles prior. Some consider that marker to be “The Wall,” while others say the real one is a multi-mile stretch that starts at Mile 18. Mile 18 has proven to be the most common give-up point throughout the sprawling, five-borough course across the most recent decades, even though it’s nearly 70% of the way into the entire race. “It’s likely that runners who are having tough days decide to cut their marathon short and wait until they’re back in a convenient location in Manhattan to drop out,” Road Runners told The Post.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-31
🔮 A lot of mental was really what it would be, but I do think it’s mainly based on the actual mile rather than exactly where it is.” What pulled Medjid through was seeing his friends and fellow running community members along the route — which helped him remember why he was running the race. “Before the race, write it on your hand.

Claims (16 extracted, 1 hedged)

The New York City Marathon devolves into a Greek tragedy for ill-prepared runners at an unsuspecting half-mile stretch of the Upper East Side — where quitters are statistically inclined to rip off their racing bibs, The Post has learned. asserted
Post → devolve → bibs
The highest number of runners tap out every year at Mile 18 — a dreaded marker the race organizers have dauntingly dubbed “The Wall.” Last year, 203 runners vanished between mile 18 and 30K, marking the highest loss of runners between two timing points, according to Road Runners data. uncertain
runners → tap → data
That 0.64-mile stretch lies along a fairly quiet stretch of First Avenue from 96th to 103rd Street, which is littered with parking lots, sports fields and municipal buildings rather than apartments. asserted
which → lie → apartments
It’s where the wall-to-wall crowds begin to thin out and runners face comparative silence — especially coming off the heels of the deafening roars that greeted them off the Queensboro Bridge just two miles prior. Some consider that marker to be “The Wall,” while others say the real one is a multi-mile stretch that starts at Mile 18. Mile 18 has proven to be the most common give-up point throughout the sprawling, five-borough course across the most recent decades, even though it’s nearly 70% of the way into the entire race. “It’s likely that runners who are having tough days decide to cut their marathon short and wait until they’re back in a convenient location in Manhattan to drop out,” Road Runners told The Post. asserted
Runners → ’ → Post
Annie Reeves, who ran her first marathon in 2023, says the crowds thin out near Mile 18 — and the race turns into a “mental game.” asserted
race → run → game
“You go through Brooklyn — which is an insane adrenaline rush and amazing experience — you go through Queens, which is great, then when you come off of the 59th Street Bridge, it’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced before,” explained Reeves, of Bayside. asserted
Reeves → go → Bayside
“You go to all of these phases of amazing, unmatched energy where people are pulling you through. asserted
people → go → you
But Omar Medjid, founder of the World’s Fair Run Crew, theorizes that the pain of Mile 18 is universal regardless of the course. asserted
pain → theorize → course
“That’s when you start looking at your watch, you’re kind of panicking and you’re just saying, ‘Okay, am I going to hit my goal time? asserted
I → ’ → time
Is my pace dropping?’ asserted
pace → drop → ?
You start to feel it in your body versus the actual data,” said Medjid, 33, of College Point, who ran the NYC Marathon in 2024. asserted
who → start → 2024
“You’re already tired from hitting the bridge and everything, then you know you still got that long stretch of Fifth Avenue to go. asserted
you → ’re → Avenue
A lot of mental was really what it would be, but I do think it’s mainly based on the actual mile rather than exactly where it is.” What pulled Medjid through was seeing his friends and fellow running community members along the route — which helped him remember why he was running the race. “Before the race, write it on your hand. asserted
he → think → hand
Why did you sign up? asserted
you → sign → ?
When those moments get hard, and it will get hard, look down at your hand,” said Mura, the organizer’s director for Runner Training and Education. asserted
Mura → get → Training
“Think about the next mile, not the remaining eight.” Pack plenty of fuel, keep your eyes peeled for water stations and use the cheering crowds to your advantage, he continued. asserted
he → think → advantage
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