The Madison Avenue Bridge is probably best known as the final bridge on the New York Marathon course. I’ve run over it three times – once in 2005 during my first New York Marathon, once in training for the race this year, and once during the race this year.

Madison Avenue connects Manhattan and the Bronx, crosses the Harlem river, and is one of those rare spots where the numbered streets in Manhattan and the Bronx line up. Pedestrian access to the bridge on the Bronx side is at 138^th Street just after Grand Concourse. On the manhattan side, access is gained at 138^th and 5^th avenue.

For a bridge, Madison Avenue is pretty flat and forgiving. And by Mile 21 when you get here, believe me, you’re happy for a flat bridge.

Here’s a picture I took facing east, looking at the Third Avenue Bridge during a training run this fall.

https://www.instagram.com/p/8qFpkzvTAB/?taken-by=seanv2