Karpo's Marathon Cheer Station in Long Island City

Long Island City is the middle of the marathon, not its edges. Runners cross the Pulaski Bridge at halfway and leave Queens over the Queensboro Bridge around mile fifteen, which makes these blocks the loudest and most human stretch of the course. The Karpo table stands at 00:00 from ten in the morning to four in the afternoon on Sunday, Nov 1: a black cloth, a banner, a QR code and someone who will plan the rest of your day in about ninety seconds. The front of the field reaches this stretch a little after ten, and the last waves keep coming into the afternoon, so the street never really empties while the table stays up from ten to four.

We're the ones in Karpo shirts behind the black table on 44th Road. This is what we're handing out.

• 🕶 100 pairs of custom sunglasses, made for this week.

• 🧢 48 Karpo caps

• 🍬 A custom candy bag with the Karpo logo you check in at the booth.

• 🎡 One spin on the prize wheel once the Karpo app is on your phone.

• 🥃 $5 shot vouchers from 00:00, for the nights that run past midnight.

• 🎟 40 Black Street coupons worth $5 each

Come by and say hello — take the free thing, and tell us which night you're staying for.

Available while supplies last!

VAMP opens the week with an underground night built on rage, new-wave rap and the darker end of hip-hop, framed by cathedral arches, chrome and direct-flash photography. Doors at eleven; the room fills after midnight, the dress code is enforced at the door and every ID is checked. The crowd is young and fashion-forward, so the outfit carries as much weight as the lineup. Order like you are staying until four, because most of the room does. Karpo is on the floor early with stickers and a QR code for anyone who wants tomorrow planned before tonight ends.

Fright Fest is the costume night: a continuous rotation of EDM, hip-hop, R&B, bass and trap, with lasers doing most of the lighting and a crowd that treats the brief seriously. Doors at half past ten, 21+ with physical ID, and no refunds once you are in. Photograph early; after midnight the room is a smear of light and flash. The costume is the point, not a bonus: arrive dressed and you spend the night dancing instead of explaining yourself. The Karpo table is set up before the first set starts.

Saturday starts early and light. An anime party runs six to ten, before the late crowd arrives: a shorter, more playful session for anyone who wants the costume without the four-a.m. finish. The room is still quiet enough to talk, the bar is warming up rather than slammed, and costumes read better in the early hours than they do at midnight. Six to ten is the part of Halloween weekend you can actually pace: eat first, then decide whether you are staying for the late set.

At eleven the room turns over. PikaJenn headlines the late Halloween set with Ryan Lin, RamenRaves and GRIMMACE, lasers running all night, and a door that checks physical ID and turns away flip-flops and crocs. It is the week's headline bill, and the crowd arrives dressed for it. Doors at eleven means the queue starts earlier, so come with time to spare and a plan that does not depend on being let in late. Ticket sales are final; there is no swapping nights at the door.

Sunday night starts with the ABS cross-school Halloween: students and alumni from schools across New York and the East Coast, high-energy dance sets, a costume contest with prizes on the line, lasers, and a room that fills quickly. Eight to eleven, costume required, all sales final. This is the early-night move after a long race day: in by eight, out by eleven, and you still have the rest of the night ahead of you. The ube martini is the sensible first order; the second one is a decision.

ADONIX and After Collective close the series from eleven to four: low lights, heavy sound, supporting DJs and a darker read on Halloween than the rest of the week. Dress up or blend into the crowd; either way the door enforces the dress code and checks physical ID. It is the last room of the run, which is exactly why the bar keeps going until four. If you have been standing out there since mid-morning, this is where the night ends: slowly, and with one more drink in your hand.