2026 New York City Marathon Elite Field: Zouhair Talbi

Zouhair Talbi ran 2:03:45 at the Boston Marathon in April, the fastest marathon ever by an American, and only three men in the New York City Marathon field on Nov. 1 have gone quicker. He has raced in New York once before, in 2023, when he went through halfway in the lead group alongside the eventual winner, Tamirat Tola.

Zouhair Talbi at a Glance

Country: United States (born in Morocco). Born: April 8, 1995 (age 31). Coach: Scott Simmons. Sponsor: ASICS.

Personal Bests

• Marathon: 2:03:45 (Boston, April 20, 2026)
• Marathon, record-eligible course: 2:05:45 (Houston, Jan. 11, 2026)
• Half-marathon: 59:41 (New York City Half, March 15, 2026)
• 10,000m: 27:20.61 (Irvine, Calif., May 14, 2021)
• 3,000m (indoor): 7:40.39 (Fayetteville, Ark., 2022)

Records and Rankings

• Fastest marathon by an American: 2:03:45 (Boston, 2026), still the fastest. Boston is not a record-eligible course, so the American record remains Conner Mantz’s 2:04:43.
• Houston Marathon course record: 2:05:45 (2026), still standing. It replaced the 2:06:39 he ran to win Houston in 2024.
• U.S. all-time list (record-eligible courses): No. 5, behind Mantz (2:04:43), Clayton Young (2:05:23), Charles Hicks (2:05:35) and Khalid Khannouchi (2:05:38). He was No. 3 after Houston, until Young and Hicks went quicker at Chicago on Oct. 11.

Marathon Wins

• Houston 2024 (2:06:39)
• Houston 2026 (2:05:45)

World Marathon Major Results

• 5th, Boston 2023 (2:08:35)
• 10th, Boston 2024 (2:10:45)
• 11th, Chicago 2025 (2:07:27)
• 5th, Boston 2026 (2:03:45)

Other 2026 Results

• 2nd, New York City Half (59:41)
• 3rd, Falmouth Road Race (31:17)
• 1st, Great North Run (59:47)

Championships

• 35th, Olympic marathon, Paris 2024 (2:11:51), for Morocco
• 6th, World Indoor Championships 3,000m, Belgrade 2022, for Morocco
• 14th, World Under-20 Cross-Country Championships, Bydgoszcz 2013, for Morocco
• Seven NAIA national titles at Oklahoma City University

From Tighassaline to Oklahoma City

Talbi grew up in Tighassaline, a small town in Morocco’s Khenifra province, and soccer was his game until he was 14. His uncle, Lahcen Talbi, had raced marathons, and it was Lahcen who spotted the talent in his nephew early and pushed him toward the sport. Talbi made Morocco’s team for the 2013 World Under-20 Cross-Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, and placed 14th.

He spent a year learning English and came to the United States in 2019, hoping to pair a degree with his running. A planned place at Florida State fell through, so he enrolled at Northwest Kansas Technical College instead and had an associate’s degree within 18 months. At 25 he transferred to Oklahoma City University, an NAIA school, and by the time he graduated in December 2022 with a degree in human performance he had won seven national titles, the indoor mile, 3,000m and 5,000m among them. In March of that year he also finished sixth over 3,000m at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade.

A Boston Debut and a First Trip to New York

ASICS signed him in August 2022, and his marathon debut came at Boston the following April, where he ran 2:08:35 for fifth, one place ahead of Eliud Kipchoge, and earned an automatic Olympic qualifying standard. That August he moved to Colorado Springs to join Scott Simmons and the American Distance Project, and he knew the training before he got there: Matt Aguero, his coach at Oklahoma City, had worked under Simmons and ran the college group on Simmons’s principles, as a profile by Citius Mag laid out.

He made his New York debut that November and was still in the lead pack at halfway, which Abdi Nageeye, Albert Korir, Jemal Yimer, Tola and Talbi reached together in 62:45. Tola pushed on from there to win in a course record of 2:04:58, and Talbi did not finish. He opened 2024 by winning the Houston Marathon in a course record of 2:06:39, ran 10th at Boston that spring, and represented Morocco in the Olympic marathon in Paris, where he placed 35th in 2:11:51.

An American Citizen and the Fastest American Marathon

Marriage to Elizabeth, an American he met at Oklahoma City, gave him one route to citizenship, but after Paris he chose to enlist in the U.S. Army Reserve. He completed basic training at Fort Jackson in South Carolina and went on to train as a logistics specialist, and their son, Amir, was born in March 2025. Reserve duty takes one weekend a month and two weeks a year, which leaves him free to keep his shoe contract, as he told LetsRun. He became a U.S. citizen in 2025, and because he has represented Morocco, he cannot run for the United States at a championship until August 2027.

His first marathon as an American was Houston in January, and he won it again, lowering his own course record to 2:05:45 and becoming the first American man to win Houston in more than two decades. “This is a special moment for me,” he said afterward. In March he ran 59:41 for second at the New York City Half, his first half-marathon under an hour, finishing just 11 seconds behind Adriaan Wildschutt.

Conditions in Boston that April were about as good as they get, cool with the wind at the runners’ backs, and John Korir won in 2:01:52 while 13 men finished under 2:06. Talbi came in fifth, 73 seconds quicker than the 2:04:58 Ryan Hall ran in 2011, which had been the best American time on the course. Because Boston runs point to point and finishes well below where it starts, the time cannot stand as an American record, and Mantz’s 2:04:43 from Chicago in 2025 remains the official mark.

Since Boston he has raced twice, finishing third in 31:17 at the Falmouth Road Race in August and winning the Great North Run in September in 59:47, 14 seconds ahead of the defending champion, Alex Mutiso.

What to Expect in New York

Benson Kipruto is back to defend the title he won last November in 2:08:09, and his 2:02:16 is the fastest personal best in the men’s field. He was also at Boston in April, finishing third in 2:02:50, 55 seconds ahead of Talbi. Deresa Geleta (2:02:38) and CyBrian Kotut (2:03:22) are the only other entrants with faster bests than Talbi, and two former champions, Geoffrey Kamworor and Nageeye, are entered as well. No one has run as fast as Talbi’s Boston time in New York, where Tola’s 2:04:58 still stands as the course record, and organizers have redrawn a short section of the Bronx near mile 20 this year, cutting it from seven turns to five.

Mantz finished two seconds behind Talbi at Falmouth, in his first race back from injury, but he was the better of the two in Chicago last October, fourth in his American record while Talbi was 11th in 2:07:27. New York will be his first marathon since then. Sacral stress fractures after Chicago disrupted his spring, he pulled out of Boston when his fitness had not come back in time, and he told NBC Sports his aim this time is to reach the start line fully healthy. The last American man to win New York was Meb Keflezighi in 2009, and Talbi comes into this one in the best form of his career.

The race is on Sunday, Nov. 1, and our guide to watching it has the start times and full broadcast details.