Sunday, November 1, 2026 · The 55th running
The New York City Marathon
Fifty years after the race first took on all five boroughs, nearly 60,000 runners leave Staten Island on November 1 for the finish in Central Park. Here’s everything you need for race week — and where to find us while we’re in town.
Saturday, October 31 · Join us
Run with us in the morning, come to the show in the afternoon
The Marathon Handbook team is in New York for race weekend, and we’re hosting two events the day before the race. Racing, cheering or just in town, come and say hello.
Sat, Oct 31 · 8:30 a.m.
The Shakeout Run
Marathon Handbook × Wahoo
A relaxed 5K with the team, at a pace that won’t cost you anything on Sunday, then chat, carbs and coffee, with giveaways from Wahoo.
Where: Joe Coffee Company, 187 Columbus Avenue at West 68th Street
Cost: Free, but reserve a spot
Sat, Oct 31 · 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Mile Zero
Our live show, New York edition
A live recording of the Marathon Handbook podcast with Michael Doyle, Katelyn Tocci and Alex Cyr, plus special guests, swag and plenty of hot takes on the race ahead.
Where: Jerry Orbach Theater, The Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street
Tickets: On sale now, and seats are limited
RunClub members get up to three tickets free. Join RunClub and your code is on the members’ events page.
From our newsroom
The latest from New York
The Ultimate Guide To The New York City Marathon (2026)
Benson Kipruto and Hellen Obiri defend their titles on a course that changes in the Bronx for the first time in 15 years. Start times, the clock change, the course, the expo and the elite fields for Nov. 1.
How to Watch the 2026 New York City Marathon on TV, Online and in Person
WABC-TV in New York and ESPN2 nationally, the start time around the world, runner tracking and where to watch.
NYC Marathon Pace Calculator: Your Mile-by-Mile Race Plan
A pace plan for every mile, shaped to the five bridges and the Fifth Avenue hill, with live weather for your wave.
Sifan Hassan and Fiona O’Keeffe Withdraw From the New York City Marathon
Hassan says an illness held back her training, and O’Keeffe had surgery on a torn hamstring tendon.
Jennifer Connelly and James Milner Are Among the Celebrities Running New York
Casey Neistat is back on a list of 60 names, and one runner plans to make New York the 50th marathon of a 24-day run through every state.
The 2026 race
What to watch on Sunday
Three storylines, on a course that rewards patience more than any other major.
Last year’s finish will be hard to top
Benson Kipruto won last November by three hundredths of a second, outleaning Alexander Mutiso in 2:08:09 for the closest finish in the race’s history. He’s back to defend, and he brings the fastest personal best in the field, 2:02:16.
The men chasing him have won here before. Abdi Nageeye took the 2024 title, and Geoffrey Kamworor won in 2017 and 2019. Deresa Geleta (2:02:38) and CyBrian Kotut make their New York debuts, and Iliass Aouani arrives with a world championship bronze. Then there’s Andreas Almgren, the Swede who won the world half marathon title in Copenhagen in September in a European record of 58:06, running his first marathon. New York’s bridges and late hills usually make this a tactical race, which is why Tamirat Tola’s course record of 2:04:58 has stood since 2023.
ReadAlmgren’s debut Almgren and Mantz in Copenhagen How Kipruto won in 2025 Our elite field podcast
Mantz and Talbi, on the same start line
The two fastest American men in marathon history race each other in New York. Conner Mantz set the American record of 2:04:43 in Chicago last October, then missed Boston in April with a sacral stress fracture. Zouhair Talbi ran 2:03:45 at that Boston race, a minute quicker than Mantz but on a course where records don’t count, and won the Great North Run in September.
Behind them is a deep American group: Joel Reichow, who was the top American here last year, Joe Klecker, Ryan Ford and Paul Chelimo. With the 2028 Olympic Trials 17 months away, New York is the first real test of who is ready for St. Louis.
Obiri defends her course record
Hellen Obiri ran 2:19:51 here last year, taking more than two and a half minutes off a course record that had stood since 2003. She won the NYC Half again in March, and she starts as the clear favorite. Sheila Chepkirui, the 2024 champion, and Gotytom Gebreslase lead the women chasing her, with former champion Edna Kiplagat still in the field.
The race lost two big names in mid-October. Sifan Hassan withdrew after an illness disrupted her training, and Fiona O’Keeffe, fourth last year, had surgery on a torn hamstring tendon. Jess McClain, the fastest American woman ever at Boston, now leads the Americans with Annie Frisbie. Weini Kelati, the American half marathon record holder, makes her debut.
ReadHassan and O’Keeffe withdraw Obiri’s course record Obiri at the NYC Half
Race week
The schedule, and two things the official guide won’t tell you
All times Eastern.
- The marathon expo opens at the Javits Center. Bib pickup closes at 7:30 p.m.
- Expo, day two.
- The Dash to the Finish Line 5K, which finishes on the marathon’s finish line in Central Park.
- Last day of the expo. Bib pickup closes at 4:30 p.m.
- Join usOur shakeout run with Wahoo: a relaxed 5K from Joe Coffee on Columbus Avenue, then coffee. Details
- Join usMile Zero, our live show, at the Jerry Orbach Theater on West 50th Street. Tickets
- Clocks go back an hour. Daylight saving time ends overnight.
- Wheelchair, handcycle and professional starts on Staten Island. NYRR has yet to confirm the 2026 times.
- Wave starts: 9:10, 9:45, 10:20, 10:55 and 11:30. Corrals close 15 to 25 minutes before each wave.
- Official timing ends at the finish in Central Park.
There are 25 fluid stations, with water every mile from mile 3 to mile 25 and Gatorade Endurance at the same stations except miles 5, 7 and 9. Gels are handed out at miles 12 and 18, and bananas at mile 21. New this year, five self-serve refill stations at miles 8, 14, 17, 20 and 23 will fill your own bottle, flask or vest, following Chicago’s lead. How the refill stations work.
The clocks change on race morning
Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, so you get an extra hour in bed. Phones update themselves, but some older watches, hotel clocks and pace bands set to the time of day won’t. Check them on Saturday night, and double-check your ferry or bus time against your wave.
Don’t spend your race on First Avenue
You come off the quiet Queensboro Bridge at mile 16 into the loudest crowd on the course, and it is very easy to speed up. The hardest part of New York comes later: the Bronx, then the long drag up Fifth Avenue between miles 23 and 24. Run First Avenue at goal pace and save something for the park.
The course
Five boroughs, five bridges, and a hill at mile 23
New York is a point-to-point race. You start at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island and spend the first two miles on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, the biggest climb and the biggest drop of the day. Then it’s Brooklyn, block after block, up Fourth Avenue and through Williamsburg and Greenpoint, before the Pulaski Bridge takes you into Queens at halfway.
The Queensboro Bridge, around miles 15 and 16, is the steepest climb and the only stretch with no crowds. It ends on First Avenue in Manhattan, which runs north to the Bronx at mile 20. You’re back in Manhattan a mile later, and the climb up Fifth Avenue from 90th to 105th Street, at miles 23 and 24, is the hardest part of the race. The last two miles run through Central Park, out to Central Park South and Columbus Circle, and back in to the finish near Tavern on the Green.
New this year, the course changes in the Bronx for the first time in 15 years. Runners now stay on Alexander Avenue past 138th Street, then turn onto East 141st Street, Third Avenue and East 138th Street to reach the Madison Avenue Bridge, with two fewer turns than before. What changed in the Bronx · Plan every mile with our pace calculator
The record book
Course records, and the closest finish ever
New York is rarely run for fast times: the bridges and the late climbs see to that. All four course records have been set since 2022.
| Division | Athlete | Time | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Tamirat Tola (ETH) | 2:04:58 | 2023 |
| Women | Hellen Obiri (KEN) | 2:19:51 | 2025 |
| Men’s wheelchair | Marcel Hug (SUI) | 1:25:26 | 2022 |
| Women’s wheelchair | Catherine Debrunner (SUI) | 1:39:32 | 2023 |
The 2025 race produced the closest finish in the race’s history: Benson Kipruto beat Alexander Mutiso by 0.03 seconds, both in 2:08:09. Patrick Dever of Britain has since been moved up to third, after original third-place finisher Albert Korir was banned for five years for doping and lost his result.
The biggest marathon in the world, for a while: 59,226 people finished in New York last year, a record at the time. London passed it in April, with 59,830.
More: The 2025 finisher record · Korir’s suspension · Every current marathon world record
Entry
Getting into 2027
New York is the hardest major to get into through the drawing. More than 240,000 people applied for 2026, and about 1% were accepted. NYRR hasn’t announced the 2027 dates yet: the 2026 drawing was open from February 4 to 25, with results on March 4.
Seven ways to skip the drawing
- 9+1. NYRR members who run nine qualifying races and volunteer at one in 2026 get a guaranteed 2027 place.
- Time qualifier. Run the standard for your age at a qualifying NYRR race, or at a certified marathon elsewhere, where places are limited and go fastest first.
- Charity. More than 670 charities had places for 2026. The 2027 partners are announced in the spring.
- A tour operator. For runners who don’t live full-time in the United States.
- 15 finishes. Finish your 15th New York City Marathon and your entry is guaranteed in future years.
- A 2026 cancellation. Eligible runners who cancel this year’s entry are guaranteed 2027.
- The virtual race. Finishing the 2026 virtual marathon at the Guaranteed Entry tier earns a 2027 place.
Counting on 9+1 for 2028? The rules have changed. From the 2027 qualifying year, members must first be picked in a free eligibility drawing, then pay $99 to become a 9+1 Passholder. NYRR said it would select more than 15,000 members, and the first drawing was held on October 1.
How the new 9+1 drawing works · Every way to enter · The 2026 drawing in numbers
Time-qualifier standards for 2027
| Age | Men | Women & non-binary |
|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 2:53:00 | 3:13:00 |
| 35–39 | 2:55:00 | 3:15:00 |
| 40–44 | 2:58:00 | 3:26:00 |
| 45–49 | 3:05:00 | 3:38:00 |
| 50–54 | 3:14:00 | 3:51:00 |
| 55–59 | 3:23:00 | 4:10:00 |
| 60–64 | 3:34:00 | 4:27:00 |
| 65–69 | 3:45:00 | 4:50:00 |
| 70–74 | 4:10:00 | 5:30:00 |
| 75–79 | 4:30:00 | 6:00:00 |
| 80+ | 4:55:00 | 6:35:00 |
Marathon times, run between January 1 and December 31, 2026. Half marathon times count only from NYRR’s own half marathons, with standards starting at 1:21:00 for men and 1:32:00 for women and non-binary runners aged 18–34. Meeting a standard doesn’t guarantee a place for non-NYRR races.
The archive
All our New York City Marathon coverage
The 2026 race
- The Ultimate Guide To The New York City Marathon (2026)
- How to Watch the 2026 New York City Marathon on TV, Online and in Person
- NYC Marathon Pace Calculator: Your Mile-by-Mile Race Plan
- Sifan Hassan and Fiona O’Keeffe Withdraw From the New York City Marathon
- Jennifer Connelly and James Milner Are Among the Celebrities Running the New York City Marathon
- New York Road Runners Unveils the 2026 New York City Marathon Medal
- Run Clubs Must Keep Non-Sponsor Brands Out of Their New York City Marathon Cheer Zones
- For the First Time in 15 Years, the New York City Marathon Has Changed Its Route
- The New York City Marathon Is Putting Water Refill Stations on Its Course
- Andreas Almgren and Conner Mantz Have Both Entered the Copenhagen Half-Marathon
- 2026 NYC Marathon Elite Field Preview (podcast)
- European Record Holder Andreas Almgren Chose One of the Hardest Majors for His Marathon Debut
- The Two Fastest Americans in Marathon History Will Both Run New York
- What 50,000 Runners and 76 Studies Teach Us About Racing the NYC Marathon Smarter
2025, in review
- Benson Kipruto Wins 2025 NYC Marathon in Thrilling Sprint to the Line
- Hellen Obiri Shatters Course Record at 2025 NYC Marathon
- 2025 New York City Marathon Sets All-Time Finisher Record
- Who Is Joel Reichow? The Fastest American at the 2025 NYC Marathon
- The Shoes That Won the 2025 New York City Marathon
- Elite and Celebrity NYC Marathon Splits, Times and Paces
- 8 Things We Learned From a Deep Dive of the 2025 NYC Marathon Data
- New York Marathon Champion Albert Korir Provisionally Suspended After Doping Test
Getting in
- New York Road Runners Opens Applications for the First 9+1 Drawing
- The Big Marathons and Half-Marathons You Can Still Enter Without a Lottery
- NYRR Adds a Lottery to 9+1, Its Guaranteed Path Into the NYC Marathon
- NYRR Sets Aside Race Bibs for Runners Who Aren’t Chasing the NYC Marathon
- Just 1% of Applicants Got Into the 2026 NYC Marathon Lottery
- NYC Marathon Lottery: How It Works + Key Dates
- NYC Marathon Lottery: How to Enter + Registration
Race guides
New York stories
- New York Road Runners Is Starting a Free Running Program for High School Boys
- New York Road Runners Names Jeff Galloway and Lynn Blackstone Among Its 2026 Honorees
- Fifty Years On, New York Honors the Five Who Took the NYC Marathon Out of Central Park
- After Brain Injury Nearly Took His Life, He Finished the NYC Marathon
- Jordan Litz Ran the NYC Marathon, Then Did Two Broadway Shows That Night
- “Final Finishers” Shines a Spotlight on the NYC Marathon’s Most Overlooked Runners
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
When is the 2026 New York City Marathon?
Sunday, November 1, 2026. The five waves of runners start on Staten Island at 9:10, 9:45, 10:20, 10:55 and 11:30 a.m. Eastern, after the wheelchair, handcycle and professional starts. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. that morning, so the clocks go back an hour.
How many people run the New York City Marathon?
NYRR expects nearly 60,000 runners in 2026. In 2025, 59,226 people finished, a world record at the time. London passed it in April 2026, with 59,830 finishers.
Has the course changed for 2026?
Slightly. Between miles 20 and 21, the route through the Bronx now has two fewer turns: runners stay on Alexander Avenue past 138th Street, then use East 141st Street, Third Avenue and East 138th Street to reach the Madison Avenue Bridge. It’s the first change to the course since 2011.
Is there a time limit?
Official results are recorded until 10 p.m. Eastern, whatever time you start. Sweep buses follow at about 16 minutes a mile, and roads reopen behind them. Runners who finish later still get a medal, but no official time.
How do I watch the New York City Marathon?
In New York, WABC-TV Channel 7 carries it live from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Eastern, with streaming on ABC7NY.com and the ABC7 NY app. Nationally it’s on ESPN2 over the same hours, and ABC has a two-hour finish-line show from 3 to 5 p.m. The official race app has live runner tracking. Our full viewing guide.
How do I get into the 2027 New York City Marathon?
Through the drawing, which usually opens in February, or by skipping it: 9+1, a qualifying time, a charity place, a tour operator, 15 previous finishes, a canceled 2026 entry or the virtual race’s Guaranteed Entry tier. NYRR hasn’t announced the 2027 dates yet.
What are the qualifying times?
For 2027 entry, the marathon standards start at 2:53:00 for men and 3:13:00 for women and non-binary runners aged 18–34, and ease with age. The full table is above. Times must be run in 2026.
Will Marathon Handbook be in New York?
Yes. On Saturday, October 31, we’re hosting a free shakeout run with Wahoo at 8:30 a.m. from Joe Coffee Company on Columbus Avenue at West 68th Street, and Mile Zero, our live show, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Jerry Orbach Theater, 210 West 50th Street. Details above.
Where’s the best place to watch?
Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn in the early miles, First Avenue where runners come off the Queensboro Bridge at mile 16, Fifth Avenue in Harlem around mile 23, and Central Park for the finish. Take the subway, and plan to watch from one side of the course: crossing it on race day is slow.
