On Sunday, November 1, 2026, the New York City Marathon 2026 will turn the streets of the five boroughs into the biggest running stage in the world, with nearly 60,000 runners starting on Staten Island and finishing in Central Park. Defending champions Hellen Obiri and Benson Kipruto lead the elite fields, and both arrive chasing history: Obiri is aiming for a third New York title, while Kipruto is trying to become the first man in 28 years to win the race in back-to-back years.

The 2026 edition is a special one. It marks 50 years since the race adopted its famous route through all five boroughs, and the professional fields are stacked with past champions and two of the most intriguing marathon debutants in years. The first wave starts at 8:00 a.m. ET, the elite women go off at 8:35 a.m. and the elite men at 9:05 a.m., with live coverage on ESPN2 nationally and ABC7 in the New York area.

Key Points

• The 2026 TCS New York City Marathon takes place on Sunday, November 1, with nearly 60,000 runners crossing all five boroughs from Staten Island to Central Park.
• Hellen Obiri defends her women's title chasing a third New York victory, which would put her alongside Grete Waitz, Mary Keitany and Paula Radcliffe as the only women to win the race at least three times.
• Benson Kipruto defends his men's title chasing the first back-to-back men's win since John Kagwe in 1997 and 1998, after winning last year by just three hundredths of a second.
• Olympic champion Sifan Hassan has withdrawn through illness and last year's leading American woman, Fiona O'Keeffe, is out after hamstring surgery, opening the door for debutant Weini Kelati and a deep American women's field.
• The open-division winners each earn $100,000, with a $50,000 bonus for a course record, and the race will be broadcast live to nearly 500 million homes in more than 160 countries and territories.

What Happened

The final elite fields were confirmed in the week before the race, and the previews published on October 29 and 30 framed the same two storylines: Obiri's march toward a third title and Kipruto's attempt to end a 28-year wait for a men's repeat winner. New York Road Runners, the nonprofit that organises the race, announced its broadcast plans on October 26, confirming ESPN2 nationally from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. ET, ABC7 locally from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and a national ABC finish-line show from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Obiri comes in as the clear women's favourite. She won last year's race in a course record 2:19:51, breaking the mark of 2:22:31 set by fellow Kenyan Margaret Okayo in 2003, and she owns the fastest personal best in the field at 2:15:53, set when she finished second at the London Marathon in April. She also won this year's New York City Half Marathon, and all four of her World Marathon Major victories so far have come on American soil, in Boston and New York.

Her path to a third title runs through her own compatriots. Sheila Chepkirui won New York in 2024, won the Nagoya Women's Marathon in March and finished third last year in 2:20:24. Viola Cheptoo owns a best of 2:19:05, veteran Edna Kiplagat, the 2010 champion, has run 2:19:50, and Mercy Chelangat, fourth at Boston in April in a personal best 2:20:30, is another podium threat. Four women in the field have run under 2:20.

Kipruto, 35, won last year's men's race in 2:08:09, edging compatriot Alexander Mutiso on the line in Central Park by three hundredths of a second, the closest finish in the event's history. A four-time World Marathon Major winner, he finished third at the Boston Marathon this spring in 2:02:50, close to his personal best of 2:02:16 from Tokyo in 2024. No man has defended the New York title since Kagwe won in 1997 and again in 1998.

Background and Context

The New York City Marathon began as a small race looping Central Park, but in 1976 it moved to the five-borough course that made it famous, and this year's race celebrates 50 years of that route. Runners start on Staten Island, cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn, run through Queens and the Bronx, and finish in Manhattan's Central Park, cheered by crowds all along the way. It is now the world's largest marathon, with nearly 60,000 expected runners this year.

Obiri's New York story is one of learning the course. She finished sixth on her marathon debut there in 2022, won in 2023, finished second in 2024 and then broke the course record in 2025, dropping a 4:58 final mile to shake off Sharon Lokedi. The two-time world 5,000m champion has built her autumn around this race for years, and her London run in April showed she is still improving at 36.

Kipruto's rivals know exactly where the men's race is usually decided. The Queensboro Bridge, at around mile 15, is where the Kenyans have traditionally surged, and the rolling hills of Central Park at the end punish anyone who has spent too much too early. Ethiopia's Deresa Geleta, second-fastest in the field at 2:02:38 and sixth in London this year, is running New York for the first time, as is Kenya's CyBrian Kotut, who owns a best of 2:03:22.

The American men's hopes rest on Conner Mantz, the North American record-holder at 2:04:43 from Chicago last year, and Zouhair Talbi, who ran 2:03:45 for fifth at Boston in April, although Boston's point-to-point course is not record-eligible. No American man has won in New York since Meb Keflezighi in 2009. Ryan Ford (2:05:46) and Joe Klecker (2:05:56) add depth to the home challenge, while Britain's Patrick Dever returns after being upgraded to last year's podium following Albert Korir's suspension for doping offences, and Ireland's Peter Lynch broke the Irish record with 2:06:08 in London.

New York City Marathon 2026 Elite Fields and Debutants

The most talked-about debutants are Sweden's Andreas Almgren and America's Weini Kelati. Almgren, 31, is a former 800m runner who broke the European half-marathon record with 58:06 on his way to victory at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen in September, after winning the European 10,000m title in Birmingham in a championship record 27:23.44. Rather than pick a fast, flat course for his first marathon, he has chosen New York's demanding, championship-style route, and betting markets have noticed: LetsRun reported that limited betting on Kalshi made Almgren the favourite at 34 percent, ahead of Kipruto at 28 percent.

Kelati, meanwhile, lowered her own North American half-marathon record to 1:06:04 and will make her marathon debut in front of a home crowd. Jessica McClain, eighth in New York in 2024 and the top American woman that year, finished fifth at Boston this April in 2:20:49, the fastest Boston ever by an American woman, and Annie Frisbie, with a best of 2:22:00, strengthens the home women's field further.

The withdrawals have shaped both races. Hassan, the Olympic marathon champion, pulled out after illness disrupted her final training block, and O'Keeffe, the United States Olympic trials winner, underwent proximal hamstring repair surgery at the Steadman Clinic in Vail on October 8 and has not raced since last year's New York Marathon. Their absence leaves Obiri with the fastest personal best among the women expected to compete and removes last year's fourth-placed American from the women's race.

There is also a shoe war running underneath the elite races. Reuters reported that Adidas is hoping this weekend's New York City Marathon will be its chance for a victory lap, after runners wearing its shoes clocked up eight wins at prized World Marathon Majors this year, boosting sales and outpacing longstanding rival Nike. Adidas reported record-breaking third-quarter earnings on Thursday, with revenue in its Running sector up 19 percent.

Reactions and Quotes

Abdi Nageeye, the 2024 New York champion, gave away part of the tactical playbook when he told Outside that the Kenyans like to surge down the Queensboro Bridge at around mile 15, and advised watching for who follows when the move comes. Nageeye, the Dutch record-holder with a best of 2:04:20, returns this year hoping to add a second New York title.

Mercy Chelangat, asked by Outside to sum up her feeling before the race in one word, answered simply: "ready." Her fourth place at Boston in April in a personal best 2:20:30 suggests she has every reason to be.

The prediction markets and expert panels are split in a way that underlines how open both races are. FloTrack's staff predictions were dominated by Kipruto and Obiri, with most of its team picking the defending champions, but two of its staff picked Sweden's Almgren for the men's race and two picked Chepkirui for the women's race. LetsRun's preview ranked Kipruto first among the men while noting that Almgren, with a 1:45 personal best over 800m, could become the fastest 800m man ever to win a major marathon.

Why It Matters

The New York City Marathon matters far beyond the elite results. For the nearly 60,000 runners, it is a once-a-year takeover of the city, closing bridges and avenues across five boroughs and drawing huge crowds to neighbourhoods that rarely see a global sporting event. For American distance running, it is the annual measuring stick: the home men have not won since 2009, and the women's field, led by McClain and debutant Kelati, is the deepest it has been in years.

The 50th anniversary of the five-borough route adds another layer. Half a century after the race left Central Park and embraced the whole city, it remains the template for the modern big-city marathon, and this year's edition, with its record broadcast reach and its defending champions chasing history, is a reminder of why that idea worked.

There is also a commercial subplot that will be watched well beyond Central Park. The battle between Adidas and Nike for the feet of the world's best marathoners has become a proxy for the wider running boom, and a win in New York on Sunday would cap a remarkable year for Adidas after its eight major victories and surging running sales.

What Happens Next

The race starts at 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, November 1, with the men's professional wheelchair division first, followed by the elite women at 8:35 a.m. and the elite men at 9:05 a.m. Fans can track any runner live in the TCS New York City Marathon App, which carries splits at every 5K, at halfway and at the finish, plus uninterrupted feeds of all four professional divisions.

On television, ESPN2 carries the race nationally from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. ET, with pre-race coverage on ESPN Unlimited from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. and continuing coverage from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. A Spanish-language broadcast airs live on ESPN Unlimited from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. and re-airs on ESPN Deportes at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, November 2. In the New York area, WABC-TV Channel 7 airs the race from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with pre-race coverage from 7:00 a.m., and ABC's national finish-line show airs from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET. Radio coverage is on 710 WOR and iHeartRadio.

The winners will each take home $100,000, with second place worth $60,000 and third $40,000, and any champion who breaks a course record earns an additional $50,000. The top American finishers in the men's and women's races receive $25,000 each, and wheelchair division winners earn $50,000. Results from Sunday will also set the tone for the winter marathon season and for the build-up to next spring's Boston and London marathons.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the 2026 New York City Marathon? The race takes place on Sunday, November 1, 2026. The first wave starts at 8:00 a.m. ET, the elite women start at 8:35 a.m. and the elite men at 9:05 a.m.

How can I watch the New York City Marathon? Nationally in the United States, ESPN2 broadcasts the race from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. ET, with streaming on ESPN Unlimited. In the New York area, WABC-TV Channel 7 airs it from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The TCS New York City Marathon App offers live runner tracking and uninterrupted professional race feeds.

Who are the favourites? Defending champions Hellen Obiri and Benson Kipruto lead the fields. Obiri is chasing a third New York title and Kipruto is chasing the first men's repeat win since 1998, while debutants Andreas Almgren and Weini Kelati and 2024 winners Sheila Chepkirui and Abdi Nageeye are among the main challengers.

How much prize money do the winners earn? The men's and women's open-division champions each earn $100,000, with $60,000 for second and $40,000 for third. A course-record bonus of $50,000 is also available, and the top American finishers earn $25,000 each.

How long is the course and where does it go? The marathon is 26.2 miles, starting on Staten Island and running through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan before finishing in Central Park. This year marks 50 years since the race adopted its five-borough route.

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