The 2026 TCS New York City Marathon is on Sunday, November 1, and this one is special: it marks the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course, first run on October 24, 1976. Last year set an event record with 59,219 finishers, and New York Road Runners (NYRR) expects close to 60,000 starters again. For the first time in 15 years, the course itself changes, with a reworked loop through the Bronx.
Whether you are running, cheering or already plotting 2027, here is what you need to know.
NYC Marathon 2026 start times
One thing first: Daylight Saving Time ends the night before the race. Clocks fall back an hour early Sunday morning, so you gain an hour of sleep. Double-check your alarm, your ferry or bus time, and your watch.
| Start | Eastern Time |
|---|---|
| Pro wheelchair (men, then women) | 8:00 and 8:02 a.m. |
| Pro women | 8:35 a.m. |
| Pro men | 9:05 a.m. |
| Wave 1 | 9:10 a.m. |
| Wave 2 | 9:45 a.m. |
| Wave 3 | 10:20 a.m. |
| Wave 4 | 10:55 a.m. |
| Wave 5 | 11:30 a.m. |
Your bib shows your wave, start color (blue, orange or pink) and corral. Corrals close 25 minutes before each wave goes. You can drop back to a later wave, but starting in an earlier one can get you disqualified.
The New York Marathon course, bridge by bridge
New York is not a flat course. There is no single monster hill. What wears you down is five bridges and a long, sneaky grade on Fifth Avenue late in the race.
| Mile | Section | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge | The longest climb on the course, right at the start, with no spectators and often a stiff wind |
| 2–13 | Brooklyn | Fourth Avenue, a short hill on Lafayette Avenue around mile 8, then Williamsburg and Greenpoint |
| 13.1 | Pulaski Bridge | Halfway, and into Queens |
| 15–16 | Queensboro Bridge | A long, quiet climb into Manhattan |
| 16–19 | First Avenue | A wall of noise on a wide, gently downhill avenue |
| 20–21 | The Bronx | Willis Avenue and Madison Avenue bridges, with the new 2026 routing |
| 22–24 | Fifth Avenue | The gradual uphill from Harlem to 90th Street that everyone warns you about |
| 24–26.2 | Central Park | Rolling hills, Central Park South, Columbus Circle, and the finish on West Drive near 67th Street |
The Queensboro is where a lot of races turn: about 120 feet of climbing in just under a mile, according to course analyses, with no crowds at all. Fifth Avenue finishes the job. The grade is mild, but it never lets up, and it arrives just as your glycogen runs low.
The 2026 change is in the Bronx. After the Willis Avenue Bridge, runners take East 135th Street, Alexander Avenue, East 141st Street and Third Avenue before rejoining East 138th Street toward the Madison Avenue Bridge. NYRR says the goal is to reduce the race's impact on the neighborhood.
Aid stations: water and Gatorade Endurance every mile from mile 3 to mile 25, except miles 5, 7 and 9. Maurten gels are handed out at miles 12 and 18, in limited supply, so NYRR recommends carrying your own. Bananas are at mile 21. Sweep buses follow at roughly a 16:00/mile pace, based on the Wave 5 start.
Course records and the 2025 race
| Record | Athlete | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 2:04:58 | Tamirat Tola 🇪🇹 | 2023 |
| Women | 2:19:51 | Hellen Obiri 🇰🇪 | 2025 |
Obiri's record is brand new: last year she erased a mark that had stood since 2003. In the men's race, Benson Kipruto won in 2:08:09, three hundredths of a second ahead of Alexander Mutiso, the closest finish in event history. New York is a racer's course, not a record course.
The 2026 NYC Marathon elite field
On August 19, NYRR announced a field with 3 defending champions, 40 Olympians and Paralympians, 25 global medalists and 22 national record holders.
| Women | PR | Men | PR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sifan Hassan 🇳🇱 | 2:13:44 | Benson Kipruto 🇰🇪 | 2:02:16 |
| Hellen Obiri 🇰🇪 | 2:15:53 | Deresa Geleta 🇪🇹 | 2:02:38 |
| Sheila Chepkirui 🇰🇪 | 2:17:29 | CyBrian Kotut 🇰🇪 | 2:03:22 |
| Gotytom Gebreslase 🇪🇹 | 2:18:11 | Zouhair Talbi 🇺🇸 | 2:03:45 |
| Jess McClain 🇺🇸 | 2:20:49 | Abdi Nageeye 🇳🇱 | 2:04:20 |
| Fiona O'Keeffe 🇺🇸 | 2:22:10 | Geoffrey Kamworor 🇰🇪 | 2:04:23 |
| Weini Kelati 🇺🇸 | debut | Conner Mantz 🇺🇸 | 2:04:43 |
Women: Hellen Obiri is the one to beat. She won here in 2023 and 2025 and ran a 2:15:53 PR for second in London this spring. "New York always brings out the best in me," she said when the field was announced. Sifan Hassan has the fastest PR in the field and finished sixth last year, but she has not raced a marathon in 2026 after pulling out of London. Sheila Chepkirui, the 2024 champion, rounds out the favorites. For American fans, the big story is Weini Kelati, the U.S. half marathon record holder, making her marathon debut, along with Jess McClain, Fiona O'Keeffe and Annie Frisbie.
Men: Defending champ Benson Kipruto ran 2:02:50 for third in Boston in April and is chasing a fifth World Marathon Majors win. His toughest rivals look like Deresa Geleta, making his New York debut, and two-time winner Geoffrey Kamworor, who has made the podium in four of his five NYC starts. The American showdown is Conner Mantz vs. Zouhair Talbi: Mantz holds the American record (2:04:43), while Talbi ran 2:03:45 in Boston, the fastest marathon ever by an American on any course.
How to watch the NYC Marathon
- National TV: ESPN2, 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. ET (that's 7:00 a.m. Central, 6:00 a.m. Mountain, 5:00 a.m. Pacific). Spanish-language coverage streams on ESPN3 through the ESPN app.
- New York area: WABC-TV Channel 7, with pre-race coverage from 7:00 a.m. ET and live coverage until 1:00 p.m. ET, also streaming on ABC7NY.com and the ABC7 New York app.
- Finish-line show: a two-hour broadcast on the ABC network from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET, focused on everyday runners finishing.
- Radio: 710 WOR in New York and the iHeartRadio app.
- Tracking a runner: the official New York Road Runners app lets you follow anyone by name or bib number.
These are NYRR's published listings, so check them again during race week.
Typical race-day weather
Early November in New York is usually cool and dry at the start. Over the last 20 years, the median temperature at start time was about 44°F, and no start was rainy, according to reanalysis data compiled by Wyndo. It doesn't always go that way: in 2022, it was already about 66°F when the first wave went off.
The real challenge is the wait at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, which often lasts a few hours. You can't check a bag at the start, so bring throwaway layers. NYRR collects them in donation bins for New Yorkers in need.
NYC Marathon pacing strategy
- Give the first mile away. It climbs the Verrazzano. Losing 15 to 30 seconds there is normal, so don't try to win them back on the downhill.
- Cruise through Brooklyn. The crowds will push you to speed up. Stay on goal pace and no faster.
- Run the bridges by effort. On the Queensboro, ignore your watch: GPS often goes haywire on the lower deck.
- Stay patient on First Avenue. The noise and the slight downhill feel great, but the race really starts at mile 20.
- Save something for Fifth Avenue. If you hit mile 22 with something left, you'll pass hundreds of runners in Central Park.
On this course, the second half usually runs a bit slower than the first. Aim to reach halfway at no faster than half your goal time.
| Goal | Average pace | Halfway split |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 6:52 /mile | 1:30:00 |
| 3:30 | 8:01 /mile | 1:45:00 |
| 4:00 | 9:09 /mile | 2:00:00 |
| 4:30 | 10:18 /mile | 2:15:00 |
You'll find every other goal in our marathon pace chart.
How to get into the 2027 NYC Marathon
The 2027 race is on Sunday, November 7, 2027. As of October 13, 2026, NYRR has not announced any 2027 application dates: every window is listed as "coming soon."
- The drawing. It's the best-known route, and the hardest. For 2026, the application window ran February 4–25, with the drawing on March 4. More than 240,000 people applied, and only about 1% got in. There are three separate pools: NYC metro (within 60 miles of the city), national (the rest of the U.S.) and international. NYRR members who miss out get a second shot in a members-only second-chance drawing.
- 9+1. Run nine qualifying NYRR races and volunteer once in a calendar year to earn guaranteed, paid entry. If you completed 9+1 in 2026, you claim your 2027 entry during a claim period still to be announced. Starting with the 2027 program, which leads to the 2028 race, you also have to be picked in an eligibility drawing: applications ran September 17–29, 2026, and more than 15,000 members were selected on October 1 for a $99 Passholder fee.
- Time qualifiers. The qualifying window runs January 1 to December 31, 2026, using net chip time.
- Charity. Raising money for an Official Charity Partner, NYRR Team for Kids or NYRR Team for Climate gets you guaranteed entry. The 2027 charity partners will be announced in spring 2027.
- Tour operators. This route is only for people who don't live in the U.S. full time. The official 2027 international operators will be announced in early 2027.
| Age on race day | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 18–34 | 2:53:00 | 3:13:00 |
| 40–44 | 2:58:00 | 3:26:00 |
| 50–54 | 3:14:00 | 3:51:00 |
| 60–64 | 3:34:00 | 4:27:00 |
The catch: these standards guarantee entry only when you hit them at an NYRR race, meaning the NYC Half, the Brooklyn Half, the Staten Island Half, the Maybelline Women's Half or the marathon itself. A time from another certified marathon, like Chicago or your local fall race, only puts you in a limited pool, and the fastest runners in each age group get the spots. For 2026, Canadian Running reported that only about the top 10% made it, at least 22:52 under their standard.
Keep reading: our NYC Marathon training plan, the 2026 race page, what to eat before a marathon and our Chicago Marathon 2026 preview.
Chasing New York in 2027, or a spring marathon first? RunRun builds a plan around your fitness and your race date, then checks every workout you log to adjust what comes next. That way you'll reach the Verrazzano ready to race, not just registered.