NYC Marathon 2026: Start Times, How to Watch and Route as Obiri and Kipruto Defend Titles on Historic Course

NEW YORK — Tens of thousands of runners are taking to the streets of New York on Sunday for the 55th TCS New York City Marathon, a race that marks 50 years since the event first wound through all five boroughs.

Defending champions Hellen Obiri and Benson Kipruto headline the professional fields, facing former winners, top American contenders and a pair of closely watched marathon debutants.

Start times

The race began at 8 a.m. Eastern time with the professional men's wheelchair division, followed by the professional women's wheelchair race at 8:02 a.m. and handcycles and select athletes with disabilities at 8:22 a.m.

The professional women start at 8:35 a.m., and the professional men go at 9:05 a.m.

Mass-participation runners leave Staten Island in five waves, at 9:10, 9:45, 10:20 and 10:55 a.m., with the final wave at 11:30 a.m.

How to watch

Nationally, ESPN2 and the ESPN App carry live coverage from 8 to 11:30 a.m. ET.

In the New York area, WABC-TV Channel 7 has pre-race coverage starting at 7 a.m., with the race live from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. ABC will also air a national finish-line show from 3 to 5 p.m. ET.

A Spanish-language broadcast is available via ESPN, and ESPN Deportes will replay the race Monday at 8 a.m.

Fans following friends and family can track runners through the official race app.

The route

The 26.2-mile course starts on Staten Island, where runners climb the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn. The route then winds through Queens before crossing the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan and heading up First Avenue.

Runners briefly enter the Bronx before returning to Manhattan for the final stretch down Fifth Avenue and into Central Park, where the race finishes.

This year's race celebrates a milestone: 50 years since New York adopted the five-borough course in 1976, transforming what began as laps around Central Park into one of the world's most famous road races.

The marathon is one of the world's largest. Last year, 59,226 runners completed the race.

Women's race: Obiri chases history

Obiri enters as the clear favorite. The Kenyan star won last year in 2:19:51, breaking Margaret Okayo's course record from 2003. She also won in 2023, and a victory Sunday would make her just the fourth woman to win three New York titles.

Her biggest challenger is fellow Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui, who won in 2024 and finished third last year.

The field lost some star power in the weeks before the race. Olympic champion Sifan Hassan withdrew on Oct. 14, and American Fiona O'Keeffe, who set the fastest-ever time by an American woman in New York last year, also pulled out.

Other contenders include Viola Cheptoo, who has a personal best of 2:19:05, and two-time world champion Edna Kiplagat, the 2010 New York winner. Mercy Chelangat, who placed fourth in Boston this spring, is another runner capable of joining the lead pack.

American hopes rest largely on Jess McClain, who finished fifth in Boston this spring in a personal-best 2:20:49, and Weini Kelati, who is making her marathon debut. Annie Frisbie, fifth in New York last year, adds depth.

No American woman has reached the podium in New York since 2018.

Men's race: A wide-open contest

The men's race appears more unpredictable, with no runners in the field who have broken 2 hours, 2 minutes.

Kipruto returns as defending champion after winning last year in 2:08:09 in what was the closest finish in the race's history. The Kenyan owns the field's fastest personal best of 2:02:16 and finished third in Boston in April in 2:02:50.

He faces two former New York champions: Kenya's Geoffrey Kamworor, a two-time winner seeking a historic third title, and Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, an Olympic medalist.

Ethiopia's Deresa Geleta, with a personal best of 2:02:38, and Kenya's Cybrian Kotut, at 2:03:22, are also among the fastest in the field.

The most intriguing entrant may be Sweden's Andreas Almgren, who is making his marathon debut. The 31-year-old former 800-meter runner won this year's World Road Running Championships half marathon in a European-record 58:06. American Zouhair Talbi called him the field's "biggest wildcard."

No former 800-meter specialist of Almgren's caliber has ever won a World Marathon Major, but he enters as a betting favorite.

The U.S. contingent is led by Conner Mantz and Talbi, who ran 2:03:45 to finish fifth in Boston this spring. Joel Reichow, the top American in New York last year in sixth place, also returns.

Wheelchair races

The professional wheelchair races feature some of the sport's greatest athletes.

Switzerland's Marcel Hug, who holds the course record of 1:22:52, won last year's men's race. He faces two-time New York champion Daniel Romanchuk of the United States.

In the women's wheelchair race, American Susannah Scaroni returns as defending champion after winning last year in 1:42:10. Switzerland's Catherine Debrunner is among her top challengers.

What to know if you're watching in person

Spectators line much of the route, with popular viewing spots along First Avenue in Manhattan, Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn and the final stretch near Central Park.

Because many roads and bridges close for the race, organizers recommend using public transportation. Fans hoping to see a specific runner can use the official app to estimate when they will pass a given point on the course.

Sunday also marked the end of daylight saving time in most of the United States, giving runners an extra hour of sleep before the early-morning start.

What's at stake

The race is the final stop on the World Marathon Majors calendar for 2026, giving elite athletes one last chance to post a major victory this year.

For Obiri, a win would cement her place among New York's greatest champions. For Kipruto, a repeat title would make him a back-to-back winner in one of the sport's most demanding races, while a breakthrough by Almgren or an American podium finish would deliver one of the biggest stories in the event's 50-year five-borough history.

Results are expected in the late morning, with the professional women likely finishing around 11 a.m. and the professional men shortly after.