For the 2026 New York City Marathon, the finish line isn’t the whole story: the race will unfold across an entire Sunday, with elite contests in the morning and thousands of runners still arriving hours later. If you’re planning to watch, the practical details matter as much as the names at the front.
On Sunday, November 1, nearly 60,000 runners will cover 26.2 miles through all five boroughs while city traffic gives way to the race. It’s also the 50th anniversary of the marathon’s move beyond its original loops in Central Park. In 1976, that change turned a park race into the citywide event it is now. The New York City Marathon has had half a century to become a New York institution; this year’s edition is a chance to see how the race’s past and present meet on the same course. One of the race’s surviving trailblazers looks back at the change.
The field includes returning champions, professional contenders, wheelchair racers and a sizeable celebrity contingent. Coverage runs from early morning into the evening, so you can follow along without finding a spot beside First Avenue or near Central Park. Here’s when to tune in, where to watch and how to keep tabs on a particular runner.
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What Time Does the 2026 NYC Marathon Start?
The first start is at 8 a.m. ET, when the men’s professional wheelchair division sets off. The women’s wheelchair race follows at 8:02 a.m.; handcycles and select athletes with disabilities start at 8:22 a.m. The professional women begin at 8:35 a.m., with the professional men starting at 9:05 a.m.
For the rest of the runners, the Staten Island start is spread across five waves. They begin at 9:10 a.m. and continue through 11:30 a.m. That staggered schedule means “marathon start time” depends on which race you’re following.
How to Watch the 2026 NYC Marathon
The national broadcast begins at 8 a.m. ET on ESPN2 and runs until 11:30 a.m.; the race’s broadcast information lists the full schedule. The ESPN app carries the same coverage with an ESPN Unlimited plan, plus prerace programming from 7 a.m. and additional coverage through 1 p.m. A Spanish-language feed is available during the main 8-to-11:30 a.m. broadcast. Stream the race on the ESPN app.
Viewers in New York and the surrounding tri-state area can also watch ABC7/WABC-TV. Its coverage starts at 7 a.m., followed by the race broadcast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The station also streams through the ABC 7 New York app.
If the finish is what you care about, ABC7NY.com and the ABC 7 New York app have a dedicated live stream from 10:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. at ABC7NY.com. That window gives you time to see the professionals finish and stay with the thousands of runners who will continue into Central Park.
There’s more on the schedule after the main race coverage. ABC’s national special, Live from the TCS New York City Marathon, airs from 3 to 5 p.m. Then, from 8 to 10 p.m., NYRR will show the final finishers on ABC7NY.com and its YouTube channel in a broadcast devoted to their race. The late finishers get their own moment on air, long after the winners have crossed the line.
How to Track Runners
If you’re trying to cheer for someone in Brooklyn and catch them again in Manhattan, check their progress before planning the trip between viewing spots. The official New York Road Runners app lets you follow individual runners and see their times at course checkpoints.
The app is available for iOS and Android. It also provides leaderboards, race results and live feeds for all four professional races—useful if you want to keep up with the leaders while you’re out on the course.
Who to Watch at the 2026 NYC Marathon
Both 2025 champions are back: Benson Kipruto and Hellen Obiri. Kipruto won the closest men’s finish in the race’s history. Obiri ran 2:19:51 to set a women’s course record that had stood for 22 years. They’re both defending performances that made last year’s race memorable.
American Conner Mantz and Zouhair Talbi are among the men to watch. In the women’s field, Weini Kelati is making her marathon debut against fellow American Jess McClain and Sheila Chepkirui, the 2024 New York winner. Wheelchair racing has a familiar contender in Marcel Hug, who returns as a seven-time NYC champion.
Sweden’s Andreas Almgren brings a different kind of uncertainty. The world half marathon champion has never raced a marathon, despite training at more than 135 miles a week for New York. He told Runner’s World he feels confident in his preparation, but the distance makes any prediction tentative. “The marathon is a different beast,” Almgren said. “You don’t really know until you’re reaching that 35K mark if you’re going to make it or not.”
The celebrity field ranges well beyond running. Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly is returning, alongside Queer Eye’s Antoni Porowski, Tony-winning Broadway star Patina Miller and former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber. Reality television has a strong showing too: The Bachelor alum Matt James and The Traitors star Dylan Efron are among the runners crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
Find a playlist that keeps you moving
These three picks offer different routes into a running soundtrack: Harry Styles’ fan-facing playlist, Rachel Entrekin’s trail-ready selection, and Jess McClain’s track tied to TrackTown 2024. The playlists are personal, which is the point. A song that helps one runner settle into a long effort may give another the push to sprint.
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Start ListeningSean Abrams was the Senior Editor, Growth and Engagement at Men’s Health. A former hip hop dancer, he enjoys long walks on the beach and large glasses of tequila. His previous work appeared in Maxim, Elite Daily, and AskMen.
