New York City Marathon 2026: More Than 60,000 Runners, a First Course Change in 15 Years, and Defending Champions Back — Start Times and How to Watch
The TCS New York City Marathon runs Sunday through all five boroughs, 50 years after the five-borough course was first run: more than 60,000 runners from 140 countries are expected, defending champions Benson Kipruto and Hellen Obiri lead the elite fields, and the wheelchair fields roll first at 7 a.m. Central on ESPN2.
The biggest marathon in the world runs Sunday morning. The 2026 TCS New York City Marathon sends its fields from Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island across the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and through all five boroughs to the finish in Central Park, in the 50th anniversary year of the five-borough course, according to USA Today's race-day guide and the Bleacher Report course preview, read this cycle. More than 60,000 runners from 140 countries are expected — a year after a record 59,226 crossed the finish line — and the course itself carries a change for the first time in 15 years, a reroute in the Bronx after the Willis Avenue Bridge that organizers published ahead of race day.
The elite fields are a champions' reunion: all four of last year's professional winners return to defend their titles, per USA Today, with defending open champions Benson Kipruto and Hellen Obiri leading the start lists, per the race previews read this cycle. The schedule, in Central time: the professional wheelchair fields start at 7:00 and 7:02 a.m., handcycles and select athletes with disabilities at 7:22, the elite women at 7:35, the elite men at 8:05, and the five mass-participation waves follow from 8:10 to 10:30 a.m. Organizers record official finishers through 9 p.m. Central.
For San Antonio viewers, the national broadcast runs on ESPN2 from 7:00 to 10:30 a.m. Central, streaming on ESPN Unlimited, and the official NYRR app carries live runner tracking, leaderboards and finish alerts for anyone following a friend or family member in the field. The Sports Desk files the winners when the elite races finish later this morning.
