How to Watch the 2026 New York City Marathon

On Sunday, November 1, nearly 60,000 runners taking on the New York City Marathon will get the rare privilege of having city traffic stop for them as they cover 26.2 miles through the five boroughs. This year also marks 50 years since the race moved beyond its original Central Park loops in 1976, expanding into the citywide event we know today.There's a lot to keep up with, from the professional races and returning champions to a surprisingly large number of celebrities attempting 26.2 miles. And with coverage stretching from early morning into Sunday night, you don't necessarily have to be standing along First Avenue or waiting near Central Park to catch everyone in action.Here's what you need to know about watching the race, including start times, broadcasts, and how to follow individual runners.Jump to:What Time Does the 2026 NYC Marathon Start?How to Watch the 2026 NYC MarathonHow to Track RunnersWho to Watch at the 2026 NYC MarathonWhat Time Does the 2026 NYC Marathon Start?Things get going at 8 a.m. ET with the men's professional wheelchair division, followed by the women's wheelchair racers at 8:02 a.m. Handcycles and select athletes with disabilities start at 8:22 a.m., before the professional women take off at 8:35 a.m. and the men follow at 9:05 a.m.The rest of the field will leave Staten Island in five waves, beginning at 9:10 a.m. and continuing through 11:30 a.m.How to Watch the 2026 NYC MarathonThe main national broadcast starts at 8 a.m. ET on ESPN2, with coverage running until 11:30 a.m. If you'd rather stream, the ESPN app has the same coverage with an ESPN Unlimited plan, plus an extra hour of prerace programming beginning at 7 a.m. and more action through 1 p.m. There's a Spanish-language feed during the main 8 to 11:30 a.m. window as well.In New York and the surrounding tri-state area, ABC7/WABC-TV is another option. Coverage begins at 7 a.m., ahead of the race broadcast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., which you can also stream on the ABC 7 New York app.For anyone more interested in the finish line than the rest of the course, ABC7NY.com and the ABC 7 New York app have you covered from 10:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. with a dedicated live stream. That should give you plenty of time to catch the professionals and stick around for the thousands of other runners making their way into Central Park.ABC also has a national Live from the TCS New York City Marathon special scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. Later that evening, NYRR is giving the final finishers their own broadcast from 8 to 10 p.m. on ABC7NY.com and its YouTube channel. The celebrations don't have to end just because the fastest runners finished hours earlier.How to Track RunnersPlanning to cheer for someone in Brooklyn and then catch them again in Manhattan? Before hopping on the subway, you'll probably want to check how far along they are, which is where the official New York Road Runners app comes in handy.You can track individual runners throughout the race, check their progress at timing points, and pull up leaderboards and results. The app is available for iOS and Android, and it also has live feeds for each of the four professional races if you want to keep an eye on the elites while you're out cheering.Who to Watch at the 2026 NYC MarathonLast year's champions, Benson Kipruto and Hellen Obiri, are both coming back, and each has a memorable performance to defend. Kipruto won the closest men's finish in NYC Marathon history in 2025, while Obiri ran 2:19:51 to break the women's course record that had stood for 22 years.Conner Mantz and Zouhair Talbi are among the Americans to watch in the men's race. On the women's side, Weini Kelati is making her marathon debut against a field that includes fellow American Jess McClain and 2024 NYC winner Sheila Chepkirui. Seven-time NYC wheelchair champion Marcel Hug is also returning for another shot at the podium.Sweden's Andreas Almgren is another interesting addition, particularly because nobody has seen him race a marathon yet. The world half marathon champion has been running more than 135 miles a week to prepare for New York and told Runner's World that he's feeling confident about the work he's put in. Still, he isn't pretending the jump to 26.2 miles comes with any guarantees."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."And the celebrity lineup covers quite a bit of ground outside professional running. Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly is returning to the course, along with Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski, Tony-winning Broadway star Patina Miller, and former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber. Reality television is particularly well represented, with The Bachelor's Matt James and The Traitors star Dylan Efron among the famous faces heading across the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.Find Your Next Running PlaylistSean Abrams was the Senior Editor, Growth and Engagement at Men’s Health. He’s a former hip hop dancer who likes long walks on the beach and large glasses of tequila. You can find his previous work at Maxim, Elite Daily, and AskMen.