This Sunday, the New York City Marathon will feature some extra star power — of the gold, silver and bronze variety — with many Olympians racing in the elite field.
Partially because of timing after the Paris Games, the nonprofit New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon, was able to recruit more Olympians, including the men’s silver medalist, Bashir Abdi, and several American Olympians: Conner Mantz, Clayton Young and Dakotah Lindwurm. The men’s gold medalist, Tamirat Tola, and the women’s bronze medalist, Hellen Obiri, will also return to New York to defend their 2023 titles.
Whether you are a runner, a spectator or somebody with no interest in the marathon who is just trying to get around the city, here’s what you need to know about this year’s race.
Weather forecast
The temperatures are expected to drop this weekend back into more fall-like ranges. Sunday is shaping up to be partly cloudy, but dry, with lows right around 50 degrees and highs in the low 60s. Not ideal for a marathon this late in the fall, but better than the temperatures in the high 70s that showed up during the week.
What time does the marathon start?
After the elite men’s race begins, the remaining runners are divided into five waves based on their expected finish times. This prevents runners from getting too jammed up in the race’s early stages.
8 a.m. Professional wheelchair division
8:22 a.m. Handcycle category and select athletes with disabilities
8:35 a.m. Professional women
9:05 a.m. Professional men
9:10 a.m. Wave 1 of the remaining runners
9:45 a.m. Wave 2
10:20 a.m. Wave 3
10:55 a.m. Wave 4
11:30 a.m. Wave 5
What is the marathon route?
The race begins on Staten Island, and then turns north through Brooklyn and Queens. Next, runners head west across the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan, north into the Bronx and back to Manhattan. The finish line is in Central Park, near the West 60s.
Here’s a tour of the course from a runner’s perspective and more information from New York Road Runners.
Where are the best places to watch the New York City Marathon?
Most of the course, except for some bridges, is open to spectators.
If you’re looking for somewhere to watch that’s easy to reach from other parts of the city, you could go to Fourth and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn, near the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center station, which is served by the B, D, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4 and 5 trains.
If you’re looking for a place where your cheers could make a big difference, go to the Bronx. Mile 20, around 135th Street and Alexander Avenue, is a notoriously challenging part of the course where some runners hit the proverbial wall.
And if you like to do your cheering in a crowd, the stretch of First Avenue from 59th to 96th Street in Manhattan, which is lined with bars and restaurants, is always jammed with spectators.
When are runners expected to finish?
9:30 a.m. Professional men’s wheelchair athletes
9:40 a.m. Professional women’s wheelchair athletes
11 a.m. Professional women
11:15 a.m. Professional men
11:55 a.m. on Remaining runners start crossing the finish line
8:30 p.m. on Final runners start crossing the finish line
Which streets are closed?
The upper level of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Staten Island and Brooklyn, will close at 11 p.m. on Saturday and reopen at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The lower level will close at 7 a.m. on Sunday and reopen at 2 p.m. the same day.
Other roads along the route will close starting from 6:45 to 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. Roads will reopen after most runners have passed through, starting at 1:15 p.m. in the early miles through 6:45 p.m. for Central Park South.
There will still be runners out along the route even after roads reopen, but they are supposed to move to the sidewalks.
How can I watch the New York City Marathon on TV?
If you’re watching from home, you can catch the race live on ESPN2 and in Spanish on ESPN3 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. In New York, it will air locally on WABC-TV, Channel 7, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
For the first time this year, ABC will broadcast from the finish line from 3 to 5 p.m. nationally, well after the pro runners finish, to showcase celebrity and regular runners as they complete the race.
How can I stream the New York City Marathon on an app?
The TCS New York City Marathon app added livestreaming in 2022. You can watch all four professional races (men’s and women’s, wheelchair and open divisions) in full, and get a look at runners passing through five locations along the course.
The app also allows you to track runners in real time.
Which celebrities are running the race?
There are always celebrities in the field, and this year is no different. The actors Randall Park and Greg Rikaart are running the race for the first time, while Nev Schulman, the host of “Catfish,” is running his eighth New York marathon and his second as a guide for a visually impaired runner.
Other reality TV stars running include Matt James and Peter Weber of “The Bachelor,” Tayshia Adams, Zac Clark and Joe Amabile of “The Bachelorette” and Vinny Guadagnino of “Jersey Shore.”
The remaining celebrities run the gamut from broadcasters to influencers to musicians. Here’s a list:
Jacob Soboroff
Claire Holt
Tayshia Adams
Haley Kalil
Karen Sarahi Gonzalez
T.J. Holmes
Amy Robach
Casey Neistat
Phoebe Robinson
Carrie St. Louis
Sebastián Yatra
What’s different about this year’s race?
New York Road Runners brought back the post-race party this year, but it is limited to 3,000 people, and they must be 21 or older. The Victory Lap, as the event is called, will last from 7 to 11 p.m. on Sunday at Terminal 5, and tickets are $35 for marathoners, friends and family.
For marathoners who are local, or visiting and sticking around for a few extra days in New York, the organization has also worked with the city and arts organizations to provide deals on some museum entry fees and tickets to “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” on Broadway on Monday.
The organization also added a Team for Climate, allowing runners who donate $3,000 for carbon credits to get entry to the race.
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