New York City Marathon start times, prize money and how to watch on TV - The Independent

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The New York City Marathon 2026 is here and the final World Marathon Major of the year offers a fascinating battle across the iconic five boroughts.

Unlike London, where Sabastian Sawe became the first man to break the two-hour barrier in a sanctioned race, New York City offers generally slower times with the challenge of greater elevation from the bridges.

This wildcard could offer up a more unpredictable outcome, with reigning men’s champion Benson Kipruto (2:08:09) and women’s champion Hellen Obiri, off the back of a course record in 2:19:51, returning to defend their titles.

There is British interest in the shape of Patrick Dever, who secured a brilliant third to climb onto the podium last year, and Puma teammate Jack Rowe, fresh from a breakthrough at London Marathon this year (2:07:47) will also hope to box off the Olympic standard on the road to LA28.

Starting this weekend, times and points for the world rankings will form part of the equation for the Olympics, with next year’s London Marathon a qualifying race for the Brits, meaning a qualifying standard in New York City offers the potential to automatically book a place on Team GB by winning next year’s race in the capital. Here’s everything you need to know about the race this weekend:

The New York City Marathon 2026 is on Sunday 1 November with the 26.2-mile route starts in Staten Island and works its way up to Brooklyn, Queens and then over to Manhatten, with a dash north to The Bronx before heading back south and entering Central Park.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch on TV or find a live stream with HBO Max and TNT Sports from 1:30 p.m. to 16:30 p.m. GMT.

While US viewers can tune in from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2.

1:00 p.m. Men's Professional Wheelchair Division

1:02 p.m. Women's Professional Wheelchair Division

1:22 p.m. Handcycles and Select Athletes with Disabilities

1:35 p.m. Professional Women's Open Division

2:05 p.m. Professional Men's Open Division

Winners will get a further $50,000 bonus if they break the course record in the open division.