The 2019 New York City Marathon is upon us—specifically, on Sunday, November 3. While 50,000 runners, including a professional field full of compelling storylines, make their way through the five boroughs, the rest of can watch. We’re here to tell you how—and why you should.
The 26.2-mile race begins on Staten Island and ends at Tavern on the Green in Central Park. The pro women lead the way at 9:10 a.m. eastern, following by the elite men at 9:40 a.m. (with the rest of the first wave of runners). Three more waves follow at 10:10 a.m., 10:35 a.m., and 11 a.m.
(PSA: Most of the U.S. turns its clocks back one hour on Saturday night.)
On the women’s pro side, Mary Keitany (2:17:01) of Kenya is going for her fifth New York City Marathon win, but she’ll likely have a few competitors who will make it difficult. Joyciline Jepkosgei, also of Kenya, is the half marathon world record holder (64:51)—she hasn’t finished a marathon yet, but as the reigning NYC Half champion, she knows New York. Worknesh Degefa, the 2019 Boston Marathon winner, is also scheduled to race.
American women to watch include Desiree Linden, the 2018 Boston Marathon champion, and Kellyn Taylor, who has a personal best of 2:24:29. Sara Hall, who just set a big PR of 2:22:16 at the Berlin Marathon five weeks ago, will also compete on Sunday. Aliphine Tuliamuk (2:26:50), a nine-time national champion who trains with Taylor on the Northern Arizona Elite team, began preparing in September after recovering from a femoral stress fracture.
On the men’s side, look out for defending champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia—he won the world championships marathon in Doha just a month ago, but seems unfazed by the quick turnaround. Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won New York in 2017 and recently set the half marathon world record (58:01). Tamirat Tola (2:04:06) and Shura Kitata (2:04:49) are also safe bets to threaten for the win.
Jared Ward is the top American man to line up in a field—he placed sixth at the 2016 Olympics and was sixth in New York last year with a personal best of 2:09:25.
If you’re not out on the course, here’s how to watch:
New York region: Pre-race coverage begins at 7 a.m. on WABC-TV Channel 7 and the race broadcast is from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Live streaming will be available from 7 a.m.¬–2 p.m. on the ABC App and ABC7NY.com.
National: Pre-race and continuing coverage will be streamed live from 7–9 a.m. and noon–2 p.m. on ESPN3. Live race coverage begins at 9 a.m. on ESPN2 and via the ESPN App. A view of the finish line will also stream on ESPN3 from 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Track a runner: Check the New York City Marathon website for instructions to download the runner tracking app.
At Women’s Running and Podium Runner: We’ll offer live updates and commentary on Twitter throughout the professional races. Follow us @womensrunning and @podiumrunner. We will also have in-depth coverage and race recaps on our websites all weekend long—get the latest news here.