Race-day guide
How to Track and Watch the 2026 NYC Marathon: Start Times, App, Viewing Spots and the New Bronx Turn
Everything a spectator needs for Sunday, November 1: the NYRR tracking app, every start time, where to stand by subway line, the finish-area rules, TV coverage and the course's first change in 15 years.
The 2026 TCS New York City Marathon starts at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, and the last wave leaves Staten Island at 11:30. NYRR expects more than 60,000 registered runners and, in its own estimate, more than 2 million people on the curb. Most of those people will spend the day trying to see one runner for about four seconds.
This guide is for them.
Track runners in the NYRR app
Tracking runs through the official New York Road Runners app on iPhone and Android. NYRR says it lets you "track runners throughout the marathon, follow their progress along the course, and get updates at key moments," and the same app carries the live pro race, leaderboards and official results.
Download it before Sunday and add your runners on Saturday night. The Google Play listing shows several 2025 reviews describing race-day failures, so screenshot your runner's bib number and wave, and agree on a meeting spot that doesn't depend on the app.
Timing mats sit at the start, at every mile from mile 3, at every 5K, at halfway and at mile 25.2, according to NYRR's course page. That's the data the app's projections are built on. NYRR hasn't announced a text-message tracking option for 2026.
Start times
From NYRR's start page, all Eastern time. NYRR notes that start times can change.
Scroll horizontally for all columns.
| Start | Time |
|---|---|
| Men's pro wheelchair | 8:00 a.m. |
| Women's pro wheelchair | 8:02 a.m. |
| Handcycles and select athletes with disabilities | 8:22 a.m. |
| Pro women | 8:35 a.m. |
| Pro men | 9:05 a.m. |
| Wave 1 | 9:10 a.m. |
| Wave 2 | 9:45 a.m. |
| Wave 3 | 10:20 a.m. |
| Wave 4 | 10:55 a.m. |
| Wave 5 | 11:30 a.m. |
Your runner's wave is printed on their bib. Each wave splits into blue, orange and pink starts, which matters for the first few miles in Brooklyn and not after.
Where to watch
There's no spectator viewing at the start or on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and spectators aren't allowed on any of the course's bridges. From mile 3 to mile 26 most of the course is open. NYRR's watch-the-race page lists viewing areas with the nearest subway lines, and recommends the subway over everything else.
Scroll horizontally for all columns.
| Spot | Miles | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn | 2 to 4 | R train. The first place you can see runners. |
| Fourth and Flatbush | 8 | Busy junction near Atlantic Terminal. |
| Williamsburg and Greenpoint | 10 to 13 | Lively stretch before Queens. |
| Pulaski Bridge, Queens side | 13.1 | Halfway. The bridge itself is closed to spectators. |
| First Avenue | 16 to 18 | N, Q, R, 4, 5, 6 or F. The loudest wall of the day. |
| East Harlem | 18 to 20 | Charity Cheer Zone at First Avenue and 120th Street. |
| Fifth Avenue, East 90th to 105th | 23 to 24 | The long drag toward the park. |
| Columbus Circle | 26 | United Airlines Cheer Zone. |
Two-spot plan for one runner: Fourth Avenue around mile 4, then the subway to First Avenue for miles 16 to 18. Runners on First Avenue have just come off the Queensboro Bridge, where there are no crowds, so a familiar face lands hard there.
To cross the course, use the marked pedestrian crossing zones: Lafayette Avenue at Fulton Street and Bedford Avenue at Broadway in Brooklyn, and First Avenue at 69th, 72nd, 83rd and 86th Streets in Manhattan.
The finish and Family Reunion
The finish line is on West Drive at 67th Street in Central Park. Grandstand seats need a ticket, with entry at West 62nd Street and Broadway, and there's a standing area from Columbus Circle to about 500 feet before the line. "There is no spectator access north of the grandstands in Central Park," NYRR says. Tickets are also sold for an East Side grandstand.
After finishing, runners walk out of the park to Family Reunion on West 69th to West 71st Streets, open 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Meet by last name: West 71st for A to F, West 70th for G to N, West 69th for O to Z. NYRR suggests arriving 20 to 30 minutes after your runner's expected finish, and you'll be screened on Columbus Avenue on the way in.
A few rules worth knowing: no drones, no unofficial speakers, and the course portable toilets are for runners only.
What's new in 2026
The course changes in the Bronx for the first time in 15 years. After the Willis Avenue Bridge, runners now turn onto East 141st Street and Third Avenue before crossing back to Manhattan on the Madison Avenue Bridge.
Water refill stations. For the first time, five Culligan refill stations will be on course, at miles 8, 14, 17, 20 and 23, NYRR announced on October 22.
Fifty years of five boroughs. 1976 was the first year the race left Central Park for all five boroughs. A free exhibit runs in Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall from October 27 to 30.
Watching on TV
NYRR's broadcast listing has WABC-TV Channel 7 in the New York area from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m., ESPN2 nationally over the same hours with Spanish coverage on ESPN3, and a finish-line show on the ABC network from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. 710 WOR radio starts at 7:00 a.m. The ABC7 and ESPN apps need a pay-TV login. The TV listing doesn't carry a year, so check it again on Saturday.
Who's racing up front
NYRR's August field announcement has defending champions Hellen Obiri and Benson Kipruto back, with Sheila Chepkirui, Geoffrey Kamworor and Abdi Nageeye in the open fields. Sifan Hassan and Fiona O'Keeffe were on that list but withdrew on October 14, NBC Sports reported. The American entries include Conner Mantz, Zouhair Talbi, Annie Frisbie, Jess McClain and Weini Kelati, who makes her marathon debut. In the wheelchair races, defending champion Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner both won in Chicago two weeks ago.
Results
Official results go to results.nyrr.org and the app. NYRR says every finisher who crosses the line by 10:00 p.m. gets an official result there. We'll have winners and links on our NYC Marathon results page on Sunday.