The 50th five-borough TCS New York City Marathon was decided late, in both races. Andreas Almgren of Sweden won the men’s race in 2:06:01 in his first marathon, breaking away from a group of ten that was still together at 35 km. Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya won the women’s race in 2:24:36, pulling away from defending champion Hellen Obiri in the last two kilometres, while Jess McClain ran past Obiri in the final 200 metres to become the first American woman on the New York podium since 2018.
Results at a glance
Women
| Runner | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheila Chepkirui (KEN) | 2:24:36 |
| 2 | Jess McClain (USA) | 2:24:42 |
| 3 | Hellen Obiri (KEN) | 2:24:43 |
| 4 | Edna Kiplagat (KEN) | 2:25:42 |
| 5 | Mercy Chelangat (KEN) | 2:25:46 |
Men
| Runner | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andreas Almgren (SWE) | 2:06:01 |
| 2 | Yemaneberhan Crippa (ITA) | 2:06:14 |
| 3 | Kamohelo Mofolo (LES) | 2:06:26 |
| 4 | Benson Kipruto (KEN) | 2:06:27 |
| 5 | Haftu Strintzos (AUS) | 2:06:34 |
Wheelchair: Marcel Hug (SUI) won his eighth New York title in 1:28:14, one second ahead of Daniel Romanchuk (USA). Catherine Debrunner (SUI) won the women’s race in 1:40:02, more than eight minutes clear.
Nearly 60,000 runners were expected on the course, a year after a record 59,219 finishers. It was a good morning for it: around 13 °C, broken cloud and a light south-westerly. The clocks had gone back overnight, so everyone got an extra hour of sleep before the ferry.
Women’s race: 40 km together, then 200 metres
The professional women started at 8:35 and nobody wanted to lead. Carrie Ellwood of the US took the field through 5 km in 18:23, the second 5 km was a minute quicker, and through Brooklyn nothing happened. At halfway McClain led a line of four Americans in 1:13:52 with ten women inside a second of each other.
| Point | Leader | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10 km | Viola Cheptoo | 35:45 |
| Halfway | Jess McClain | 1:13:52 |
| 30 km | eight together | 1:44:02 |
| 35 km | Hellen Obiri | 2:01:15 |
| 40 km | Chepkirui and Obiri | 2:17:39 |
| Finish | Sheila Chepkirui | 2:24:36 |
The group came apart between 25 and 30 km, when a 16:36 five-kilometre segment left eight runners, four Kenyans and four Americans. At 35 km there were six. A year ago Obiri, Chepkirui and Sharon Lokedi had been together at the same point and Obiri didn’t get away until the final mile. This time it was Chepkirui who moved. She ran 35 to 40 km in 16:24, about 5:17 per mile and the fastest 5 km of the race, and only Obiri could follow.
The last 2.2 km told the story: Chepkirui 6:57, McClain 6:59, Obiri 7:04. Chepkirui won by six seconds, her second New York title in three years and a second slower than her 2024 win. McClain, 34, with a 2:20:49 from Boston in April, caught Obiri on the short rise before the line and took second by four tenths of a second. The last American woman on the New York podium was Shalane Flanagan, third in 2018.
Edna Kiplagat, 46, who won here in 2010, was fourth. Obiri’s course record of 2:19:51 from 2025 was never under threat.
Men’s race: ten men at 35 km, one at the finish
New York has run its professional races without pacemakers since 2007, and Almgren said he picked it for that reason. The first 5 km took 15:30, a pace for something outside 2:10. Zouhair Talbi of the US led at 10 km, Conner Mantz at 15 km, and Talbi again at halfway in 1:04:01, with the next nine men, Almgren among them, within four seconds.
| Point | Leader | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Halfway | Zouhair Talbi | 1:04:01 |
| 25 km | Zouhair Talbi | 1:15:41 |
| 30 km | Geoffrey Kamworor | 1:30:26 |
| 35 km | Conner Mantz | 1:45:33 |
| Finish | Andreas Almgren | 2:06:01 |
The 5 km segments from 20 to 30 km were both under 14:50, the fastest of the race to that point, and still nobody dropped. At 35 km the first ten men were separated by less than a second, Almgren fifth.
Then he went. Through Harlem, up Fifth Avenue and into the park, Almgren covered the last 7.2 km in 20:27, about 2:50 per kilometre. Crippa, who won Paris in April, needed 20:40 for the same stretch and finished 13 seconds back. Almgren’s second half was 1:01:57, more than two minutes quicker than his first.
It’s the fastest winning time in New York since Tamirat Tola’s course record of 2:04:58 in 2023, and four seconds outside the Swedish record. Six weeks earlier Almgren had won the world half marathon title in Copenhagen in a European record of 58:06. He is a former 1:45 800 m runner, and this was his first race over the distance.
Behind him, Kamohelo Mofolo of Lesotho took third on his 21st birthday, more than two minutes under his previous best, and held off defending champion Benson Kipruto by just over half a second. Kipruto’s 2:06:27 was almost two minutes faster than his winning time last year. Talbi was the first American, sixth in 2:06:43.
What the rest of us can take from it
- New York is decided after 35 km. Both races were a group until the 35 km mat, and both were won in the last 7 km. Almgren was fifth at 35 km and won by 13 seconds; Obiri led at 35 km and finished third. If your plan for the Fifth Avenue climb is “hang on”, you need a better plan. Our NYC pacing guide has split tables that already include the hills.
- The winners ran the second half faster. Almgren split 1:04:04 and 1:01:57; the women went through halfway in 1:13:52 and finished in 2:24:36, a 1:10:44 second half. For the professionals that’s a tactic. For the rest of us it’s a reminder that the first half of New York, with Brooklyn screaming, is where races are lost.
- The fastest 5 km came at the end. Chepkirui’s 16:24 from 35 to 40 km was the quickest segment of her race. That’s what a controlled first 30 km buys you.
- A six-second margin is a sprint. The women’s podium was separated by seven seconds after 42 km. Being able to change pace in the last kilometre is a skill you build in interval sessions, not on long runs.
If you ran today
Congratulations. A few things for the coming days:
- Get your race into iRunning. Import the run from Apple Health, or as a GPX or FIT file from your watch, and look at your mile splits: where did the pace start to slip, on the Queensboro or on First Avenue? Our guide to sharing your marathon finish shows how, and how to turn the route into a video with Share › Video.
- Take the next two weeks easy. Walk first, run easy later. We go through it day by day in After the Marathon: Your First Two Weeks.
- Didn’t get in this year? The 2027 drawing is expected to open in February. Here’s how to get into the NYC Marathon in 2027.
Results and splits are from live race coverage on 1 November 2026 and may still change. The official results are at nyrr.org.
