The Big Apple welcomes runners of all ethnicities, cultures, backgrounds and races—no pun intended—to the streets of New York City for this year’s edition of the largest marathon in the world on Sunday.
First organized by New York Road Runners in September 1970, the inaugural New York City Marathon kicked off in Central Park for the hefty sum of $1 per runner on a budget of a grand. They would make $127 from race entrants, of which only 55 would finish at the Tavern-on-the-Green Restaurant near the starting line—a Manhattan landmark that hosted a pre-race pasta party for 10,000 guests, including free entry for registrants, in 2005.
Now, with the five-borough dash back at full capacity after the pandemic dampened its spirits, Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri are respective favorites in the Men’s and Women’s Professional Open Division heats. Both are looking to repeat 2023 wins, in which Tola’s time of just under two hours and five minutes set a course record and Hellen Obiri beat runner-up and fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi by four minutes.
The Sporting News is tracking the results of all four divisions, with the top five finishers in each.
MORE: Watch the New York Marathon live with Fubo (free trial)
