Outside Run notes that if the Kenyan wins New York for a third time, she would add another chapter to an already dominant run — last year she dropped a 4:58 final mile to shake off Sharon Lokedi and break a 22-year-old course record.

She will not have it easy: 2024 NYCM champion Sheila Chepkirui is toeing the line again, and Mercy Chelangat, fourth at Boston in April in a 2:20:30 personal best, told Outside Run she feels simply "ready."

On the men's side, reigning champion Benson Kipruto (2:08:09 last year) defends his title against a field Canadian Running Magazine calls one of the most exciting ever, with 14 competitors holding personal bests under 2:06.

Kipruto won the 2025 edition by just three hundredths of a second over Alexander Mutiso in a photo finish — and, per Canadian Running, became the first man to win the Boston, Chicago and New York City marathons.

Fastest on paper is Ethiopia's Deresa Geleta (2:02:38 PB), while Kenya's CyBrian Kotut, third at Boston 2025, arrives with a 2:03:22 best.

The debut Canadian Running Magazine most anticipates is Sweden's Andreas Almgren, who steps up to 42.2 km less than two months after setting a 58:06 European half-marathon record at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen on September 20.

The Swede holds seven national records, four of them European marks, and also won January's Valencia 10K in 26:45. Canada's outlet cautions that the tough NYC course makes a European marathon record (2:03:36, Bashir Abdi) unlikely, but fans expect Almgren to break records somewhere.

Kenya's Patrick Kiprop (59:14 half PB) and the US's Ahmed Muhumed are other track stars making their marathon debuts.

The money is a story in itself. Yahoo Sports lists open division prize money of $100,000 for first, $60,000 for second and $40,000 for third, sliding to $2,000 for tenth.

On top of that, winners collect a further $50,000 bonus for breaking the open division course records — the men's 2:04:58 by Tamirat Tola (2023) and the women's 2:19:51 by Obiri herself. That means Obiri could claim the winner's purse and the bonus in one morning if she beats her own mark.

Yahoo Sports also notes the bridges and elevation of New York generally produce slower times than London, where Sabastian Sawe first broke two hours in a sanctioned race — a wildcard that makes the outcomes less predictable.

The race starts in Staten Island and works through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, a dash north to The Bronx, and back south into Central Park. Per Outside Run, the men's professional wheelchair division opens at 8:00 a.m.

EST, the elite women go at 8:35 a.m. and the pro men at 9:05 a.m., with waves one through five following from 9:10 to 11:30 a.m. — note that Daylight Saving Time ends the night before.

ESPN2 carries national US coverage from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m., ABC7/WABC-TV serves the New York metro from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and the NYRR app offers live tracking and leaderboards.

Race week is also a footwear takeover, per WWD's Footwear News.

Brooks runs its four-day Hyperion House at 188 Lafayette St. with shoe customization and DJ sets; New Balance, an official race partner, operates Run House at 9 W 8th St. with massages and a recovery fuel bar; Nike hosts a Cafateria 26.2 pasta dinner and free medal engraving; and On offers Lightspray wear-testing with a 5K from The Lot Radio.

Most audacious: Puma's Nitro Lab at Seaport Square gives a free pair of Fast-R Nitro Elite 3 to anyone who runs 1km at 4 minutes per mile or less. American record holder Conner Mantz and Zouhair Talbi (2:03:45 in Boston, a record-ineligible course) also headline the men's chase per Canadian Running.