The 53rd edition of the annual New York City Marathon will take place on Sunday 3 November 2024 offering the world’s top runners the chance to set records at the sixth and last of the World Marathon Majors of the calendar year.
The World Marathon Majors series begins with the Tokyo Marathon in February followed by Boston and London in April before a summer break and the second triumvirate of races in Berlin in September, Chicago in October, and finally the New York Marathon on the first Sunday of November.
Taking place this weekend, the final major marathon of the year will see 2023 New York Marathon winners Tamirat Tola and Hellen Obiri looking to defend their titles at the notoriously difficult race through the five boroughs of New York City.
The New York Marathon is considered the largest marathon in the world having been the first marathon to break the 50,000-finisher mark in 2013 though both the Chicago Marathon and the London Marathon are close on its heels after record-breaking attendances this year.
The 2024 New York Marathon will bring to an end a historic year for marathons. While Berlin celebrated its 50th edition, the London Marathon had 578,374 people apply to take part, the most entries for a marathon event ever, which has since been broken by the 840,318 figure that applied for the 2025 edition. It then broke a world record on the day of the marathon in April by becoming the biggest one-day fundraising event raising more than £67 million ($86.6 million / €80 million). Last month, the Chicago Marathon, which recently received the World Athletics Heritage Award, then witnessed Ruth Chepngetich’s astounding performance shattering the women’s world record by nearly 2 minutes.
On Sunday, Tola and Obiri will bid to become the first repeat winners in New York in nearly a decade. For Obiri, it is her second Marathon title defence after winning her second consecutive Boston Marathon this year. The 34-year-old Kenyan became the first woman in more than three decades to win both the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon in the same year in 2023 and would be the first woman to win the New York Marathon back-to-back since fellow Kenyan Mary Keitany won it in 2014, 2015 and 2016. “Winning back-to-back is what I’m looking forward to,” said Obiri.
Compatriots Sheila Chepkirui, who has the fastest qualifying time, Vivian Cheruiyot, 2022 winner Sharon Lokedi and 44-year-old 2010 winner Edna Kiplagat are some of her biggest rivals for first place along with Ethiopians Tirunesh Dibaba, Senbere Teferi, and Dera Dida. Standout American runners, meanwhile, are Dakotah Popehn and Jenny Simpson.
33-year-old Ethiopian Tola, on the other hand, set a course record last year and could become the first repeat male champion since Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai won in 2011 and 2013 with the 2012 edition voided due to Superstorm Sandy.
“It was not easy to win New York; I know every athlete who is coming here is confident. I also compete to win, so I know I’m up for the task,” said Tola.
Tola could also become the second runner ever to win both Olympic gold and the New York Marathon in the same year joining Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir who won the the women’s marathon at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021 along with the 2021 New York Marathon. Tola won the men’s marathon gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games while shattering the Olympic record and has compared the run to New York because of its amount of hills.
He comes up against numerous marathon champions including 2022 winner Evans Chebet, 2021 winner Albert Korir and Geoffrey Kamworor who won it in 2017 and 2019.
Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay, who has the fastest Marathon time for a person born outside of Kenya or Ethiopia, and the marathon silver-medalist in Paris this summer, Bashir Abdi of Belgium, are another two competitors in the top five highest qualifying times. Eighth and ninth-place finishers in Paris, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, are the top American men.
