The 2026 New York City Marathon Was the Largest Marathon in History

One of the world's biggest marathons keeps getting bigger. On Sunday, November 1, the 2026 New York City Marathon officially cemented its place in the history books as the largest marathon of all time, surpassing the 2026 London Marathon, which had 59,830 finishers.According to results released Monday by New York Road Runners (NYRR), 61,146 runners crossed the iconic finish line in Central Park (61,529 started the event). That total blasts past last year’s NYC tally of 59,226 finishers—which followed 2024’s record-breaking field of 55,646—marking the third consecutive year the five-borough race has raised the bar worldwide for mass participation.This year’s record served as a nice topper for a historic run as it coincided with the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course. When organizers first took the race out of Central Park and onto the streets of Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan in 1976, the event was a bold urban experiment. Five decades later, it is an epicenter of the global running community, with waves of marathoners streaming from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge from 8 a.m. until well after dark.While tens of thousands of age-groupers, charity runners, and first-timers chased personal glory, the pro fields delivered plenty of fireworks at the front of the pack:A Historic Men’s Debut: Sweden’s Andreas Almgren broke the tape in 2:06:01 in his marathon debut, becoming the first Swedish runner to win any division in NYC Marathon history and the first man since Gebre Gebremariam in 2010 to win the open title in his 26.2-mile debut.​Chepkirui Reclaims the Crown: Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui captured her second NYC title in three years, clocking 2:24:36 to hold off a thrilling late charge.American Breakthroughs: Jess McClain threw down a gutsy final kick to take second in 2:24:42—just one second ahead of defending champion and course-record holder Hellen Obiri—becoming the first American woman to make the NYC open podium since Shalane Flanagan in 2018. On the men’s side, four Americans—led by sixth-place finisher Zouhair Talbi (2:06:43)—recorded the four fastest times ever run by U.S. men on the New York course.Swiss Wheelchair Dominance: Marcel Hug extended his own event record with an eighth men’s wheelchair victory (1:28:14), edging American Daniel Romanchuk by a single second, while Catherine Debrunner cruised to her second women’s title in 1:40:02.There were plenty of other milestones as well.The event surpassed its charity fundraising goal of $100 million.Runners from 153 countries participated.The oldest runner to complete the event was American Danil Farkash, 90, in 11:24:18.The youngest was Lucy Weld, who completed the course in 4:12:06 on her 18th birthday.Find Your Next Running PlaylistKevin is the Senior Managing Editor for Online at Men's Health. He joined the company in 2007.