Below are some interesting numbers and records for the New York City Marathon, which will take place this year on Sunday, November 2, 2025.

The average time for New York City Marathon runners is 4:39:47

History

• In 1970, the first New York City Marathon took place, featuring 127 participants and 55 finishers, with an entry fee of $1.
• In 1976, the first five-borough marathon.
• Grete Waitz’s 9 victories in the New York Marathon (1978-1980, 1982-1986, 1988) in the women’s category.
• 6 wins for Marcel Hug (2013, 2016-2017, 2021-2023) in the men’s wheelchair division.
• 5 wins for Edith Wolf Hunkeler (2004-2005, 2007-2009) and Tatyana McFadden (2010, 2013-2016) in the women’s wheelchair division.
• 4 wins for Bill Rodgers (1976-1979) in the men’s open division.
• In 2009, the year of the most recent victory by an American in the men’s open division (Meb Keflezighi).
• In 2017, the year of the most recent victory by an American in the women’s open division ( Shalane Flanagan ).
• In 2019, the year of the most recent victory by an American in the men’s wheelchair division (Daniel Romanchuk).
• In 2022, the year of the most recent victory by an American in the women’s wheelchair division (Susannah Scaroni).
• The year 2000 was the first official wheelchair race.
• 1,445,304 participants have crossed the finish line to date.
• 1,407,315 participants have completed to date.

Records

2:04:58 Men’s Open Record (Tamirat Tola, 2023).
2:22:31 Women’s Open Record (Margaret Okayo, 2003). Learn more about Margaret Okayo.
1:25:26 Men’s Wheelchair Record (Marcel Hug, 2022).
1:39:32 Women’s Wheelchair Record (Catherine Debrunner, 2023).
53,639 finishers in 2019, the highest number ever at the TCS New York City Marathon.

Behind the scenes

10,000 volunteers during race week.
7,000 volunteers on race day.

Expo

• More than 88 exhibitors at the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon Expo Presented by New Balance.
• 142,010 visitors at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon Expo presented by New Balance.
• Over 300,000 square feet of space.
• More than 2,100 volunteers.

All about the New York Marathon Expo

At the exit

• More than 25,000 runners were transported to the starting point on the Staten Island Ferry.
• 550 buses transported the runners to the starting point in Staten Island.
• 4 start areas for runners. During the marathon, there are generally three start villages: blue, orange, and green, each with its own access, facilities, and services. Each village is organized to facilitate pre-start waiting, offering restrooms, hydration stations, and rest areas. It is assigned to different groups of runners based on their estimated race time and start wave.
• 5 exits per wave.
• 1000 volunteers.
• 1,700 portable restrooms, including 85 ADA wheelchair accessible.
• + 80,000 8 oz. water bottles.
• 50,000 servings of coffee.
• 6,000 servings of hot tea/hot chocolate.
• 300 gallons of Gatorade Endurance Formula.
• 43,000 bagels.
• More than 20 therapy dogs from New York Pet Therapy were at the starting village to support the runners.
• 2 Howitzer cannons to start each wave.
• Eight UPS trucks are transporting clothing donated by participants from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
• 11 times the number of times Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” is played on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

Route

• The total amount of water is 70,416 gallons, which is equivalent to 266,000 liters.
• 1.6 million compostable cups, made from plant-based resources.
• 90,000 Science in Sport (SiS) energy gels at kilometers 12 and 18.
• 5,000 volunteers.
• 28 ChronoTrack timing systems: start and finish, bus and shuttle loading before the start, entrances to the start, park exits after the finish, all 5km markings along the course, as well as the 13.1m, 20m, 25.2m, and 26m markers.
• 75 officials and timekeeping staff.
• 25 official watches.
• 465 portable restrooms at over 40 points along the route (including every mile); ALL points offer wheelchair-accessible ADA restrooms, with 29 wheelchair-accessible ADA restrooms along the route and 22 at the finish line.

Know the New York Marathon course and altimetry

Arrival

• 1,600 volunteers. 
• More than 50,000 finisher medals.
• More than 50,000 ponchos arrived.
• More than 50,000 TCS bags for the recovery of NYC Marathon runners, presented by the Hospital for Special Surgery, featuring Gatorade products, a McIntosh apple from New York State, Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels, and a Maurten Solid 160.

Branding and entertainment

• Two fully wrapped TCS New York City Marathon double-decker buses.
• 1,000 ads in the subway.
• More than 200 artists along the route.
• 202 TCS New York City Marathon posters on lampposts across all five boroughs.
• 16 hours of continuous music from start to finish.
• More than 10 entertainment and animation areas.
• More than 2,000 participants in the opening ceremony parade of the TCS New York City Marathon presented by United Airlines.
• More than 100 countries are represented in the Parade of Nations during the TCS New York City Marathon.
• The opening ceremony was presented by United Airlines.

Prizes and rewards

• $890,000 in total guaranteed prizes, plus time-based bonuses.
• $100,000 each for the winners of the men’s and women’s open divisions.
• $35,000 each for the winners of the men’s and women’s wheelchair divisions.
• $25,000 each for the top U.S. runners in the men’s and women’s open divisions.
• $5,000 each for male, female, and non-binary NYRR member winners.

Charities

• 599 official charity members.
• $61.3 million raised by charity runners at the last TCS New York City Marathon (2023).
• $520 million raised since the Official Charity Partners program was created in 2006.
• Since its inception in 2002, the NYRR Team for Kids has raised over $110 million.

Recycling efforts

• 240,780 pounds, or 108 tons, of recycled material at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon.
• 62,000 pounds or 28 tons of composted material at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon.
• 17,500 pounds or 7 tons of unused food donated to City Harvest for the 2023 TCS NYC Marathon to help feed the nearly 1.3 million New Yorkers who go hungry each year.
• 86,400 pounds or 39 tons of clothing were collected and donated to All of Us Clothing at the 2023 TCS NYC Marathon.

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