New York Road Runners has announced the professional fields for the TCS New York City Marathon on 1 November, and both defending champions are back. Hellen Obiri returns after breaking a 22-year-old course record with her 2:19:51 victory last autumn, while Benson Kipruto will attempt something no man has managed since John Kagwe in 1998: a successful defence of the New York title. The race doubles as a celebration, marking 50 years since the marathon moved to its five-borough course and 50 years since the introduction of a professional field.
The women's race is arguably the deepest New York has assembled. Obiri, who ran a personal best of 2:15:53 in her runner-up finish at April's London Marathon, is chasing a third title that would put her alongside Grete Waitz, Mary Keitany and Paula Radcliffe as a three-time champion. She faces Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, racing for the first time in 2026 after an Achilles injury forced her out of London, plus 2024 winner Sheila Chepkirui and former world champion Gotytom Gebreslase. Five of last year's top six return, with Boston champion Sharon Lokedi the notable absentee after opting for Chicago.
The American story is compelling on both sides. Jess McClain leads the US women off a 2:20:49 personal best and top-American honours in Boston, while US half marathon record holder Weini Kelati makes her long-awaited marathon debut at 29. On the men's side, American record holder Conner Mantz returns from the sacral stress fracture that cost him Boston, and he will renew his rivalry with Zouhair Talbi, who ran 2:03:45 in Boston in April. Fiona O'Keeffe, who set the American course record of 2:22:49 in New York last year, is also entered as she works back from injury.
Kipruto's task looks anything but straightforward. The Kenyan, who won last year's race by three hundredths of a second and owns a 2:02:16 personal best, faces Ethiopia's Deresa Geleta at 2:02:38, compatriot CyBrian Kotut at 2:03:22 and a phalanx of sub-2:06 men including Abdi Nageeye, Geoffrey Kamworor and On teammates Ryan Ford and Joe Klecker. The most intriguing debutant is Sweden's Andreas Almgren, the European half marathon record holder at 58:41, who arrives off a dominant European Championships 10,000m victory in Birmingham.
The announcement completes the autumn Majors picture: Berlin's fields were confirmed earlier this month, Sydney closes out August this weekend, and Chicago follows on 11 October before New York brings the season to its traditional crescendo. With three defending champions, 40 Olympians and Paralympians and 22 national record holders across the divisions, the 50th anniversary of the five-borough race has the field its history demands.