NYC Marathon 2026 weather: what race day will likely feel like

The 2026 TCS New York City Marathon is on Sunday 1 November: 42.2 km through all five boroughs, from Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island to Central Park, on the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course. Here's what race day has usually felt like, section by section, for a runner in the middle of the field.

What will the weather be like at the 2026 NYC Marathon?

Usually cool, dry and breezy: good running weather for most of the field. In the records, a Wave 3 runner started at about 14° and finished at about 15°, with a dew point near 7°, so the air rarely felt humid. RunFast's engine rated race day Good on 5 days in 10, Fair on 4 and Tough on 1.

The heat stress (WBGT, the number race medical teams use) was usually about 15°, the top of the range where marathon times are fastest. It reached Moderate or more on about 3 days in 10, and High on less than 1. The warmest race day in the records reached 25°.

Where does the weather usually cost runners time?

Mostly the wind, rarely the heat. On the middle day of the records, the weather cost a 5:40-per-km runner about 4 to 5 minutes over the whole race, and 11 minutes or more on 1 day in 10. The wind was the main cause on about 6 of those days in 10.

Start · Staten IslandBrooklynQueensThe BronxManhattanFinish · Central Park1234567Historic

The whole course is the same colour because no stretch stands out on a middle day: every one is a little slower, by about 1 to 2.5%. The breeze is usually from the west at 11 to 15 km/h. Over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge it's usually behind you. On Fifth Avenue, heading south to Central Park, it was more often in your face.

What is each section likely to feel like?

Each section with its usual race morning, hour by hour, timed for a Wave 3 start at 10:20 and a steady 5:40 per km.

1. Staten Island and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

The windiest place on the course, at about 15 km/h from the west, with gusts to about 27 km/h by late morning. On the bridge it was more often behind the runners, on about 5 days in 10, than in their faces, on about 3. Most of the cold is before the gun: the start area sat at about 10° through the wait.

2. Brooklyn: Fourth Avenue

Six miles north on one long, straight road. The wind was more often behind than against, and the air was about 14°. This is the cool part of the day, before the sun is high.

3. Brooklyn: Fort Greene to Greenpoint

Lafayette and Bedford Avenues to the Pulaski Bridge and halfway. It's about 15° by now. The heat stress reached Moderate on about 2 days in 10, on the warmer, sunnier days.

4. Queens and the Queensboro Bridge

A short stretch of Queens, then the long climb onto the Queensboro Bridge. The wind was as often against the runners as behind. The records can't see the bridge's own exposure, so expect it to feel windier than the street.

5. Manhattan: First Avenue

Four miles north on First Avenue, with the wind more often behind (about 4 days in 10) than against (about 2). It's about 15°, with a dew point near 6°.

6. The Bronx

One mile, with a new route this year: after the Willis Avenue Bridge, East 135th Street, Alexander Avenue, East 141st Street, Third Avenue and East 138th Street to the Madison Avenue Bridge. It was more often a headwind here, though it's over quickly.

7. Harlem, Fifth Avenue and Central Park

The likeliest place to lose time to the weather. Heading south on Fifth Avenue and through the park, the wind was mostly in the runners' faces on about 4 days in 10, and this section was rated Tough on 2 days in 10, more than any other.

What should runners wear and pack for race day?

Old layers for the start, race kit for about 15°, and something for the wind. The organiser's start page has the wave times and the start-area map. From the weather records:

• Throwaway layers for the start area. It was about 10° during the wait, 6° or colder on 1 morning in 10, with a 13 to 15 km/h breeze.
• Race kit for 14–16°. That's shorts and a light top for most runners, with gloves you can drop.
• A cap or a light shell on wet days. Rain fell during the run on about 1 day in 10.
• Sunscreen on clear days. Heat stress reached Moderate on about 3 days in 10.

Clocks in the US go back an hour at 2:00 on race morning, when daylight saving time ends, so every start time is Eastern Standard Time. Supporters in Central Park can expect about 15° in the afternoon, so a warm layer helps.

When does the real forecast open?

Ten days before the race, in the RunFast app: on 22 October. Load the course with your own pace and start time, and RunFast shows the heat and the wind at each stretch as you get there. From then on, trust the forecast over this preview.

How did we work this out?

The course was run again on every day from a week before to a week after 1 November, in each year from 2015 to 2024: 150 days. Each run started at the race's 10:20, Eastern Standard Time, at a steady 5:40 per km, on that day's hourly Copernicus ERA5 weather, with its dew point and sunshine. RunFast's engine, the same one the app uses, worked out the heat stress and the weather's toll, and rated the run and each section. The start-area wait is the lowest temperature between 7:00 and the start, and a wet day has 1 mm of rain or more.

ERA5's grid cells are about 25 km across, and only two cover this course, one of them partly over the water. Streets, shelter, bridges and the city's own warmth don't show. The course line follows the streets on the official course map, so it's close to the course but not the organiser's own file. Historic weather, not a forecast.

Sources: New York Road Runners' course and start pages, with the 2026 course map and wave times, and its spectator guide; ERA5 hourly time series (Hersbach et al., 2020). Course line drawn from © OpenStreetMap contributors. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information (2026). Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.