New York on Sunday: no Hassan, and Almgren's marathon debut

On Sunday 1 November one of the announced stars will not be on the New York start line, and if you read our piece of 20 October we owe you a correction: we still named Sifan Hassan among the women to watch. She had already pulled out six days earlier, on 14 October, and we missed it. Here is the picture with the updated list, because Sunday's race is not the one we described.

Who is missing (and why, as far as we know)

Hassan, the 2024 Olympic marathon champion, announced her withdrawal on Instagram on 14 October. Reuters, picked up by Devdiscourse, and Marathon Handbook give the same explanation: illness disrupted her preparation and she is not where she wanted to be. She had the best personal best in the field, 2:13:44, and finished sixth in New York in 2025 in 2:24:43. We add nothing else: there is no official word on why or when she will be back.

Fiona O'Keeffe, the 2024 US Olympic Trials winner, has also withdrawn. According to Marathon Handbook an MRI in late September showed that a partial tendon tear had become a complete one, and she had surgery shortly before the announcement, with a long recovery ahead. We simply wish her a comeback.

The women's field now

The name to start from is Hellen Obiri. Last year she won in 2:19:51, a course record that had stood for 22 years, and this time she is going for a third title; with her 2:15:53 from London in April she now holds the best personal best on the list. Around her are Sheila Chepkirui (2:17:29, 2024 winner), Gotytom Gebreslase (2:18:11) and a strong American group, including Jess McClain and Weini Kelati's debut over the distance. Among the Italians there is Giovanna Epis, personal best 2:23:46.

Our view, and it is only an opinion: with the August list we would have named two women, now one. But in New York, with no pacemakers and a course that rises and falls over bridges, the favourite on paper is never a guarantee. Last year's men's finish, decided by three hundredths of a second, says as much.

The debut to watch: Andreas Almgren

Among the men one debut intrigues us more than the others. Swede Andreas Almgren won European 10,000 m gold in Birmingham in 27:23.44 (Athletics Weekly) and holds the European half marathon record, the 58:06 that Kwizera missed by three seconds in Valencia: if you missed that story, it is in our piece on Kwizera. This is his first marathon.

The men: ten under 2:05 and a record that survives

The count is ours, made on the list published by Citius Mag: ten men have a personal best under 2:05, led by defending champion Benson Kipruto's 2:02:16. Yet the course record is still Geoffrey Mutai's 2:05:06 from 2011, and that is no accident: New York is a race of positions, not of times.

To put it in kilometres: 2:05:06 is 7,506 seconds, about 2:58 per kilometre. Iliass Aouani's Italian record, 2:04:26 in Tokyo, is 40 seconds faster than that record and works out at 2:57/km. The other Italian, Yeman Crippa, has a personal best of 2:05:18. If you run a marathon at 5:00 per kilometre you finish in about 3:31; three kilometres are enough to see how far that is from their world, and it is no reason to feel small.

What time to watch from Italy

A streaming-site guide gives the elite women at 8:35 and the men at 9:05 New York time, to be confirmed with the organisers. In the US the clocks go back on Sunday at 2 a.m. and Italy has been on winter time since 25 October, so the difference on Sunday is 6 hours: 14:35 and 15:05 in Italy. US coverage on ESPN2 runs from 8:00 to 11:30 New York time, 14:00 to 17:30 for us. Who shows it in Italy we have not verified; check the listings close to the race. The organisers expect almost 60,000 runners.

What you do with it

If you want to know how far you are from Aouani's pace, our pace calculator turns it into your own kilometres. If you would rather run than watch, our group runs exist for that, and the 2027 calendar lists races where you can pin on your own bib.

Your turn: on Sunday will you watch for the winner or for the debutants? And who do you see first into Central Park, Obiri or a surprise? Tell us in the comments, and if you watch with friends, tell us what time you set the alarm.