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MarathonPlanning ahead

2026 RACE BRIEFING

New York City Marathon

New York, United States
GOAL FINISH Edit ↗3:15:00
WEATHER SNAPSHOT3:13:03

−1:57 versus your goal from a single 09:00 five-year ERA5 calendar-window mean snapshot.

Make a weather plan for the New York City Marathon, from the wait in Staten Island to the final kilometres in Manhattan.

Explore your pace plan
THE COURSE42.2 km
1×

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New York City Marathon

1×

Zoom to drag the route. Keyboard: + / −, arrows, Home to reset.

Reference course outline. Check the organiser for the current route.

Start FinishReference route

2025 course reference. Check the organiser’s current course.

01 / THE CONDITIONS

Race-day weather

33 days to race day

Good preparation starts before the forecast.

Race-day forecasts appear here within 15 days of the event, when data is available. Until then, explore the course and historical weather below.

Explore historical weather
02 / SAME EFFORT, DIFFERENT DAY

What the weather may cost

Historical planning snapshot

RunWeather’s shared pace model estimates the effect of one weather hour at your goal effort. It is a planning preview, not a predicted finish time or a full course simulation.

Thermal load-1%Heat, cold and sun
Wind & comfort0%City-point wind; no route exposure
Weather model total-1%Applied to the goal-time snapshot above

Snapshot at 09:00 local using five-year ERA5 calendar-window mean. Route climbing, turns, shelter, fuelling, fitness, heat adaptation and wave timing are not modelled here. Rain is excluded because a probability is not a measured rain rate. Explore the pace model.

03 / KNOW THE ROUTE

What the course asks of you

Official race site

New York's marathon crosses all five boroughs. The reference course is from the 2025 edition; use NYRR's latest instructions for this year's exact route and logistics.

REFERENCE ELEVATION3–55 m
0.0 km
Elevation
48 m
-5 m18 m40 m63 m0.0 km15.9 km35.3 km42.6 km

Hover or drag to explore. Use ← → when focused.

2025 reference course from RunWeather's curated catalogue. The next edition may differ; elevation is approximate. Elevations describe the reference route, not a confirmed profile for this edition.
01

Plan separate clothing for the pre-start wait and the race itself.

02

Check the forecast across your whole expected running time rather than one morning temperature.

03

Use effort to manage exposed sections and climbs instead of forcing the same pace everywhere.

04 / THE RACE WINDOW

What mornings like this have looked like

ERA5 historical sample

A useful range for planning New York City Marathon: hourly weather near New York for the same calendar date ±5 days in 2021–2025. These are city-grid samples, not past race editions or a forecast.

Typical start-hour air10°C10th–90th percentile 6°C–16°C
Dew point / humidity7°C80% relative humidity
Start-hour wind11 km/hDirection varies by day
Hours with rain15%Historical frequency at this hour
AIR THROUGH THE RUN

The five-year picture

10°C → 15°C by +4h
09:00
Air temperature
10°C
Humidity
80%
Wind
11 km/h
Hours with rain
15%
3°C10°C18°C25°CStartGoal finish09:0011:0013:0015:00

Hover or drag to explore. Use ← → when focused. Shading: middle 80% of sampled temperatures.

Five-year average Middle 80% of sampled hours

The sampled air warms by about 5°C across four hours. Check your expected finish-hour forecast, not just the start.

WIND CONTEXT

Where the breeze came from

NN: 13 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 11 km/hNENE: 6 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 12 km/hEE: 4 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 12 km/hSESE: 1 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 9 km/hSS: 2 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 10 km/hSWSW: 12 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 10 km/hWW: 11 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 11 km/hNWNW: 6 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 8 km/h
WIND FROMN

13 of 55 samples · 24%
Mean 11 km/h

The petals show how often the wind came from each direction at the sampled start hour. They do not predict the direction on race day.

A city-point wind rose cannot tell you which parts of the course will be sheltered or exposed. Use the live forecast and the organiser’s route map together.

Method: 55 ERA5 hourly samples at 09:00 local time, across 11 calendar days per year in 2021–2025. A 09:00 sample is used because the organiser has not confirmed a first start in this guide. Grid weather is modelled reanalysis, not an on-course station reading. Open-Meteo Historical Weather API . Snapshot generated 2026-09-29.

05 / THE BIGGER PICTURE

November conditions across all hours

Historical climate

November averages in New York City, based on 2022–2024 ERA5 history. These are monthly conditions, not a race-day forecast.

Mean temperature9°C
Mean humidity67%
Mean wind13 km/h
Hours with rain10%

Monthly, all-hours averages for New York, 2022–2024. Not past race-day measurements or a forecast. Rain is the share of historical hours with precipitation, not the chance of rain on race day. Source: Open-Meteo ERA5.

Explore running weather in New York
06 / MAKE A PLAN

Find your starting pace

Start with your goal. Leave room for the day.

Set a finish time to compare an even-pace baseline with a one-hour weather snapshot. Use the changing forecast and course notes to decide where to be more conservative.

Goal finish time

Choose a popular time or set your own. Your pace and weather preview update as you edit.

The baseline ignores hills and stops. The weather preview models one selected hour.

Explore the heat pace calculator
YOUR GOAL PACE
4:37/km

3:15:00 finish · 42.2 km

Same-effort weather snapshot3:13:03−1:57 at 09:00 · historical window
View even-pace checkpoints
DistanceElapsed time
5.0 km0:23:06
10.0 km0:46:13
15.0 km1:09:19
20.0 km1:32:26
25.0 km1:55:32
30.0 km2:18:39
35.0 km2:41:45
40.0 km3:04:51
42.2 km · Finish3:15:00
07 / BEFORE THE START

New York City Marathon FAQs

When is the 2026 New York City Marathon?

New York City Marathon is scheduled for 1 November 2026. Confirm the latest details on the official event website before travelling.

Is the weather shown a forecast for New York City Marathon?

The race-day forecast panel uses provider data for the event date when available. The 2021–2025 ERA5 race-window sample describes nearby calendar dates, not held race editions or a prediction for race day. Monthly averages, when shown, cover all hours of the event month.

What is the historical race-window weather like for New York City Marathon?

At 09:00 local, the 2021–2025 ERA5 calendar-window sample near New York averages 10°C, 80% relative humidity and 11 km/h wind. The middle 80% of sampled start-hour temperatures is about 6–16°C. These are 55 city-grid samples from the event date ±5 days, not observations from held editions or a forecast.

Can the race-window history predict New York City Marathon weather?

No. It describes the same calendar window in 2021–2025. Use the live event-day forecast when available, check conditions through your own expected finish time, and follow the organiser for current start and course information.

Sources & race information

Weather-window data: Open-Meteo ERA5 Historical Weather API, sampled at the city grid for 2021–2025 and generated 2026-09-29. These calendar-window samples are not official race-day observations.

Guide reviewed . RunWeather is an independent guide, not the race organiser. Dates, waves and routes can change; the organiser’s latest instructions take priority. Course reference: 2025 reference course from RunWeather's curated catalogue. The next edition may differ; elevation is approximate.

ANOTHER START LINE

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YOUR NEXT STEP

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New York City Marathon 2026: Weather & Pacing Guide | RunWeather