New York City Marathon 2021 Start Time
by LetsRun.com
November 2, 2021
The 2021 TCS New York City Marathon is this Sunday, November 7th, and it will be the 50th edition of the famed NYC race and there are a few changes to the start times.
One change is a historic one. We believe for the first time ever the masses will not start with the elite men. The elite profession men start at 9:05 am eastern, and the first wave of the mass race starts five minutes later at 9:10 am. Waves will then go off every 40 to 45 minutes through wave 5 which starts at noon.
In 2019, there were only 4 waves and they were spaced 25-30 minutes apart. The extra waves and time between waves is designed to allow more distancing between runners due to Covid-19, even with this year’s race having less participants than in 2019.
Full schedule of start times below
New York City Marathon Start Times (eastern) – November 7th
8:00 a.m. Professional Wheelchair Division
8:22 a.m. Handcycle Category and Select Athletes with Disabilities
8:40 a.m. Professional Women’s Open Division
9:05 a.m. Professional Men’s Open Division
9:10 a.m. Wave 1
9:55 a.m. Wave 2
10:40 a.m. Wave 3
11:20 a.m. Wave 4
12:00 p.m. Wave 5
In 2019, the professional women started at 9:10 am, the professional men at 9:40 am, and the last wave went off at 11 am. Considering Sunday is the start of Daylight Savings Time and the sun will set at 4:45pm, a lot of people could be finishing in the dark this year. More details on the start can be found on the race website.
TV / Viewing info: The race will be broadcast nationally in the United States on ESPN starting at 8:30 am eastern and locally on ABC7. Full 2021 NYC Marathon streaming and tv information is here.
- More: Discussion: Masses not starting with elite men in NYC marathon for first time ever?
- How many NYC marathon runners will finish in the dark this year? Last wave goes off at noon