In a New York minute, the city’s iconic marathon took the world record for the most finishers from the Berlin Marathon, as 55,646 athletes completed the five-borough race on November 3.
These big races—several are part of the World Marathon Majors, which just announced a seventh race with the Sydney Marathon—have had incredibly high numbers over the past year: In April, Paris saw 54,175 finishers, and last month, the Berlin Marathon set the record with 54,280 finishers.
New York’s previous participation high was from 2019, when 53,639 people finished.
It’s not a huge surprise to the running community that the record fell over the weekend in New York. Race organizers received nearly 165,000 applications, and the marathon was the largest last year as well.
According to the New York Road Runners, 56,012 people started the race, meaning the event had an impressive completion percentage of 99.3 percent. This year’s edition saw the most women (24,731) and nonbinary (120) finishers in race history. International runners were well-represented, too, with 17,859 crossing the line in Central Park.
The Kenyan women swept the podium: Sheila Chepkirui outkicked defending champion Hellen Obiri to win in 2:24:35. Obiri, who won the Boston Marathon earlier this year and earned bronze in the Olympic marathon, finished second in 2:24:49. Vivian Cheruiyot was third in 2:25:21.
Sara Vaughn, who dropped out of the Chicago Marathon three weeks ago and was recovering from COVID, finished sixth and was the top American woman in 2:26:56.
On the men’s side, Dutch runner Abdi Nageeye won the race in 2:07:39. Evans Chebet, who won in 2022, finished second in 2:07:45, and Albert Korir, the 2021 winner, finished third in 2:08 flat. Defending champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia—this year’s Olympic marathon gold medalist—placed fourth in 2:08:50.
Conner Mantz was the top American man, placing sixth in 2:09:00.
2022 New York City marathon winner Susannah Scaroni won the women’s wheelchair division in 1:48:05, with no one else in sight, and Daniel Romanchuk won the men’s wheelchair division for the third time in 1:36:31.
Per the New York Road Runners, the average finishing time on Sunday was 4:17:47 for men, 4:48:31 for women, and 4:38:46 for nonbinary athletes The overall average finishing time was 4:31:31.
The oldest finisher on Sunday was 88-year-old Garth Barfoot, who hails from New Zealand. He completed the course in 11:23:49.
Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner's World, the author of The Runner's World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a seven-time marathoner with a best of 3:31—but she is most proud of her 1:32 half, 19:40 5K, and 5:33 mile.
