On 1st November 2026 I ran the New York Marathon. This was a special event, celebrating the 50th edition since the course ran through the 5 boroughs. It was my 18th marathon of 2026, 196th marathon (plus), and 6th time pacing New York Marathon. It was my 145th time as an official pacer, 82nd marathon as a pacer. It was my 3rd time pacing a World Marathon Major in 5 weeks at 5 hours, and “spoiler”, my finish time has been pretty consistent.
I flew out on the Friday morning, with a return flight on Sunday after the marathon. I met Gary at Heathrow, who was flying premium economy and I got an unexpected treat when boarding. My boarding pass beeped and I had been given and upgrade and ended alongside Gary in premium economy.
I had a relaxing evening on Friday meeting up with friends for a meal and a relatively early night. Then on Saturday morning I made my way to the opening of the expo, for my 4 hour shift at the pacing stand.
4 hours is a long time to be at the pacing stand, but it is so rewarding and honestly one of my highlights. I love expos, but as I have been running for many years, there really isn’t anything I need, so I check out kit and stock up on my nutrition. But for many, this is a new experience and the pacer stand is a great opportunity to support runners.
There is a large course map and I like to base myself around this so I am on hand to give course advice and spread general positivity.
After the expo I went for a long walk around Times Square and Central Park, to enjoy New York. I then met Gary for lots of pizza. I had an early night, doing a flatlay with my kit, checking I had everything and then packing, before watching a movie.
New York Marathon 2026
My day started at 03:00. I had set my alarm for 04:00, but with the clocks going back, for some reason my body clock got me up. I then got out of bed at 04:30, ready to meet the pacers on Times Square for 05:30. An early start to a long, but fantastic day.
It is a nice tradition meeting all the pacers for our coach ride to the start. It took longer than normal with a slight delay with the coaches, but we made it in plenty of time.
The thing about New York Marathon is we wait around a long time in the morning. All runners must get to the start early so the roads can be closed and prepared for the marathon. With 5 wave starts, you can be waiting anywhere from 90 minutes to 5 hours before going to your start area. For anyone thinking this isn’t great, I would say, just embrace it. It is what it is, and everyone is in the same situation. There is lots of water, gatorade, dunkin donut coffee, free hats. And there is a great atmosphere. The only real downside is the long queues for toilets. I am lucky to have a separate toilet for pacers.
I started in wave 3, Pink E. It was a 10:20 start, but the gates opened for us at 09:45. I was there early to ensure I was there at the start. 6 hours after checking out of my hotel, it was final time, and I was ready.
There were multiple pacers for 4 hours across all colours in wave 3 and 4. I paced alone, and was the first 4 hour pacer. As I entered the start area I started bringing the group together, motivating, reassuring and building energy. There were many first time marathoners, and so many running New York Marathon for the first time. I knew it was going to be a special day with such a strong group.
I briefed the team about the pacing strategy, as unlike the majority of races I pace, at New York we pace by effort. The 1st mile, 15 (leading into Queenborough Bridge), 20 are all difficult, so slightly slower. From 23 along Fifth Avenue, and in Central Park are all challenging. I take these sections more gentle, and pickupthepace going down. In order to achieve perfect timing I change most miles from 9:09, to low 9s.
There was energy from my group from start to finish. We ticked off the miles together, and there was a lot of support from all the runners for each other. I spent my time trying to ensure everyone stayed positive and I challenged everyone from the start to try and have more fun than me… and they did their best.
After being slower the first mile, by mile 3 we were on track, and we stayed between 10 seconds and 30 seconds ahead of target for the remaining race. Building to 30 seconds, where I held the pace.
I lost a few runners along mile 23, but picked up many more, giving that boost to hold on and keep going. Central Park was just perfect this year. I have had some difficult moments in Central Park, but this year just went smoothly. I let everyone around me know we were 30 seconds ahead of target and told them it was time to pick up the pace.
As I approached the finish I realised I was going to be very close to the 3:59:36 that I achieved in both Berlin and Chicago. I stopped my watch at 3:59:35, so was a little gutted, but since looked at the results I realise that my official time was 3:59:36. So that is 3 marathons over 5 weeks, 3 world marathon majors, 3 very different courses, all in 3:59:36. Very happy.
As I crossed the finish line there were a few smiling runners waiting there for me to tell me how well they had done. This is my favourite moment. This is what its all about.
