The 2025 TCS New York City Marathon delivered both a shattered record and a historic milestone. On Sunday, Nov. 2, Kenya’s Hellen Obiri won the women’s professional race in 2 hours, 19 minutes and 51 seconds, breaking a course record that had stood since 2003, while the five-borough race grew into the largest marathon ever staged, with 59,226 finishers crossing the line in Central Park.

Obiri’s record run

Obiri’s winning time of 2:19:51 erased the previous women’s course record of 2:22:31, a mark that had held for 22 years. The race was no runaway: she finished just 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Sharon Lokedi, and the top three women all ran under the old record. It was a defense of Obiri’s title and a statement performance on one of the sport’s most demanding big-city courses, with its bridges, hills and unpredictable November weather.

The closest men’s finish ever

The men’s race produced drama of a different kind. Benson Kipruto, also of Kenya, won in 2:08:09 in a photo finish decided by three hundredths of a second — the smallest margin of victory in the marathon’s history. After 26.2 miles through all five boroughs, the men’s title came down to a sprint to the tape, the kind of finish more associated with a track final than a marathon.

The field carried star power. Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge ran the race and finished 17th, a reminder that even the sport’s most accomplished athletes face a brutal test on the New York course.

Wheelchair champions

The wheelchair divisions produced their own headlines. American Susannah Scaroni captured her third women’s wheelchair title — her second in a row — finishing in 1:42:10 and shaving nearly six minutes off her 2024 time. In the men’s wheelchair race, Marcel Hug won in 1:30:16, reclaiming the championship after his multiyear winning streak had been snapped the previous year.

The largest marathon ever

Beyond the elite results, the day’s defining statistic was the size of the field. With 59,226 finishers, the 2025 race became the largest marathon ever run, surpassing the prior record and cementing New York’s standing as the sport’s biggest single-day event. The five-borough route — beginning on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island and winding through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan — turned the city into a continuous spectator gallery for the better part of a day.

Organized by New York Road Runners, the marathon is an enormous logistical undertaking, requiring road closures across every borough, coordination with the NYPD and FDNY, and the deployment of thousands of volunteers and medical staff. The record turnout underscored both the event’s global draw and the city’s capacity to absorb a field approaching 60,000 runners plus the spectators who line the course.

A signature day for the city

For New York, the marathon is as much a civic event as an athletic one. It fills hotels, restaurants and transit, and it offers a rare moment when the entire city seems to face the same direction at once. The 2025 edition combined that civic scale with elite performances worthy of the stage: a course record in the women’s race, the closest men’s finish ever recorded, and a finisher total that no marathon anywhere had previously reached.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the 2025 NYC Marathon?
Hellen Obiri (women's, 2:19:51, a course record) and Benson Kipruto (men's, 2:08:09) of Kenya. Marcel Hug and Susannah Scaroni won the wheelchair divisions.
Was a record set?
Yes, several. Obiri broke the women's course record that had stood since 2003, and the race drew 59,226 finishers, making it the largest marathon ever run.
How close was the men's race?
The closest in event history. Kipruto won by three hundredths of a second in a sprint to the line, the smallest margin of victory the race has ever recorded.
When and where was it held?
Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, on the traditional course through all five New York City boroughs, organized by New York Road Runners.