Weather, route, celebrities, defending champions ready for cold weather

More than 50,000 runners from around the world have converged on the Big Apple and will take to the rugged asphalt streets of New York on Sunday for the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon.

Forecasts indicate that competitors will be treated to sunny skies during the race and will experience temperatures of 45 degrees at 8 a.m., with a high of 57 degrees expected at 3 p.m. across the five boroughs of New York City, according to Fox Weather.

The perfect operating temperature is believed to be between 40 and 60 degrees.

“When the temperature is slightly cooler, around 45 degrees, runners appear to run faster and have a faster overall time,” Fox Weather Meteorologist Stephen McCloud told The Post last year. “Cool weather favors runners.”

The day’s festivities kick off at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, when the professional wheelchair division kicks off at 8 a.m., followed by the hand cycle category and Select Athletes with Disabilities at 8:22 a.m.

The women’s professional open division begins its race for glory at 8:35 a.m., while the professional men’s starts at 9:05 a.m.

Five amateur waves will go off every 35 minutes, starting at 9:10 a.m. and ending at 11:30 a.m.

NYC Marathon Course

Runners will cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on their way to Brooklyn, where they will run about 11 and a half miles through the borough before crossing Queens and onto the Queensboro Bridge.

Once arriving in Manhattan at mile marker 16, runners will travel through the Upper East Side on First Ave before running across the Harlem River for a short 1.5-mile ride in the Bronx before returning to Manhattan Island.

For the final five miles, the course will travel along Fifth Ave to Central Park, where they will cross the finish line and complete the grueling 26.2-mile race.

In April, New York Governor Kathy Hochul ignored a “cash grab” plan by the MTA, which sought to charge marathon organizers a $750,000 toll for closing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge during the world-famous race.

“I have directed the MTA to resolve this mess and allow the marathon to proceed as usual,” Hochul told The Post at the time.

“The marathon is an iconic symbol of New York City’s tenacity and resilience, uniting communities across the five boroughs each fall.”

Defending NYC Marathon Champions

Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia and Hellen Obiri of Kenya will defend their titles after winning the 2023 marathon last year.

Tola set the course record of 2:04:58 with his victory and later won gold at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with a time of 2:06:26.

“I’m excited to defend my title in New York, especially since I set an Olympic record in the marathon,” Tola told WorldAthletics.org. “The hilly course and the crowds in Paris certainly prepared me well for the bridges and spectators in New York, where I might be able to go even faster this year.”

Tola faces stiff competition in the men’s category, as two-time Olympic medalist Bashir Abdi joins a crowded field of decorated runners, including three previous NYC Marathon winners, all from Kenya.

Evans Chebet, the 2022 champion, is joined by compatriots Albert Korir, the 2021 winner, and Geoffrey Kamworor, who triumphed in 2017 and 2019.

In the women’s race, Obiri, who won bronze at the Olympic Games this year, won her title in 2:27:23.

Last year, Obri became the first woman in 34 years to win the Boston Marathon and the NYC Marathon in the same calendar year. She defended her title in April in Boston.

“There’s no place like New York, and I’m so ready to defend my title,” Obiri told World Athletics. “I have been racing very well on the US roads and I hope I can have another good day to be in contention once we enter the final stages in Central Park.”

Obiri is joined by compatriot Sharon Lokedi, 2022 winner, and Edna Kiplagat, 2010 champion.

Queens resident Joel Kaufman returns to the course a year after making a name for himself for his placement – ​​right on the opposite side of the results sheet from Tola and Obiri.

Kaufman’s race time of 8 hours, 43 minutes and 34 seconds just after 8 p.m. marked him as the final finisher of last year’s event.

“I got a call the next day from New York Road Runners,” Kaufman told The Post of the organization that puts on the 26.2-mile race. “(They) said, ‘You’re the official last finisher.’ I said, ‘That’s so great. I have a title that no one can take away from me.’ It’s not like you’re the 57,000th finisher.”

Kaufman, who has run the race for the past decade to support people battling leukemia and lymphoma blood cancers, had a pace of 19 minutes, 59 seconds per mile.

The 66-year-old retired high school math teacher who goes by “Whammy” will be back for Sunday’s marathon – starting at 9:10 a.m. alongside the three-hour marathoners in a nod to his inspiring story.

Famous Participants of the NYC Marathon

The NYC Marathon is not just about high-level competition, but also a star-studded lineup of celebrities including actors, singers, comedians, politicians and TV personalities.

Actors Randall Park, Nev Schulman, Claire Holt and Carrie St. Louis will all be running for various charities and organizations.

Schulman, the host of MTV’s “Catfish,” is running the race despite breaking his neck in a bicycle accident in August that required emergency spinal surgery.

Former ‘GMA’ hosts turned lovers Amy Robach and TJ Holmes are taking on their second NYC Marathon as a couple, while Vinny Guadagnino of ‘The Jersey Shore’ and a slew of ‘The Bachelor’ stars are joining the race.

The 2023 marathon had 51,453 finishers from 148 countries and an average time of 4:39:47.

More than $520 million was raised for charity during the race.