New York Marathon 2021: Route, Course Map, Times, Road Closures & Event Details

The largest marathon in the world is back. For the first time in two years, runners will traverse the streets of New York City and take in all the Big Apple has to offer. And this year's event will be even more special.

After the NYC Marathon was canceled in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, it returns Sunday for its 50th running. The field has been limited to 33,000, but it should still be an entertaining race that lives up to the hype.

"When I think about this year, I will be excited, I'll be energized," NYC Marathon race director Ted Metellus said, per Jake Seiner of the Associated Press. "But I also realize how much it means to everybody else in the city."

Here's everything you need to know heading into the return of the New York City Marathon.

2021 New York City Marathon Information

When: Sunday, Nov. 7

Start Time: 8 a.m. ET

TV Coverage: 8:30-11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2

Starting location: Staten Island

Course map: Available on NYRR.org

Runners who participate in the NYC Marathon get to see a ton of the city's landmarks, with the 26.2-mile course taking them through a handful of boroughs. After starting in Staten Island, they will trek through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan, where they will reach the finish line at Central Park.

While the event gets underway at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday, that's not when every runner takes off. First, the professional wheelchair division racers will get started, followed by the handcycle category and select athletes with disabilities (8:22 a.m. ET), the professional women's open division (8:40 a.m. ET) and the professional men's open division (9:05 a.m. ET).

At that point, the rest of the field will begin in five waves at the following times (all ET): 9:10 a.m., 9:55 a.m., 10:40 a.m., 11:20 a.m. and noon.

With the NYC Marathon being such a big event, there will be street, road and bridge closures throughout the day. A full list of those can be found at CentralPark.com.

The smaller field of runners isn't the only change made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. All participants have to show either proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test from within 48 hours of the race.

It's been a while since a record time was set at the NYC Marathon. The men's mark is held by Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai, who finished in two hours, five minutes and five seconds in 2011. The women's record of 2:22:31 was set by Kenya's Margaret Okayo in 2003.

Among the notable runners in this year's field is 27-year-old American Molly Seidel, who won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year.

"I'm looking forward to the crowds, getting to have that energy again," Seidel said, per Seiner. "And I don't know, I mean, this is my dream job, every time I get to go out and do a marathon."

Seidel won't be the only Olympic medalist in the field, though, as several others will be competing. That includes Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir, who won gold in the women's marathon in Tokyo. On the men's side, one of the top competitors will be Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, a four-time Olympic medalist.

And it wouldn't be the NYC Marathon without celebrities in the field. Among the famous participants are former NFL running back Tiki Barber, a group of U.S. women's national soccer alumnae (Abby Wambach, Lauren Holiday, Kate Markgraf and Leslie Osborne), Marcus Mumford and Ben Lovett of the band Mumford & Sons and Nev Schulman.