These Broadway Stars Are Running in the 2026 NYC Marathon

On Your Marks, get set… go! The New York City Marathon is coming up this Sunday, November 1, bringing together runners from all over the world for one epic day spread across the five boroughs. In 2025, 59,226 runners completed the marathon, representing 130 countries, with an average finish time of 4:32:25. This year, some of them will be people you know from Broadway!

Patina Miller: Currently on Broadway in School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, Miller won a Tony Award in 2013 for her performance in Pippin. She made her Broadway debut in Sister Act in 2011 and since then has appeared in Into the Woods. She has also starred in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay films, Madam Secretary, and Raising Kanan. Just last year, she completed the marathon in 3:52:44. She is currently scheduled to appear in the Sunday matinee performance of School Girls immediately following the marathon.

Merle Dandridge: On Monday night, Merle was onstage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre to celebrate Rent’s 30th Anniversary. She most recently played ‘Persephone’ in Hadestown on Broadway.  Her additional Broadway credits include Once On This Island, Tarzan, Spamalot, Jesus Christ Superstar, Aida, and Rent. She also played ‘Marlene’ in the HBO Max series, The Last of Us. She is running to support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. 

Jordan Litz: Just last year, Litz made headlines when he finished the marathon in 3:40:53 and went on the perform in the Wicked matinee as ‘Fiyero’ in the same day. This year he is playing the same role in London’s West End. Jordan was a competitive swimmer and competed in the 2012 US Olympic Trials. 

Erika Henningsen: Most recently seen on Broadway in the original cast of Just in Time, Henningsen also recently appeared in the second season of Netflix’s The Four Seasons. She has also starred on Broadway in Mean Girls and Les Miserables. She is running in support of Girl Rising

Benjamin Walker: While probably won’t be walking on Sunday, Walker’s many Broadway credits include All My Sons, American Psycho, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, and Cat on a Hot Tine Roof. He will soon be seen in the third season of Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power as ‘High King Gil-galad’.

Joshua Bassett: Perhaps best known for his performance in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, the singer-songwriter made is off-Broadway debut earlier this year as ‘Seymour’ in Little Shop of Horrors. He is running in support of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Ellie Fisher- She hasn’t appeared on Broadway, but Ellie is wife to Broadway favorite Jordan Fisher. She is running to support Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. 

Where is the NYC Marathon?

The New York City Marathon course runs 26.2 miles through the five boroughs of NYC. It begins in Staten Island at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and continues through Brooklyn and Queens before crossing into Manhattan at the Queensboro Bridge. The route then proceeds uptown to the Bronx before doubling back into Manhattan. The finish line is in Central Park at W. 67th Street on West Drive. View a full route map

When is the NYC Marathon?

The marathon officially starts at 8am on Sunday, November 1, but the final wave start time isn’t until 11:30am. The marathon will last through most of the day. 

Will the NYC Marathon affect getting to my Broadway show?

Look out for people in silver capes (AKA space blankets) as you head to your matinee on Sunday. Those people just ran a marathon! 

The closest the marathon route comes to the theatre district is at the finish line in Central Park, though New Yorkers can expect street closures in all five boroughs all day long. If you are driving to your show, check for street closures first. Most streets are scheduled to reopen between 4pm and 10:30pm. View a full list of street closures.

Subway service is expected to run mostly as usual. 

How to watch the NYC Marathon

If you life in the New York City area, you can watch the broadcast live on race day on W-TV, Channel 7 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins at 7:00 a.m. ET, and continued coverage of the race will be live until 1:00 p.m. ET. 7NY.com will also present a view of the finish line from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.

Nationally, you can watch live coverage from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2. The broadcast will also be available live in Spanish on ESPN3 (accessible on the ESPN App and ESPN.com) from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. ET.

A live two-hour show from the finish line will air nationally on Network, covering celebrities and thousands of everyday runners crossing the finish line. from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET; check local listings for other time zones.

On radio, you can listen to the race-day broadcast live on iHeartRadio’s 710 WOR AM and 104.3HD2 in New York, starting at 7:00 a.m. ET. You can also listen via the iHeartRadio app from 8:00 a.m. ET.

Participants, spectators, and supporters can now access runner tracking, leaderboards, race-day information, and course maps through the New York Road Runners App.