JOIN US IN NYC WITH HOKA

CITIUS MAG is proud to partner with HOKA for another year of programming out of the HOKA flagship store at 579 5th Avenue, including:

• Giveaways of commemorative HOKA x NYC 2025 merchandise including shirts, tote bags, and more
• An easy run with Sofar Sounds + secret concert experience, tonight at 6:00pm
• Opportunities to test and shop the HOKA Mach X 3 and the Rocket X 3.
• HOKA will also have a hub at the marathon expo.

Plus, the HOKA Flagship store will host CITIUS MAG’s coverage of the elite races. Join Chris Chavez, Eric Jenkins, and Aisha Praught Leer as they bring you their commentary, analysis, and humor with our pre-race show on Friday, and then our LIVE watchalong on Sunday morning.

Register or get more details for all of the events here.

MEN’S RACE PREVIEW

The Favorites: It’s hard to say there’s one favorite in this race, but the pre-race withdrawals of 2022 champ Evans Chebet, 2:02 runner Deresa Geleta, and World champ Alphonce Simbu knocked out many of the biggest challengers to reigning champ Abdi Nageeye’s title defense. Nageeye is a pretty consistent performer, especially last year when he won both New York and Rotterdam (albeit dropping out in between). But he’s not a world-beater by any means; he only finished fourth in London this past spring and hasn’t raced since.

Contenders: Only one of the men who beat Nageeye in London is toeing the line in New York, but Alexander Mutiso Munyao is going to be tough to take down once again. Mutiso won the Great North Run earlier this fall in 1:00:52 (a net-downhill half marathon), and he’s the 2024 London champ. Historically, he’s better on the flat courses of London and Valencia, only finishing 21st at the Olympics last summer, but he’s also got a 2:03:11 PB.

Last year, Benson Kipruto would’ve looked like a co-favorite alongside Nageeye, as the 34-year-old Kenyan who trains alongside Evans Chebet won the Tokyo Marathon in 2:02:16 and won an Olympic bronze. But this year, his only marathoning result has been a seventh-place finish in Tokyo and third at a low-key half in Bogota, Colombia. So who knows what kind of stuff he’s bringing.

Two other names worth mentioning are Kenyans Abel Kipchumba, who has done well on the streets of New York in the past two back-to-back NYC Half wins, and Albert Korir. Kipchumba has never delivered a performance in the full up to his half capacity, but he’s got a 58:07 PB at his best and he’s 31 years old so a breakout over 26.2 could be coming. Korir doesn’t have the most auspicious times in the field, with a 2:06:57 lifetime best (set on this course), but he’s the 2021 champ and finished third and second in the last two years. Korir knows and loves this course, and sometimes that’s all you need.

The Veterans: Even the most casual of fans have to acknowledge that it’ll be pretty epic to see all-time greats Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele take to the streets of the Big Apple. Kipchoge, who turns 41 next week, is looking to round out his “seven-star” resume as New York City is the final World Marathon Major he hasn’t contested. Most recently, Kipchoge finished ninth at the Sydney Marathon in its first edition as an official major, and after a sixth place finish in London and a DNF in last year’s Olympics, hopes are not exactly high that Kipchoge is a realistic contender for victory. But the Kenyan legend is such a mega-celebrity in the sport that his mere presence on the course is notable, and even the 2025 version of Kipchoge can still produce a 2:05-caliber performance.

Bekele, who’s 43 years old, probably has a higher ceiling but lower floor than his rival. He hasn’t raced yet this year, but just last spring he ran 2:04:15 for a master’s world record in Paris. Even in his 40s, the Ethiopian has put together some incredible performances, but he’s also logged a lot of DNFs over the years.

For those wondering, Kipchoge has a 4-1 record against Bekele in marathons, but Bekele owns a 16-7 lifetime advantage, head-to-head. This will easily be the most high-profile master’s matchup in history, so even if neither man lands on the podium, their relative finish will be something to watch.

How The Americans Will Fare: Though a top-five finish for an American man looks like a longshot here, the squad from the U.S. lining up on Staten Island is a strong and intriguing one. Going solely off of marathon PBs, Biya Simbassa’s 2:06:53 from Valencia last December tops the list of American entrants. Since that race, Simbassa’s 2025 has been solid but unspectacular, so it’s unclear if he’s in similar form to that career-defining day in Spain.

Hillary Bor, a two-time Olympian for the U.S. in the steeplechase, is set to make his marathon debut on Sunday. He’s raced on the roads often this year, and seemingly taken well to them, if his third-place, 59:55 showing at the NYC Half is any indication.

Also making their entry into the world of marathoning are Charles Hicks and Joe Klecker. Hicks only recently became eligible to represent the U.S., after switching allegiances from Great Britain, but wasted no time in making his mark. As an at-the-time-dual-citizen, Hicks’s 45:14 win at the USATF 10 Mile Championships didn’t count as the American record but it put his new compatriots on watch.

There’s far more hype surrounding Klecker. He’s been busy getting a handle on road racing in 2025, and while he hasn’t knocked any one performance out of the park, his body of work thus far is encouraging—particularly when his track pedigree and recent training are factored in.

WOMEN’S RACE PREVIEW

The Favorites: Two women in this race have already won World Marathon Majors this year: Sifan Hassan, the Sydney champ, and Sharon Lokedi, the Boston champ. This will be Hassan’s third marathon of 2025, but the Dutch multi-talent is no stranger to a hefty race schedule. Before winning the marathon at last year’s Paris Olympics, she contested the 10,000m and 5000m in the week leading up to her gold-medal performance, an audacious triple that few would attempt, let alone emerge triumphant. Hassan only finished third in London this spring, so she’s not invincible, but she’s the third fastest woman of all time at the distance and has won four of her six career marathons. Even on a short, nine-week turnaround post-Sydney, she’s probably the one to beat.

Lokedi famously shocked the world in 2022 when she won New York in her debut, and since then she’s proven time and again that her victory was no fluke. Her most recent performance involved outkicking friendly rival Hellen Obiri en route to an epic course record in Boston, where she knocked a ridiculous five minutes off her lifetime best. Her 65:00 half marathon in Copenhagen last month shows she’s healthy and fit, and all signs indicate that she’ll once again contend for the win.

Obiri, of course, is another co-favorite as the 2023 NYC champ who has either won or battled for the win in every marathon she’s run since her debut. Lokedi got the best of her in Boston, but she’s at least as capable as her rival of winning in New York, if not moreso. Over the course of their careers, Obiri has the 4-2 head-to-head edge against Lokedi in marathons.

Contenders: It’s tempting to consider defending champ Sheila Chepkirui a co-favorite, but the reality is that Chepkirui’s win last year was something of a surprise. NYC was her first WMM victory, and she’d only finished sixth in London last season before her breakout performance. This year, she’s far less under-the-radar, helped in part by a 2:20:40 win at the Nagoya Women’s Marathon and, of course, her big run last fall. A repeat performance against a field of this caliber would put any doubts about the flukiness of her 2024 victory to rest.

The other biggest threat comes from Ethiopian Gotytom Gebreslase, the 2022 World champ who also won the 2021 Berlin Marathon. Gebreslase finished third in New York in 2022 as well, but her last two seasons haven’t been quite up to the same standard, with a seventh place in Tokyo this spring under her belt and two third-place runs in Tokyo and Hamburg last year. If she can recapture her form of three years ago, however, she’ll be a threat.

The Veterans: Much like in the men’s race, we’re getting an awesome master’s battle in the form of Vivian Cheruiyot and Edna Kiplagat. Cheruiyot is 42 years old and a five-time global champ on the track; Kiplagat has four World Major titles and two World golds. Cheruiyot won her first and, to date, only major marathon at Berlin in 2018, but she finished third at this race just last year. Kiplagat’s last two marathons haven’t gone great (38th in Boston this year and 12th in New York last year), but she finished third in Boston just before that so she’s still got game.

Both women’s last race was Falmouth, where they finished one place apart in third and fourth (Cheruiyot got the better of Kiplagat in that one). Last NYC was the first time Cheruiyot and Kiplagat matched up head-to-head in a marathon, so if Kiplagat evens the score this time around, maybe we’ll get a rubber match in 2026.

(UPDATE: Kiplagat has withdrawn from the race.)

How The Americans Will Fare: Despite the historic battle likely to be waged for the win, the American women seem better positioned than the men to slot multiple finishers in the top-10. The most obvious candidate is American record holder Emily Sisson, who comes in with the sixth-fastest seed time. None of the times she’s posted in 2025 suggest she’s necessarily at PB-level sharpness, but there’s been an encouraging improvement curve, and she’s seemingly enjoyed a long stretch of healthy training ahead of her NYC Marathon debut. Even if she’s not at her absolute best, she’s demonstrated she can stick her nose in it and beat some big names.

Susanna Sullivan and Fiona O’Keeffe are both rising stars in the U.S. marathoning core, and on a good day either could see themselves in the top-10 here. However, Sullivan snagged fourth in a gutsy performance at the World Championship marathon in mid-September—is it possible she’s back to full strength so soon, especially considering the brutal conditions in Tokyo? If she’s truly ready, Sullivan seems poised to step up as a potential top American finisher. O’Keefe, meanwhile, hasn’t finished a marathon since her dominant win at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in Orlando. She went on to DNF in Paris, but once recovered from the hip injury that took her out of that race, has logged a slate of excellent results. She’s coming off a 1:08:35 half in September—just the sort of stepping stone performance you like to see ahead of a goal marathon.