By Chris Chavez
January 22, 2026
New York Road Runners announced Grant Fisher, the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist at 5000m and 10,000m, will make his half marathon debut at the United Airlines NYC Half on March 15th. It will also mark the first road race of his professional career.
"I love challenging myself and seeing what's possible, so I'm thrilled to make my half marathon debut at the United Airlines NYC Half," Fisher said in a press release. "New York has always been a special place for me, and after breaking records here on the track, I can't wait to experience the city from a new perspective on the roads."
Here’s what you need to know:
– Fisher is coming off a year in which he broke the indoor 3000m (7:22.91) and 5000m (12:44.09) world records. During the outdoor season, he finished runner-up in the 5000m and 10,000m at the U.S. Outdoor Championships. At the World Championships in Tokyo, he finished eighth in both the 5000m and 10,000m finals.
– Fisher boasts personal bests of 12:44.09 for 5000m (His indoor PB is faster than his 12:46.96 outdoor PB, which was the U.S. record until it was broken by Nico Young last season) and 26:33.84 for 10,000m.
– Fisher discussed testing the roads in 2026 in a CITIUS MAG Podcast interview last month.
“I don't want to wait until my track career is completely over to then crawl onto the roads and see what happens,” he said.
“Even if I run a half this spring and it goes incredibly well, I don't think I'll abandon the track and move to the roads,” he added. “I think you're seeing more and more people use half marathons and 10K/5K training interchangeably. I don't think they're too different that you'd have to change a ton.”
– The NYC Half is not a record-eligible course because it is point-to-point. Last year, Conner Mantz ran 59:15 to just narrowly take second behind Kenya’s Abel Kipchumba (59:09) just two months after breaking the U.S. record in 59:17 at the Houston Half Marathon. Kipchumba’s winning time broke the event record, beating Haile Gebreselassie’s 59:24 from 2007 (although the course has since been changed several times).
– Fisher has not set a timeline for an eventual marathon debut. The schedule for the 2028 Olympics allows for a 10,000m and marathon double.
“Whether it’s 5K–10K or something wilder like 10K–marathon, the next two years will dictate my direction,” he said last November. “If I debut in the half soon, that’ll influence how aggressively I shift toward the roads. Careers don’t last forever—usually your body decides before you do. So I want to make the most of the years when I’m healthy and excited.”
– Last year’s NYC Half had a record-breaking 28,709 finishers for the largest half marathon in the United States.
– The full field is expected to be announced in February.
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and on Feb. 15th, 2025 finally broke five minutes for the mile.
