NYC Marathon 2017: Events, times, and schedule for the weekend

The New York City Marathon is set to begin Sunday. Some of the best distance runners in the world will descend upon the city for one of the of the most prestigious races in the world. Those interested should get there early, as there is a full slate of events throughout the weekend before the actual race on Sunday.

There will be shorter races for adults and kids, a three-day expo at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and a lot more throughout the week. It’s essentially one giant festival celebrating the city and the sport of running as a whole.

Sunday’s race will be broadcast locally on ABC and nationwide on ESPN, with live streaming via WatchESPN. The race begins proper at 8:30 a.m. ET with the wheelchair competitors, followed by handcyclists at 8:52 a.m., and then the main event: professional women at 9:20 a.m. and professional men at 9:50 a.m.

The rest of the field will then start in four staggered waves right behind the professional men at 9:50, 10:15, 10:40, and 11 a.m.

Sunday’s race features some major storylines for the professionals. On the men’s side, it will be the final race for Meb Keflezighi before he calls it a career. It’s his 26th career marathon, and he’s making it his last at the place his career started 15 years ago.

Defending champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, Wilson Kipsang, Lelisa Desisa, and Jared Ward are some of the other names to watch in the men’s race.

On the women’s side, all eyes are on Mary Keitany, who has won the New York City Marathon for the past three years running. She won her third London Marathon earlier this year, and set the women’s-only marathon record by 41 seconds.

A full list of events for the weekend can be found at the marathon’s official website right here.