The New York City Marathon typically starts at 8:00 a.m. local time on race day, with various start groups scheduled in the ensuing minutes (wheelchair divisions at 8:00–8:02 a.m., handcycles around 8:22 a.m., professional women around 8:35 a.m., professional men around 9:05 a.m., and the mass Wave 1 start around 9:10 a.m., followed by later waves). For the 2025 edition, start times were reported as 8:00 a.m. ET for the first wheelchair groups and progressively later times for other categories, with the full mass-start waves kicking off around 9:10 a.m. ET and continuing in waves through the morning.

If you’re looking for a quick guide:

• Event date: Sunday, November 2, 2025.
• Start location: Staten Island (Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge) with the course moving through all five boroughs to Central Park.
• Typical start sequence (ET): 8:00 a.m. – Men’s Wheelchair; 8:02 a.m. – Women’s Wheelchair; 8:22 a.m. – Handcycle/Select AWD; 8:35 a.m. – Women’s Open; 9:05 a.m. – Men’s Open; 9:10 a.m. – Wave 1 mass start; subsequent waves (waves 2–5) follow at roughly 30–60 minute intervals. Exact times can vary by year and category, so checking the official race day schedule on the morning of the event is advised.

Tips for spectators and timing:

• Road closures and security constraints influence viewing corners and transit plans; plan to arrive early and use public transit to access spectator zones along the five-borough route, with Central Park as the finish line.

• Broadcasts typically provide live coverage; in recent years ESPN2 has carried national coverage with online streaming options via the ESPN app for the race window, including the mass-start waves.

If you want, I can narrow this down to the exact start times for a specific year, category, or your viewing plan (e.g., where to watch from a particular borough or how to time a visit to a spot along the route).