NYRR announces professional field for 2026 United Airlines NYC Half
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The New York Road Runners on Wednesday announced the full professional athlete field for the United Airlines NYC Half on Sunday, March 15.
The star-studded lineup includes all four defending champions, 30 Olympians and Paralympians, 19 national record holders, and 11 global medalists.
The four defending champions in the men's and women's open and wheelchair divisions-Abel Kipchumba and Sharon Lokedi of Kenya, Geert Schipper of the Netherlands, and Manuela Schär of Switzerland-will return and look to retain possession of their titles.
Battling Kipchumba will be the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships bronze medalist Daniel Ebenyo, previously announced two-time Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher, and a slew of national record holders including Canada's Rory Linkletter. In addition to Fisher, the Americans will be led by four of the fastest half marathoners and marathoners in American history: Ryan Ford, Alex Maier, Galen Rupp, and Zouhair Talbi, along with U.S. Olympian Joe Klecker.
Lokedi will take on defending TCS New York City Marathon champion Hellen Obiri in a powerhouse field that also features the 2026 World Cross Country Championships gold medalist and world 10K record holder Agnes Ngetich, Fantaye Belayneh, the second fastest half marathoner this year, 2025 World Athletics Championships marathon bronze medalist Julia Paternain, and top Americans Lindsay Flanagan, Annie Frisbie, Dakotah Popehn, Natosha Rogers, and Emily Sisson.
The wheelchair division will feature Paralympians and former United Airlines NYC Half podium finishers Tatyana McFadden, Eden Rainbow-Cooper, and Daniel Romanchuk.
The United Airlines NYC Half takes runners on a 13.1-mile park-to-park tour of New York City, starting in Prospect Park in Brooklyn and ending in Central Park.
For the second year in a row, the course will take athletes across the Brooklyn Bridge, the only race in history to do so, before passing Grand Central Terminal and running through Times Square -- one of two times the Crossroads of the World is closed to traffic.
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