New York City Marathon Prize Money: What Today’s Winners Earn

The New York City Marathon’s open-division winners each receive a listed $100,000 first prize under the race’s 2026 payout structure. Andreas Almgren won the men’s race and Sheila Chepkirui won the women’s race Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

The Main Prizes

New York Road Runners’ official table lists equal men’s and women’s open prizes: $100,000 for first, $60,000 for second and $40,000 for third. Each wheelchair-division winner receives $50,000.

Open prizes are restricted to the professional/invited start. Wheelchair awards require the invitational wheelchair start.

Can Athletes Combine Awards?

The USA Division pays $25,000 to its first eligible finisher. Awards can combine with open prizes. An eligible USA winner placing second overall could collect $85,000 from those two categories.

That combination is a specific exception to the organizer’s general policy: unless stated otherwise, someone qualifying in multiple prize categories receives only the highest amount. A finishing position alone does not establish eligibility for every additional category.

What About Record Bonuses?

NYRR lists a $50,000 event-record bonus for an open or wheelchair race winner who breaks the existing mark. Tying it is insufficient. Almgren’s winning 2:06:01 and Chepkirui’s 2:24:36 were slower than the listed open records, so their victories did not trigger that bonus.

How Eligibility and Timing Work

NYRR’s general policies define gun time as elapsed time from the official start until the athlete crosses the finish. The applicable race rules determine whether a category uses that measure or net time.

Member-division eligibility is separate from purchasing an entry. The marathon requires six months of paid NYRR membership and six fully scored races in the designated window; virtual races do not count. Athletes must also follow the organizer’s competition, conduct and Run Clean policies. Those requirements accompany the published prize amounts. A paid membership excludes NYRR’s free Friend category. The general policy permits a membership lapse of up to sixty days if the athlete renews before race day.