Officially known as the TCS New York City Marathon, this marathon is a road race that is run through the five boroughs of New York City. Being one of the six majors, this race is the largest marathon in the world, with over 50k competitors from over 170 countries. This year, the race will be run on Sunday, November 5, 2023, and will begin at 9:00 EST. If you live the tri-state area around NYC, you may watch the race on the local ABC affiliate. Those elsewhere in the US with a cable or satellite subscription can also watch online at abc.go.com. If you are outside the US, or don’t have one of those subscriptions, you would need to use a VPN.
Best VPN to Stream the New York Marathon
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 87 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 95 | |
Unlike the Chicago marathon, the New York version is relatively young. Held at the beginning of the running craze in 1970, the first New York marathon consisted of several loops around central park and had only 127 competitors and only 100 spectators. In 1976, with the race growing larger and larger, a course of the 5 boroughs was proposed in honor of the bicentennial.
The reworking of the course was supposed to be a one-time event, but it was such a huge success, the course correction returned the next year, and has not been changed since then. In its current form begins in Staten Island, and continues to Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and back to Manhattan, finishing outside of Tavern on the Green. Though it only takes a brief course through the Bronx, the race does go through all 5 boroughs.
The numbers of competitors in this race have increased to over 50k, and it actually had 50,513 people to complete the race last year. Needless to say, the numbers of spectators have increased to millions live, and millions more watch this race on TV. Because of its location, the NYC Marathon is quite famous. Many celebrities have run for charities in the race, and there have been several movies to feature it.
If you want to watch the New York City Marathon, you have a couple of options. We mentioned you may use ABC Go to watch, providing you have a cable or satellite subscription. If you are a cord cutter, or not in the US, you could watch the race on ESPN as well, if you have a service like Sling TV. You would have to register and watch using a VPN, since Sling TV is for the US only. If you haven’t tried it yet then you can sign up for a 7-day free trial. We also mentioned you could use a VPN and pick a server in New York to watch the local affiliate. So, how would you go about watching with a VPN?
Enjoy all the excitement of the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon. If you have friends that want to watch the race, be sure to share this post with them.