Jess McClain Predicts 2:23, and Talks Jepchirchir Scandal Before the NYC Marathon

Jess McClain, the top American at the 2026 Boston Marathon, sat down with Marathon Handbook at the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon media day for a one-on-one interview and lightning round, three days before the race.

McClain said she has come to New York to race, not to chase a time, and she explained why the course makes pace planning pointless. She said the decisive moves usually come between miles 16 and 18, and talked through her training under coach David Roche: workouts repeated from her Boston build, slightly higher mileage, and the “optional” doubles she isn’t sure are really optional.

She also talked about the news that Peres Jepchirchir has been provisionally suspended for EPO. That includes the text she got from her friend and Brooks teammate Susanna Sullivan, who finished fourth behind Jepchirchir at the 2025 World Championships. She told us what being a clean athlete means to her, and about her work raising awareness of drug testing.

In the lightning round, McClain covered her race shoe decision, carbs per hour, lactate buffers, her race mantra, why Sifan Hassan is on her mind, her healthy toenail count, and whether she has ever been trash talked mid-race. She said a top five and an Olympic qualifier are on her mind, predicted a 2:23 finish, and said Kalshi’s 6 percent chance of her winning is too low.

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CHAPTERS
0:00 Jess McClain’s plan for the NYC Marathon
0:43 Why times don’t matter in New York
1:03 Where the race gets decided
1:50 Training since Boston: mileage, doubles and David Roche
3:38 Peres Jepchirchir and a text from Susanna Sullivan
5:12 Lightning round: race shoes
5:57 Carbs per hour
6:20 Lactate buffers and bicarb
6:45 Her race mantra
6:58 Favourite runner: Sifan Hassan
7:40 Harry Styles at MSG vs. winning New York
8:05 Healthy toenail count
8:25 Trash talk
8:45 Racing for an Olympic qualifier
9:03 Who she doesn’t want next to her at mile 25
9:20 Time prediction and Kalshi odds