Hellen Obiri’s 3 Tips to Run the NYC Marathon

Hellen Obiri has won both Boston and New York twice, and she’s back to defend her title at the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon. At the pre-race athlete availability, Jessy Carveth asked the “queen of New York” for her three tips for running NYC, what her 2:15 personal best in London taught her, and why she races so well in championship-style marathons without pacemakers.

Then it’s the lightning round: race shoes, fueling at 70g of carbs an hour, bicarb and Maurten, her mantra “we are almost there,” her favourite runner, toenail count, a trash talk story involving a water bottle, her finishing time prediction, her Kalshi odds, how much she’d bet on herself, and her take on doping bans.

Will Obiri win New York again? Let us know in the comments 👇

⏱️ CHAPTERS
0:00 Hellen Obiri’s 3 tips to run the NYC Marathon
0:18 Her 2:15 PB in London: what she learned
0:46 Why she races so well without pacemakers
1:20 Lightning round: race shoes
1:29 Marathon fueling: 70g carbs an hour, bicarb and Maurten
1:46 Her mantra: “We are almost there”
2:00 Favourite runner of all time
2:11 Harry Styles (who?)
2:21 How many healthy toenails?
2:37 Trash talk mid-race: the water bottle story
2:56 Who she doesn’t want behind her at mile 25
3:13 Finishing time prediction: 2:24
3:26 Kalshi gives her 48% to win: too low?
3:40 How much would she bet on herself?
3:53 EPO and doping bans: leave it to the AIU
4:20 Good luck on Sunday