2015 New York City Marathon: Light Winds, Brisk Conditions to Benefit Runners

By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

October 29,2015; 11:00PM,EDT

 

Over a 26.2-mile course on Sunday, Nov. 1, more than 50,000 runners will navigate through the five boroughs of New York City as part of the 45th annual New York City Marathon.
Sunday will be mostly cloudy, with temperatures just above 50 degrees Fahrenheit for the early morning hours, AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyson Hoegg said. Temperatures are expected to settle between 60-63 F by the mid-afternoon hours, she added.
Winds out of the southwest will be fairly light, less than 10 mph, through the entire race, she said.
There could be a couple of showers around the city, according to Hoegg.
"If [showers] were to impact the race, [they] would be fairly light, and I don't think it would have a major impact on the runners," she said.

With so many entrants in the marathon, organizers have set up five different start times for runners to take to the course. The first wave to take the starting line will be the professional women racers at 9:20 a.m. EST. The last wave is set to start at 11 a.m. EST.
Runners stream into Brooklyn in the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon. (Photo/New York Road Runners)
The average finish time for the 2014 marathon was 4 hours, 34 minutes, 45 seconds, according to the marathon's website. Race day in 2014 brought highs near 48 F along with windy conditions and cloudy skies.
The forecast for this year's event looks promising for runners, according to Bart Yasso, chief running officer for Runner's World.
The light wind is key, because the start of the marathon is at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island and it can be "really breezy up there," said Yasso, who has run the marathon three times.
"A very little wind will make a big difference, a big advantage to the runners," said Yasso.
If faced with a headwind, runners try to duck behind one another to have the person ahead of them block the wind and they become less worried about their pace, Yasso explained. A lot of times on windy days, the winning times tend to be slower because no one wants to commit and run fast by racing to a lead. Even for those in the middle or back of the pack, they just want to be with a group and stay out of the wind, he said.
Temperatures in the 50s are favorable, Yasso said. Highs in the upper 60s or low 70s would be too warm, and temperatures in the high 30s or low 40s would be too cold for a lot of runners, he continued.
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Dr. Melissa Leber, assistant professor of sports medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Health System, previously told AccuWeather that the ideal athlete will have already warmed up with indoor activities, before they begin their run.
"Cooler weather means that runners will likely not need as much hydration as compared to warmer weather when they're sweating," Leber said.
Runners cross from Brooklyn to Queens, halfway through the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon. (Photo/New York Road Runners)
Doing cardio work and finding the proper balance of clothing to retain body heat is how runners typically can stay warm prior their run, she said. Wearing several layers that can be easily discarded as the race begins is common practice among marathon entrants.
Runner's World has compiled a list of the ideal throwaway gear for runners to wear to keep warm before a race including pajamas, bathrobes and blankets. Last year, over 207,000 pounds of clothing was collected and donated to Goodwill Industries of New York and New Jersey, the marathon's website states.