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The New York City Marathon, like the city it takes over each fall, is as vast as it is vibrant; as loud as it is chaotic; and more than a little daunting, too.

No marathon is easy. But an air of unpredictability lingers over the five boroughs, with hopefuls humbled, and favorites frustrated, as they embark on a challenging 26.2-mile tour of the city.

“Iâ€m really scared,†Olympic champion Sifan Hassan, who has won the London, Chicago and Sydney marathons, told reporters on Friday. Throughout her life, she said, people have told her that New York – which she is about to race for the first time – is “so hardâ€.

Hassan will headline Sundayâ€s race alongside Eliud Kipchoge, often hailed as the greatest marathoner of all time, who is also making his debut in the city. Both ran the Sydney marathon, which Hassan won, just nine weeks ago.

New York City is no place for world records, or meticulously-crafted race plans. On the first Sunday of November, a blank canvas is stretched around the worldâ€s biggest stage. At the front of a 55,000-strong pack of runners, expectations quickly fall by the wayside.

Some World Major marathons, like Chicago and Berlin, are famously flat and fast. New York, with five bridges along the course and an undulating finale through Central Park, is an altogether different beast.

Fiona Oâ€Keeffe was not interested in chasing records or beating the clock this time around. “What I was looking for this fall was just a really competitive race,†she explained in an interview. “Racing is the fun part of what we do.â€

And so, early on Sunday, Oâ€Keeffe will line up among a stacked elite field on Staten Island with an open mind. “Anything can happen on race day,†she said.

When it comes to the marathon, few know this better. In February 2024 Oâ€Keeffe won the US Olympic Trials with a stunning debut that raised high hopes for the Games last summer. She was forced to withdraw about a mile into the race in Paris, however; scans would later reveal a femoral stress fracture.

“Itâ€s just interesting – having experienced the very high-high of the trials, and then obviously my Olympic experience was pretty rough,†Oâ€Keeffe told the Guardian. “So I think Iâ€ve seen both sides of the coin now.â€

Eliud Kipchoge and Sifan Hassan both ran the Sydney marathon, which Hassan won, just nine weeks ago. Photograph: Fairfax Media

“The sport is simple,†she added. “I really do love to run. And Iâ€m so grateful for the people that have supported me through all of this. So [Iâ€m] kind of just leaning into that side of it, more than dwelling on, you know, what it could have been.â€

Spanning almost 15 months later, the road back has been long. Training with the Puma Elite Running Team in Raleigh, North Carolina, Oâ€Keeffe did not want to return to the marathon until she was back at her best.

“I expect it to be a tough race, but Iâ€m excited for that,†she said. “Iâ€m excited to see how it plays out and how it unfolds and see what can happen if I just keep putting myself in it, and trusting myself when those moves do happen.â€

Oâ€Keeffe and Hassan, who won the Sydney marathon just nine weeks ago, will face strong competition in the elite womenâ€s field. Former champions Sheila Chepkirui, Sharon Loekdi and Hellen Obiri will also toe the line. A strong American contingent includes Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidl, Emily Sisson and Susanna Sullivan, fresh off a strong performance at Septemberâ€s world championships in Tokyo.

The menâ€s field, led by Kipchoge, likewise includes plenty of contenders, including former champions Abdi Nageeye and Albert Korir; 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Benson Kipruto; and Alexander Mutiso, who won the London Marathon last year. The Americans Hillary Bor and Joe Klecker will also both make their respective marathon debuts.

Runners get drinks at a hydration station as they compete in last yearâ€s New York City Marathon. Photograph: David Dee Delgado/AFP/Getty Images

“I always thought being in the stadium, with the track races, was the biggest thing in our sport,†said Britainâ€s Patrick Dever, who previously focused on the 5,000m and 10,000m, and will make his marathon debut on Sunday. “But after having been around these major marathons, you realize how much of a spectacle they are.â€

Dever, who, like Oâ€Keeffe, trains with Puma Elite, has been steeling himself for the longer distance. “Youâ€re just out there for such a longer period of time, so you just have way more time in your own head to talk yourself out of it, or keep yourself calm,†he said. “The biggest thing Iâ€ve been trying to work on in these long runs is just not panicking in my head a little bit if things arenâ€t feeling right.

“I feel like Iâ€m fully prepared, going into the race, knowing that itâ€s for sure not going to feel good the whole way. Thereâ€s going to be periods in the race where Iâ€ll probably want to drop out. I feel like you just have to be okay with that, and just try not to pay attention to how youâ€re feeling at any one point.â€

New Yorkers will turn out in force to cheer, amplifying the highs and cushioning the lows, as tens of thousands of runners – from first-timers and fundraisers to big dreamers and distinguished veterans – parade through the city.

Kipchoge has two Olympic and 11 World Major marathon titles, and remains the only person to have run the distance in less than two hours. He is running New York City amid speculation that he is preparing to retire from elite marathoning, and has trailed a “huge announcement†after the race.

“I want to experience, I want to go through it,†Kipchoge told reporters. “I want to actually see the two million people who are lining up around the course. I want to pass all the bridges in New York, the best places in New York – actually to see, with my eyes, wave to the people. This is the best city, where everything is here.â€

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NEW YORK — Wanting to cap Torontoâ€s season with a title, Jeff Hoffman suggested changing hats.

Six losses in seven games had dropped the Blue Jays into a tie with the New York Yankees for the AL East lead. That prompted the 32-year-old reliever to send Scott Blinn, Torontoâ€s director of major league clubhouse operations, scrambling to find those retro caps with white panels in the style the Blue Jays wore when they won the 1992 World Series.

Toronto is 5-0 in the historical headgear over the past two weeks as it takes a 2-0 lead into Game 3 of the best-of-five AL Division Series against the Yankees.

“I didnâ€t pack another hat,†manager John Schneider said with a smile.

Following a 7-1 loss to the Red Sox at Rogers Centre on Sept. 24, Hoffman suggested to Binn a switch to the 1992 headgear, which was used during Major League Baseballâ€s Hall of Fame weekend promotion from July 25-27 — not because heâ€s superstitious, but because he liked the look. Wearing the white panels, the Blue Jays had taken two of three at Detroit to finish a four-game series.

“`We need a new combo. What should we wear?â€â€ Hoffman said, recounting the player discussion. “And I said, `I know what we should wear. We should wear the blues, the blue jerseys with the white-panel hat.†And they all kind of like perked up because they didnâ€t know I knew about them.â€

Blinn found the caps in a Rogers Centre storage room. Toronto beat Boston 6-1 on Sept. 25, wearing blue alternate jerseys and the white-panel chapeaus. The next night, a Friday, the Blue Jays were required to wear Nike Connect uniforms topped by pitch-blue caps, suggested by Lake Ontario at night. They beat Tampa Bay 4-2 to remain tied with the Yankees.

On most days, players get to decide which uniforms to wear. Given that option for the final weekend of the regular season, the Jays stuck with the blue jerseys and white-panel hats. They closed with 5-1 and 13-4 wins over the Rays to win the division on a tiebreaker over New York.

Toronto finished the season 58-45 in blue caps, 20-17 in the two-tone hats with powder blue visors and navy crowns that were launched with the return of powder blue alternate jerseys in 2020, 8-3 in Nike Connect games and 5-1 in the white-panel throwbacks. They were also 1-2 in Armed Forces caps with beige camouflage crowns and olive visors from May 16-18, 1-0 in red for Canada Day on July 1 and 1-0 in light blue crowns and red visors for July 4.

The Blue Jays stayed with the white-panel caps and blue jerseys in the first two games of the Division Series, romping over the Yankees 10-1 and 13-7.

“I just wear whatâ€s in my locker. I just will wear what weâ€re told to wear,†four-time All-Star outfielder George Springer said, spurning superstitions.

Toronto wore caps with white panels for all games from its inception in 1977 through 1990 — with white jerseys at home — then switched to all blue caps for road games in 1991. The Blue Jays dropped the white panel at home on July 6, 1991, in the midst of a five-game losing streak, going with all blue, and beat the visiting Chicago White Sox 5-1 behind six shutout innings from Dave Stewart.

“Iâ€m not sure what the blue caps were all about,†Stewart said after the game, his 150th career victory. “But we won, so maybe weâ€ll wear them again.â€

Blue Jays equipment manager Jeff Ross thought of the change “just to see how it looks with the white uniform.â€

“It had nothing to do with the losing streak,†Ross said at the time. “Weâ€d been doing so well at home so I didnâ€t want to do it while we were going well. This was the time to do it. It looks great after a win.â€

Toronto went on to win its second straight World Series title in 1993, and the all-blue caps remained for most games. The Blue Jays brought back the white panels on Aug. 16, 2015, for a “Turn Back the Dial†promotion honoring the 30th anniversary of the teamâ€s first AL East title, and beat the Yankees 3-1. Toronto then used the white panels at least once per season and as many as 27 times in 2018 and 24 the following year, according to uniformlineup.com, but then decreased its frequency.

The team hadnâ€t worn them since Aug. 27, 2022, before they returned this year for MLBâ€s Hall of Fame weekend promotion.

“Weâ€ve been playing well since weâ€ve been wearing them, which is hard for my argument of, hey, it doesnâ€t matter what hat weâ€re wearing guys, like, we just need to play good,†Hoffman said.

And even Springerâ€s disdain for superstition only goes so far. For instance, he wonâ€t think of stepping on a foul line.

“That,†he said, “would be crazy.â€

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With improvements in the Q round and final, Tokyo gold medalist Yuleisy Angulo added more than 9ft to her pre-Champs PR. (KIRBY LEE/IMAGE OF SPORT)

IN A STRANGE, underwhelming competition which produced the shortest winning distance in the history of the World Champs, and by some margin, at least the unheralded gold and silver medalists finished with smiles on their faces.

Neither Ecuadorâ€s Yuleisy Angulo nor Latviaâ€s Anete Sietiņa featured at all in our pre-meet formchart yet both defied the odds and rose to the occasion on an airless evening which gave little help to the throwers.

Australiaâ€s Mackenzie Little, the â€23 Worlds bronze medalist and 2-time NCAA champion while at Stanford, took an early lead with her 208-7 (63.58) opener.

However, with all the other big names struggling, Angulo made the most of her opportunity at the end of the second round.

She launched her implement out to 213-8 (65.12) for an almost 2-meter improvement on her own NR of 207-6 (63.25) which she had thrown in the qualifying round.

Throwers came and went, with nobody able to reach 210ft (64.00) until the final round, let alone challenge Angulo.

Sietiņa leapt up from 8th to 3rd in the fifth stanza with her 207-10 (63.35) and then overtook Little to grab silver with a last-round PR, 212-1 (64.64) that added an additional element to the shocking outcome of the contest.

“I still canâ€t believe it,†said Ecuadorâ€s first woman global athletics gold medalist. “I compete to improve myself. I have an internal battle to improve myself.â€

Angulo added: “My training partner Flor Dennis [Ruiz, from Colombia, who finished 6th on this occasion] won silver two years ago and I thought I could be at that level one day. I have faced some adversities, such as two surgeries in my left knee. But I persevered. I never gave up. I had been to two World Championships before [failing to make the final both times], and I wasnâ€t going to leave my third without a medal.â€

Much to the disappointment of the home audience, reigning world and Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi — the face of Tokyo 25 and the hosts†big hope for gold — crashed out in qualifying with only 198-1 (60.38). She had struggled with tendon issues in the elbow of her right throwing arm since July.

Kitaguchi was not the only Olympic gold medalist to exit in the prelims. Croatiaâ€s Rio â€16 winner Sara Kolak missed the cut as did Polandâ€s world all-time No. 3 Maria Andrejczyk.

U.S. throwers Madison Wiltrout and Evie Bliss also failed to progress although their best efforts of 195-6 (59.58) and 193-2 (58.88) in the prelims were not far off their PRs.

WOMENâ€S JAVELIN RESULTS

FINAL (SEPTEMBER 20)

1. Yuleisy Angulo (Ecu) 213-8 (65.12) NR

(193-9, 213-8, f, 186-7, 206-4, 208-6) (59.07, 65.12, f, 56.87, 62.89, 63.55);

2. Anete Sietiņa (Lat) 212-1 (64.64) PR

(f, 194-11, f, 195-5, 207-10, 212-1) (f, 59.43, f, 59.56, 63.35, 64.64);

3. Mackenzie Little (Aus) 208-7 (63.58)

(208-7, 201-6, 191-2, 202-0, 197-5, 199-3) (63.58, 61.42, 58.28, 61.59, 60.19, 60.75);

4. Jo-Ané Du Plessis (SA) 206-11 (63.06)

(199-1, 206-11, 196-4, 196-4, 195-10, 202-1) (60.69, 63.06, 59.84, 59.85, 59.70, 61.61);

5. Elína Tzénggo (Gre) 205-9 (62.72)

(205-9, 201-7, 191-6, 197-9, f, 197-3) (62.72, 61.45, 58.38, 60.28, f, 60.12);

6. Flor Dennis Ruiz (Col) 204-5 (62.32)

(192-11, 199-11, 194-3, 204-5, 193-4, f) (58.80, 60.94, 59.20, 62.32, 58.94, f);

7. Tori Moorby (NZ) 201-10 (61.53)

(197-8, 196-0, 201-10, f, 182-9) (60.26, 59.74, 61.53, f, 55.70);

8. Adriana Vilagoš (Ser) 201-1 (61.29)

(173-8, 188-0, 196-10, 201-1, 200-9) (52.93, 57.31, 60.00, 61.29, 61.20);

9. Lingdan Su (Chn) 195-5 (59.56)

(192-11, f, 195-5, 193-5) (58.81, f, 59.56, 58.97);

10. Victoria Hudson (Aut) 195-3 (59.52)

(f, 195-3, f, f) (f, 59.52, f, f);

11. Valentina Barrios (Col) 194-0 (59.14)

(189-9, 178-1, 194-0) (57.85, 54.29, 59.14);

12. Małgorzata Maślak-Glugla (Pol) 189-7 (57.80)

(189-7, 185-7, f) (57.80, 56.58, f).

* = progression of the leading throw; ¶ = athleteâ€s best of the day

first 3 rounds

Tzénggo
62.72*¶
61.45
58.38

Little
63.58*¶
61.42
58.28

Vilagoš
52.93
57.31
60.00

Hudson
f
59.52¶
f

Ruiz
58.80
60.94
59.20

Du Plessis
60.69
63.06¶
59.84

Moorby
60.26
59.74
61.53¶

Sietiņa
f
59.43
f

Barrios
57.85
54.29
59.14¶

Máslak-Glugla
57.80¶
56.58
f

Su
58.81
f
59.56¶

Angulo
59.07
65.12*¶
f

round 4

Sietiņa
59.56

Hudson
f

Su
58.97

Vilagoš
61.29¶

Ruiz
62.32¶

Moorby
f

Tzénggo
60.28

Du Plessis
59.85

Little
61.59

Angulo
56.87

round 5

Sietiņa
63.35

Vilagoš
61.20

Ruiz
58.94

Moorby
55.70

Tzénggo
f

Du Plessis
59.70

Little
60.19

Angulo
62.89

final round

Ruiz
f

Tzénggo
60.12

Du Plessis
61.61

Sietiņa
64.64¶

Little
60.75

Angulo
63.55

QUALIFYING (September 19; auto-qualifier 205-1/62.50)

Qualifiers: Vilagoš 216-9 (66.06), Little 215-0 (65.54), Sietiņa 208-10 (63.67), Angulo 207-6 (63.25) NR, Hudson 206-2 (62.85), Moorby 206-0 (62.78), Su 204-0 (62.18), Ruiz 203-9 (62.11), Maślak-Glugla 202-8 (61.79) PR, Du Plessis 201-4 (61.38), Tzénggo 201-1 (61.31), Barrios 200-1 (60.98),

Non-Qualifiers: Momone Ueda (Jpn) 198-5 (60.49), Haruka Kitaguchi (Jpn) 198-1 (60.38), Rhema Otabor (Bah) 197-0 (60.06), Maria Andrejczyk (Pol) 197-0 (60.04), Jucilene de Lima (Bra) 196-2 (59.79), Madison Wiltrout (US) 195-6 (59.58), Evie Bliss (US) 193-2 (58.88), Liveta JasiÅ«naitÄ— (Lit) 192-5 (58.66), Marija VuÄenović (Ser) 191-7 (58.40), Marie-Therese Obst (Nor) 188-8 (57.52), Lianna Davidson (Aus) 188-5 (57.44), Manuela Rotundo (Uru) 188-5 (57.43), Qianqian Dai (Chn) 188-1 (57.34), Irene Jepkemboi (Ken) 185-6 (56.55), Eda TuÄŸsuz (Tur) 184-3 (56.16), Esra Türkmen (Tur) 183-8 (55.99), Annu Rani (Ind) 181-0 (55.18), Sae Takemoto (Jpn) 180-9 (55.11), Sigrid Borge (Nor) 180-1 (54.90), LÄ«na MÅ«ze-SirmÄ (Lat) & Sara Kolak (Cro) 178-9 (54.49), Andrea Železná (CzR) 175-3 (53.43), Daniella Mieko Nisimura (Bra) 173-11 (53.01), Petra Sicaková (CzR) 170-3 (51.90).

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