Today we watch the New York City Marathon as 33,000 runners head to Staten Island to take on the 50th edition of this iconic race after the 2020 race was cancelled due to a coronavirus outbreak, for many, the return of the marathon to this city The return of the marathon to the city is a cause for celebration Runners will tackle a 262-mile course that will pass through the five boroughs of New York City and finish in Manhattan's Central Park

If you can't make it to the city to line the streets to cheer on the runners, why not watch the live stream and cheer from the comfort of your couch? Also, here is a handy guide on how to track the runners (and all the celebrities) of the New York City Marathon

The New York City Marathon starts today (Sunday, November 7) at 8 am ET with the wheelchair races The handcyclists will start at 8:22 am before the elite women begin their race at 8:40 am The elite men will begin running at 9:05 am, with the first wave starting at 9:10 am The second wave will start at 9:55 am, the third at 10:40 am, the fourth at 11:20 am, and the fifth at 12:00 am [Olympic silver medalist Abdi Nageye and four-time Olympic medalist Kenenisa Bekele will make their New York City Marathon debuts on Sunday Jared Ward and Ben True will also race locally In the women's elite field, Olympic gold medalist Perez Jepchirchir will be at the starting line, as well as four-time Olympic medalist Heralia Johannes and Luit Aga, who won the 2019 Tokyo Marathon and finished third in New York Molly Seidel, Arifin Tuliamuk, and Des Linden will also be at the starting line, racing in front of their home crowd

For those who want to find out how early to set their alarm, here are the start times for the various races All times are in Eastern time 9:10 AM - Wave 1

9:55 AM - Wave 2

10:40 AM - Wave 3

11:20 AM - Wave 4

12:00 PM - Wave 5

Fortunately, you can watch the race from your TV, phone, or tablet There are many ways to watch the New York City Marathon To watch locally, on WABC-TV, channel 7, from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm ET Pre-race coverage from Fort Wadsworth begins at 7 am ET Live streaming will be available on the ABC app and ABC7NYcom from 7 am to 1:30 pm ET If you are not in the US, there are still ways to watch friends and family take on the race

The answer is to use a VPN (Virtual Private Network); a VPN allows you to watch the broadcast from home wherever you are In other words, even if you are abroad, with the best VPN service, you can watch the game live as if you were in the lounge

Our current favorite is ExpressVPN, thanks to its combination of great speed, great customer service, and excellent device support They also offer a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can check them out without signing a long-term contract

Using VPN is incredibly easy

1 Install the VPN of your choice As we have mentioned, ExpressVPN is our favorite

2 select the location you want to connect to with the VPN app For example, if you are in the UK and want to see US services, select US from the list

3 sit back and enjoy the race Go to ABC7NYcom and stream the marathon

A live stream of the New York City Marathon will air on WABC-TV, channel 7, from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm ET Pre-race coverage from Fort Wadsworth begins at 7:00 AM ET Live streaming will be available on the ABC app and ABC7NYcom from 7:00 AM to 1:30 PM ET

If you are in the US but not in New York, you can watch live coverage of the race on ESPN2 and the ESPN app from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM ET In addition, pre-race and continuing race coverage will be streamed live nationally on ESPN3 (accessible via the ESPN app and ESPNcom) from 7:00-8:30 AM and 11:30 AM-1:30 PM A live stream of the finish line will also be available on ESPN3 from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm ET

Even if you are in the UK, you can follow the live coverage of the New York City Marathon with the best VPN services such as ExpressVPN The race will start at 1:00 pm Japan time

The race will also be broadcast on Eurosport, with a subscription fee of £600 per month or £499 per month if you agree to a 12-month subscription You can also pay £2999 for a full year Eurosport offers access to sports events such as the Australian Open and French Open, as well as popular events in cycling, athletics and snooker