While climate change has significant impacts on farming, energy and other sectors, it is also having a major effect on marathons.

Runners tend to perform their best when temperatures are cool and crisp, which is why many major marathons are held in early spring or late fall. For example, the New York City Marathon will be staged this weekend. A new study highlights how warming temperatures are affecting runners.

Many marathons in the United States already struggle to provide ideal temperatures for runners. Elite athletes participating in the New York City Marathon currently have only a 27% to 29% chance of competing in ideal conditions. But Climate Central projects that the odds could drop by as much as 5 percentage points by 2045.

This trend was visible in 2023, when the Twin Cities Ma

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