Clocks fall back one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026. In New York, the change lands between a Saturday Halloween night and the start of the TCS New York City Marathon. The extra hour comes after the Village Halloween Parade ends and hours before the first marathon starts on Staten Island.
Key Takeaways
- At 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, clocks move back to 1 a.m., so the 1 a.m. hour happens twice.
- The Village Halloween Parade steps off at 7 p.m. Saturday on Sixth Avenue and is expected to wrap around 11 p.m.
- The first New York City Marathon start is the professional men’s wheelchair race at 8:00 a.m. The last runner wave starts at 11:30 a.m.
- All marathon start times are on Eastern Standard Time, after the clock change.
- Close to 60,000 runners are expected to finish in Central Park.
Clocks Fall Back in 2026 at 2 A.M. on Sunday, November 1
For anyone asking when clocks fall back in 2026, the answer is the first Sunday of November. At 2 a.m. on November 1, clocks return to 1 a.m. and New York switches from Eastern Daylight Time to Eastern Standard Time. Smartphones, computers and most connected devices update on their own. Wall clocks, oven displays, car dashboards and older watches do not.
Most years, the extra hour is a quiet Sunday perk. This year it falls on one of New York’s busiest overnight stretches of the fall. Halloween lands on a Saturday, so parades and parties run late without a workday the next morning. The New York City Marathon then sends tens of thousands of runners to Staten Island early Sunday.
Daylight Saving Time End Date for 2026 in the United States Holds Under Current Law
Proposals to make daylight saving time permanent drew attention in Washington this year, but none has become law. Under current federal law, the daylight saving time end date for 2026 is unchanged, and clocks still fall back on November 1. Households, schools, employers and transit agencies are working on that schedule.
After the change, mornings get lighter and evenings get darker earlier. Commuters heading home from work during the week of November 2 will notice the shift right away.
Halloween Night Runs an Hour Longer for Parade-Goers
The 53rd Village Halloween Parade steps off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 31. It marches north on Sixth Avenue from Canal Street to 15th Street. Costumed marchers join the lineup at Canal Street and Sixth Avenue between 6:30 and 9 p.m. This year’s theme is “Body & Soul,” and a new Firehorse puppet performance by Basil Twist leads the procession. Readers planning their night can find more on the Body & Soul theme and Firehorse procession on Sixth Avenue.
The parade is expected to wrap around 11 p.m. Spectrum News NY1 carries it live starting at 8 p.m. The official parade parties run Friday, October 30, and Saturday, October 31, at House of Yes in Industry City, Brooklyn. For anyone staying out past midnight on Saturday, the clock change adds a second 1 a.m. hour before the night ends.
Late-Night Travelers Should Check Train Times During the Repeated Hour
Commuter rail schedules have to account for the same hour happening twice. Late-night travelers heading home from parade parties on the Long Island Rail Road or Metro-North during the 1 a.m. clock-change hour should check the TrainTime app before leaving for the station. A departure that looks right on a printed schedule may not match what runs that night.
Marathon Runners Face Early Starts on Standard Time
The New York City Marathon runs Sunday, November 1, with close to 60,000 runners expected. All start times are on Eastern Standard Time, after the clocks fall back. The race-week schedule:
- 8:00 a.m.: Professional men’s wheelchair race
- 8:02 a.m.: Professional women’s wheelchair race
- 8:22 a.m.: Handcycles and select athletes with disabilities
- 8:35 a.m.: Professional women
- 9:05 a.m.: Professional men
- 9:10 a.m.: Wave 1 (corral closes 8:45 a.m.)
- 9:45 a.m.: Wave 2 (corral closes 9:25 a.m.)
- 10:20 a.m.: Wave 3 (corral closes 10 a.m.)
- 10:55 a.m.: Wave 4 (corral closes 10:40 a.m.)
- 11:30 a.m.: Wave 5 (corral closes 11:15 a.m.)
Runners should follow their assigned transportation time from New York Road Runners and check the clock math against their wave start, so they reach the Fort Wadsworth start area with plenty of time to spare. The risk is a device that doesn’t update. A runner who sets an alarm on an older watch or a manual clock could wake up an hour early, or later than planned if the alarm was set after the clocks changed.
Wave and corral assignments are printed on each runner’s bib and appear in the official race app. Runners should confirm against those instead of a general schedule. Official timing at the Central Park finish runs until 10 p.m.
Devices and Clocks to Check Before Saturday Night
The simplest step is to change manual clocks before bed on Saturday, October 31. Runners, early-shift workers and anyone with a Sunday morning flight should check that their phone is set to update the time automatically. Spectators heading to the marathon course on Sunday should plan around standard time, since every published course time already reflects the change.
FAQs
When Do Clocks Fall Back in 2026?
Clocks fall back at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026, returning to 1 a.m. Phones and computers update automatically, but manual clocks need to be set back by hand.
Is Daylight Saving Time on Halloween This Year?
Daylight saving time ends early on the morning after Halloween. Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, and clocks change at 2 a.m. Sunday, so Halloween night in New York gets an extra hour.
