Running a Business Takes Endurance. So Does Running the TCS New York City Marathon.

Justworks is now a Strategic Partner of New York Road Runners(opens in a new tab)—the nonprofit that “runs” New York City producing 60 annual adult and youth races, and the Official HR and Payroll Platform Sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon(opens in a new tab), a multi-year partnership covering the 2026 and 2027events, to support and celebrate small businesses in New York. Founders point to teamwork and collaboration (55%), hard work (51%), and discipline (48%) as skills learned through athletics (Justworks x The Harris Poll research; August 2026*). Running a small business and running a marathon both require these traits. 

“Whenever I talk to founders in our community, I’m always amazed by their grit,” said Jeri Doris, Chief People Officer at Justworks. “Setting a goal, working diligently to make it a reality, and showing up even when it’s hard can be said of founders and marathon runners alike. As I gear up to run my 7th full marathon, I’m proud to be a part of a team supporting founder and runner journeys with New York Road Runners.” 

The partnership, brokered by Justworks’ media agency, Noble People, includes signage along race courses, connected TV, radio placements, a social video series, newsletters, and more. To bring the partnership to life even further, Justworks and Noble People pursued digital and out of home placements, creator partnerships to highlight small business journeys leading up to the TCS New York City Marathon on November 1, and in-app run challenges with Strava. Media will run from October 26 through mid-November.

From October 27 - 30, Justworks is popping up in Vanderbilt Hall® at Grand Central Terminal in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the New York City Marathon’s 5-borough course with an interactive experience that allows visitors to explore all five boroughs along the marathon route. Justworks will represent Brooklyn’s vibrant small business community and unmatched spectator spirit within the activation, inviting visitors to create personalized cheer signs to inspire marathon runners.

On October 29, 30, and 31, runners picking up their race materials at the TCS New York City Marathon Expo Presented by New Balance can hit the Justworks booth for a craft experience with mini-runner-figurine building and personalized good luck charms.

And, on Sunday, November 1, Justworks is showing up at Mile 9 (Lafayette Ave and Grand Ave in Brooklyn) of the TCS New York City Marathon with a Cheer Zone to give runners, including Justworks customers, partners, and employees, a boost with a live MC, live music by the Brass Queens(opens in a new tab), and handmade signs. 

“Every runner has a story about showing up when it’s hard, and so does every small business owner,” said Christine Burke, New York Road Runners Chief Commercial Officer. “We’re proud to have Justworks alongside us as the Official HR and Payroll Platform Sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the five-borough course and the people who make this city, and its small businesses, run.”

Learn more about the partnership and how to support small businesses on race day here. 

*Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Justworks from August 12-14, 2026, among 501 owners, founders, and entrepreneurs defined as either small business owners, those who started or founded a business or nonprofit, or those with an incorporated side hustle. Among this group, 434 played/or currently play organized sports.  Data are weighted where necessary by age by gender, region, race/ethnicity, household income, education, marital status, and size of household to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the full sample data is accurate to within + 6.0 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to other multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including, but not limited to coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments.