The weather this year was perfect and all runners were required to show proof of vaccination either on race day when picking up their bib or emailed in to have … MORE
The weather this year was perfect and all runners were required to show proof of vaccination either on race day when picking up their bib or emailed in to have their bib mailed home to them.
The course is the usual central park race course, this one being 2.5 loops of the upper part of the park, cutting out the lower loop.
Runners have cones to protect their lane and divide those finishing from those going onto their second lap. That being said, Central Park is open to the public so you’re sharing that lane with other runners and even, at times, bike cabs who don’t seem to realize that lane isn’t for them.
Post race, a pretty good spread is offered of hot cocoa (if it’s under 55 degrees out), a variety of bagels, and Dole fruit cups.
The course has a 3.5 hour limit, but in most of their half marathons the results go up to almost 4 hours so this isn’t the strictest of limits.
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Beautiful day for a run in Central Park
The weather this year was perfect and all runners were required to show proof of vaccination either on race day when picking up their bib or emailed in to have … MORE
The weather this year was perfect and all runners were required to show proof of vaccination either on race day when picking up their bib or emailed in to have their bib mailed home to them.
The course is the usual central park race course, this one being 2.5 loops of the upper part of the park, cutting out the lower loop.
Runners have cones to protect their lane and divide those finishing from those going onto their second lap. That being said, Central Park is open to the public so you’re sharing that lane with other runners and even, at times, bike cabs who don’t seem to realize that lane isn’t for them.
Post race, a pretty good spread is offered of hot cocoa (if it’s under 55 degrees out), a variety of bagels, and Dole fruit cups.
The course has a 3.5 hour limit, but in most of their half marathons the results go up to almost 4 hours so this isn’t the strictest of limits.
Perfect weather this year
I ran this race for the second time. While last year it was raining, this year it was gorgeous. Full sun, light breeze, and about 40 at race time which, … MORE
I ran this race for the second time. While last year it was raining, this year it was gorgeous. Full sun, light breeze, and about 40 at race time which, because of all the sun, quickly rose to near 50. I ran in shorts, calf sleeves, and a light long sleeve shirt and quickly rolled my sleeves up to the elbow.
They could’ve used more porta potties by the race start. Since the weather was so nice, there was a great runner turn out…but with maybe 10 or so porta potties by the corrals, the lines started snaking down to the corrals and they had to redirect the line. There were still quite a few people on it at race start despite there being porta potties along the course. Hard to plan for, I know. Usually the same amount is just fine when the weather is cold or wet.
The course is that ever fun 2.5 loops of Central Park (minus the lower part of the park) meaning Harlem Hill x2 and Cat Hill x3. The course was especially congested today because everyone in NYC seemed to be walking/running/biking/etc. in Central Park because the weather was so perfect.
Swag was pretty adorable. Shirt has the same image as the medal which featured Central Park residents (squirrels, rats, and raccoons) ice skating.
The food spread was a little disappointing, only because the bagel options were either plain or sesame…no cinnamon raising which is my personal favorite, but they also had apples, bananas, and hot cocoa (which it was honestly too warm for).
Small half in Central Park
This was my 4th time running this particular race. No changes to past years. It was warmer than normal this year (2020), but it was the same course. Swag was … MORE
This was my 4th time running this particular race. No changes to past years. It was warmer than normal this year (2020), but it was the same course. Swag was a long sleeve tech t-shirt. Decent medal at the end. Race starts later than most half marathons (9am). The biggest change this year was moving bib pick up (there is no expo) to Brooklyn. NYCRuns allows for same day pick up, which I (along with a lot of other people) did.
A run in the rain
I ran the race as the first 13.1 miles of a 20 mile long run for marathon training, so my pace is slower than average for that reason. The shirt … MORE
I ran the race as the first 13.1 miles of a 20 mile long run for marathon training, so my pace is slower than average for that reason.
The shirt for this race is usually a long sleeve tech shirt and the medal is nice and interlocks with NYC Runs medals for the tri-boro challenge races (the other 2 being Brooklyn and Queens). They also gave out knit beanies at the finish line (which I sadly did not take because I had no idea what to do with it for the next 7 miles).
I picked up my packed on race morning, but they also offer pre race pick up the Friday before race day.
The course is the same as 99% of runs in Central Park, meaning 3 times up Cat Hill and twice up Harlem Hill.
One disappointing thing I saw on my extra mileage was that they were already breaking down the race with 40 minutes of race left to go and I saw some volunteers leaving early. Other than that it’s another average NYC Runs race, put on pretty well, not too congested, but I’m getting sick of Central Park. My one complaint is that they did not have enough porta potties. I got there early enough that it wasn’t an issue, but the porta potties by the starting line had huge lines as the race was starting.
Weather this year was unseasonably warm, but steady rain for about the first 45 minutes of the race before it tapered off and then stopped so it was humid and foggy, but not raining for the bulk of the race.
Small NYC half marathon in the park
This is a small NYC half marathon (~1,000 runners in 2018). Central Park has rolling hills, and for this race, you go over most of those hills 3 times. There … MORE
This is a small NYC half marathon (~1,000 runners in 2018). Central Park has rolling hills, and for this race, you go over most of those hills 3 times.
There isn’t an expo, but a bib pick up at a sporting store (just one day-five hours) or you can pick up race morning.
The race starts later than most half marathons so–9am. NYCRuns has gotten much better about starting on time (I think they were actually early this year).
Blue long sleeve running shirt and a nice medal for swag.
A half through Central Park
Central Park is a series of rolling hills. This course was 3 loops of the part (2 5-mile loops and 3.1 miles to finish). The shirt was a long sleeve … MORE
Central Park is a series of rolling hills. This course was 3 loops of the part (2 5-mile loops and 3.1 miles to finish). The shirt was a long sleeve technical shirt (they ran out of sizes during bib pick-up). Medal was small but nice.
Smaller NYC half marathon
NYCRuns is a much smaller organization than NY Road Runners (who put on the larger NYC races). As such, they aren't quite as polished. They tend not to start on … MORE
NYCRuns is a much smaller organization than NY Road Runners (who put on the larger NYC races). As such, they aren’t quite as polished. They tend not to start on time and their races can be mildly annoying for runners who struggle with multiple events happening at the same time (on the same course). If you can get past that, it’s a nice race in the park!