This is one of many halfs run in Flushing Meadows Corona Park throughout the year. This is probably one of the colder ones. You will get to see some of … MORE
This is one of many halfs run in Flushing Meadows Corona Park throughout the year. This is probably one of the colder ones.
You will get to see some of the sights of the world fair, as well as the mets and tennis stadiums in the distance. The course is mostly flat with the exception of a small overpass you will cross a total of six times, though it’s not a big deal. There are a lot of turns. That said, PB’s are quite possible.
Swag design is pretty good. The donuts are pretty typical, jelly, chocolate sprinkle etc. Supposedly they run out of donuts sometimes so if you are at 2:10+ you may be in for a disappointment.
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Corona Park with the promise of donuts
This is one of many halfs run in Flushing Meadows Corona Park throughout the year. This is probably one of the colder ones. You will get to see some of … MORE
This is one of many halfs run in Flushing Meadows Corona Park throughout the year. This is probably one of the colder ones.
You will get to see some of the sights of the world fair, as well as the mets and tennis stadiums in the distance. The course is mostly flat with the exception of a small overpass you will cross a total of six times, though it’s not a big deal. There are a lot of turns. That said, PB’s are quite possible.
Swag design is pretty good. The donuts are pretty typical, jelly, chocolate sprinkle etc. Supposedly they run out of donuts sometimes so if you are at 2:10+ you may be in for a disappointment.
Run a World Fair park
These races (there is a half marathon, which I did, and a 5k) take place in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. This location was home to the 1939 and 1964 World Fairs. … MORE
These races (there is a half marathon, which I did, and a 5k) take place in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. This location was home to the 1939 and 1964 World Fairs.
I realize that my overall rating is higher than the individual breakdowns, which may not make sense!
Course Difficulty & Scenery: The course is 3 loops–so that can get old. But I like running this park and seeing the Unisphere and the New York State Pavilion. The course is almost entirely flat, except for one short bridge that you go over 6 times. The course surface has the occasional bumps and holes, so be on the lookout for uneven surfaces.
Race Production: NYCRuns is a much smaller organization than New York Road Runners (NYRR). It’s great that the city has both. And with putting on smaller races, NYCRuns often goes to different areas of the city (including Governors Island). That said…I felt like they needed more volunteers today. At one point on the course, there were cones and a sign with arrows (“All Race Activities” –>). I saw several runners take this turn. I don’t believe that it was an intentional decision to cut the course–we are runners, we follow cones and arrows! But if these same runners did this for all 3 loops, they likely ran almost a mile less. On one of my loops, there was a volunteer there–so maybe it was only a short period of time that it wasn’t covered. Regardless, they needed a volunteer at this point the entire race. Additionally, the finish area (where they gave out donuts) dumped runners back on the course. So all of the 5k runners and then the fast half marathoners got their donuts and strolled on the course, blocking the path. So volunteers would have been beneficial here, too. And, of course, the runners who just completed the race should also have taken more care.
Ever since NYCRuns started racing again at the end of 2020, they have been mailing bibs to people who register early. No additional cost for this benefit, which is great.
Race swag: NYCRuns has fun themes, so they give it fun medals and shirts. They shirts are long sleeve technical. I very rarely get the shirt–not this is not by my choice. They don’t order enough shirts for all the runners. They are transparent about it: “To reduce waste we try not to over-order, so sizes are not guaranteed.” But it’s frustrating.
Overall, I believe that this is a fun, flat race that is worth doing!