Race to feature 22,500 finishers from the five boroughs and beyond in a run from Brooklyn to Manhattan
An expected 22,500 runners will take to the streets of New York City on Sunday, March 18 in the 2018 United Airlines NYC Half, which will feature a completely redesigned course taking runners on a 13.1-mile tour of iconic city landmarks from Brooklyn to Manhattan, it was announced today by New York Road Runners and the City of New York.
“We’re proud to have worked with New York Road Runners to coordinate a new route that now includes both Brooklyn and Manhattan, and this year even more runners will get to run this race as well as take in the New York City landmarks and views along the redesigned course,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The 2018 United Airlines NYC Half will start along Prospect Park in Brooklyn, head over the Manhattan Bridge, and finish in Central Park. Along the way, runners will pass by many of New York City’s most popular sights, including Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, the United Nations, Grand Central Terminal, Times Square, and Central Park.
“Working together with our partners at the Mayor’s Office of Citywide Event Coordination and Management, we were able to make one of New York City’s most popular races accessible to more runners while also showcasing many of the city’s most popular attractions,” said Jim Heim, NYRR’s senior vice president, event development and production and technical director of the TCS New York City Marathon. “This world-class race has become a bucket-list event for runners from the five boroughs, across the country, and around the world since its inception in 2006. The new course offers an exciting challenge for runners with new stretches that have never before been part of a New York Road Runners event.”
The new United Airlines NYC Half course begins in Brooklyn, just south of Grand Army Plaza near the entrance to Prospect Park on Flatbush Avenue. Race participants will head north on Flatbush Avenue and cross the Manhattan Bridge into lower Manhattan, and pass through the Lower East Side before heading north on the FDR Drive, with sunrise views of the Brooklyn and Queens skylines. Runners will approach the halfway point near East 42nd Street, where they will pass the United Nations as they turn left and run by legendary Grand Central Terminal and Bryant Park. As the field makes the turn up Seventh Avenue, they will pass by 1,000 youngsters running through Times Square in the Rising New York Road Runners at the United Airlines NYC Half kids’ run. Runners will enter Central Park and head north to the 102nd Street Cross Drive before the final turn south on West Drive to the finish line near 75th Street.
“Runners fly to New York from all over the world to take part in the United Airlines NYC Half, and with the revised course, the 2018 race will welcome more participants than ever before,” said Mark Krolick, vice president of marketing at United. “With more destinations served from the New York City area than any other carrier, United looks forward to welcoming these runners, and cheering them on through every step of their journey to the finish line.”
The application for guaranteed and non-guaranteed entry into 2018 United Airlines NYC Half will open at 12:00 p.m. ET on October 16, 2017, and will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on November 30, 2017. The drawing will take place on December 6, 2017.
The 2017 United Airlines NYC Half had 19,409 finishers. The 2018 field expansion and course change are the first major updates since 2013, when a revised course configuration accommodated the addition of a professional wheelchair race.
Race details, including the new course map, and the application for the 2018 United Airlines NYC Half can be found here: www.nyrr.org/races-and-events/
The 2018 United Airlines NYC Half will be broadcast live in the New York area on WABC-TV, Channel 7, nationally on ESPN3 via WatchESPN, and internationally through a network of global broadcast partners.
