The Brooklyn road-running community is anxious go to get back onto the streets after the layoff forced by COVID, and to that end, registration is already under way for an event nine months away — the 10th annual Brooklyn Marathon and Half Marathon.
To mark the return of the popular event on April 24 2022, its sponsor, New York City Runs, will have a new course for the race. The previous route encompassed Prospect Park, Prospect Heights and Kensington, with full-marathoners going on to Coney Island.
The new course, on the other hand, begins in McCarren Park in Williamsburg before heading to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, through DUMBO, toward Grand Army Plaza and on to Prospect Park. Half-marathoners will end the race in the park, while those doing the full marathon will continue to Coney Island, then loop back to the park.
On their way to Prospect Park, the runners will pass the Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. In an apparent effort to attract younger runners, New York City Runs, in its literature, refers to the race’s northern area as “hip and edgy North Brooklyn.”
The current route will have runners start at McCarren Park in Williamsburg before heading to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, through DUMBO, toward Grand Army Plaza and to Prospect Park, where half marathon runners will finish the race. Full marathon runners will continue to Coney Island before looping back and returning to Brooklyn’s Backyard.
The hydration stations along the route will be operated and supported by local Brooklyn running clubs. These include the Prospect Park Track Club, which advertises itself as Brooklyn’s largest and most active running club; the Prospect Park Youth Running Club, for athletes ages 6 to 13; the Brooklyn Triathlon Club, the Crown Heights Running Club and others.
Lorraine Grillo, senior advisor for recovery for the City of New York, said, “As we build a recovery for all of us, we look forward to seeing the excitement of camaraderie and personal achievement that the Brooklyn Marathon and Half Marathon will bring to new corridors, while supporting local businesses and uplifting neighborhoods throughout the borough.”
NYCRUNS produces approximately three dozen running events per year for more than 50,000 athletes, from the aforementioned Brooklyn Marathon and Half Marathon to famed Empire State Building Run-Up to the Newport-Liberty Half Marathon in New Jersey — approximately three dozen running events annually for the more than 50,000 athletes who cross our finish line. These events include the flagship Brooklyn Marathon & Half Marathon, the Newport-Liberty Half Marathon –one of the largest half marathons in New Jersey, and the storied Empire State Building Run-Up.
