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Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon: Another New York Must Do Event
- Feb 23
- 6 min read
Brooklyn is home to some incredible running events. The Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon is operated by NYC RUNS and is one of the ten biggest halfs in the US. You'll get to start in Williamsburg, run past the three bridges, through some of the coolest parts of the Borough, Brooklyn Museum, the Grand Army Plaza Arch, and finish in Prospect Park.
The Destination
With nearly three million if it wasn't part of NYC, Brooklyn would be the third most populous city in the US. It's big and it's a great place to run a half marathon. There are some must see parts of the Borough and this half will take you to them.
Williamsburg is probably at the top of most visitor's Brooklyn wish list and this is where the race starts. Over the last 25 years it's undergone a remarkable transformation, especially in the north. Referred to by some as Little Berlin, it is known for its music, nightlife and arts scene and the changes to its architectural landscape. New high rises dominate its skyline and buildings that looked doomed to history have been renovated and now house apartments, boutique stores and restaurants. Nearby is Brooklyn Bridge Park, an essential place to visit. Covering more than 1.3 miles of Brooklyn’s waterfront, It has a continuous promenade of six diverse piers, with an eclectic mix of cafes, restaurants and specialist stores and covers the area from the Columbia Heights waterfront district to the Manhattan Bridge in DUMBO. DUMBO is an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, and one of Brooklyn's most visited neighborhoods. It has cobblestone streets, dramatic architecture, great dining and breathtaking views of Lower Manhattan’s panoramic skyline and the New York Harbor across the river. In years gone by it was a busy ferry terminal, full of industrial and warehouse buildings and there are still remnants of a railroad track that ran through the neighborhood in the early 1900s.
There are many others places to see, including the Brooklyn Museum and the New York Transit Museum which is housed underground in an authentic 1936 subway station in Downtown Brooklyn, the Transit Museum’s working platform level spans a full city block, and is home to a rotating selection of twenty vintage subway and elevated cars dating back to 1907. There's Coney Island, with the the most famous wooden roller coaster in the US, and one of the oldest (1927) still in operation, the Cyclone, at Coney Island. Located on the southwestern part of Brooklyn Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood, with a famous boardwalk, three miles of beach and one of New York’s top attractions, the insane Luna Park. The area saw years of neglect, but the amusement park has restored the area’s lively nature.
When you want to relax at the end of the day there's the Brooklyn Brewery in Williamsburg, one of the event's partners and where you can take a fascinating tour.
History
The first NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon was held as recently as 2018 when it was added to the the company's Brooklyn Marathon, a community race that debuts in 2011, with 262 finishers running loops around Prospect Park. After a two year break due to Covid in 2020 and 2021, both the marathon returned for 2022, with a new course through the streets and neighborhoods of Brooklyn. The organisers subsequently announced the Marathon would not be offered in 2023 and 2024, while a new course was developed. The focus would be on the Half in those years.
Race Organiser
NYCRUNS
When?
The race is held annually in April
Distances
Half Marathon
Is there an Expo?
The NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon Expo takes place at Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse, 73 West Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on Friday and Saturday before race day and this is where race packs and T-shirts are collected.
How many runners?
25,000
Course
When you pick up your bib at the Expo, you will be assigned a wave and a corral based on the pace you submitted when you registered. Waves can be changed at the expo. The first of the 3 waves starts at 7am and the third one at 8am. You need to be in your wave at least an hour earlier. The wheelchair event goes off first, five minutes before the first wave. There are pacers for each of the waves.
It all starts on Manhattan Avenue in Williamsburg and then heads southwest through Greenpoint. This neighborhood has a large Polish community, containing many Polish restaurants, markets, and businesses, and it is often referred to as Little Poland. Runners then wind down the East River waterfront, passing under the Williamsburg Bridge just after 2 miles, passing the Navy Yards at 3 miles and heading west along Flushing Avenue to DUMBO. It's then under the next bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, before a quick turnaround and under the Brooklyn Bridge, the last of the three. Just over five miles have now gone and it now starts to get a bit hillier as runners turn south towards Brooklyn Heights. Originally known as Brooklyn Village, it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. There are very few high rise buildings here and many brownstone houses, common in parts of Manhattan. The Brooklyn Art Gallery is here, along with some of the area's most prominent churches.
Half way is on historic Fulton Street and then it's some big hills on to Flatbush Avenue. Running on this stretch of the course it's hard to imagine that it's one of the oldest streets in the borough and was once a country lane. Built over a Native American footpath, it connected disparate Dutch farming villages, from which the avenue takes its name. It's then through Grand Army Plaza. The oval-shaped plaza is the grand main entrance to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, and it's also vital in local traffic management. Eight streets converge on Grand Army Plaza’s two ring roads. It features the majestic Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch, a fountain, and several prominent statues. From there it's east towards Prospect Heights, a highly desirable area and home to many more of Brooklyn's brownstones for an out and back section, along Eastern Parkway from mile 8 to beyond mile 10.
It's then back to the Grand Army Plaza and an out and back down Flatbush Avenue within Prospect Park, turning just before the zoo.
Prospect Park was designed and constructed over a thirty-year period (1865-1895) by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the masterminds behind Central Park Although it's only 25% of the area of its northern cousin its 526 acres in size it has the first urban-area Audubon Center in the US, the zoo, an ice rink, a band shell, a carousel, and dozens of athletic and recreational facilities. The last mile down West Drive and Center Drive is the perfect way to finish this stunning tour of Brooklyn. The finish area is restricted to runners so be mindful of where you plan to meet friends and family.
There's plenty of crowd support, especially later (it is an early start!) and the aid stations are regular; every 1.5 miles with water and endurance drinks in good supply.
What's unique?
Although the roads are closed off for other running events in and around Brooklyn, you can't beat the run through DUMBO.
Do charities benefit?
Charities are invited to be part of the event and runners are able to run for their favorite non-profit and raise much needed funds for them.
Our verdict
For an event that was previously fully within the confines of Prospect Park, this course is a real step forward, offering breathtaking views of Manhattan for the first part of the course and the three bridges before heading south along Brooklyn's heart before heading into the Park via the stunning Grand Army Plaza. Yes there are some out and backs and some serious hills, but it's got a lot of positives and it's already one of the top ten halfs in the US with the potential for much more. Give it a go.
How to register
Online via the race website. It's on a first come, first served basis and is likely to sell out so don't leave it too late.