NYC Half Marathon: Runners Dash From Prospect To Central Park

NEW YORK CITY, NY — Tens of thousands of runners will take to the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan for the first New York City Half Marathon in three years.

The race, which was canceled amid the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, will begin at 7 a.m. on Sunday, March 20, with a stacked list of elite runners leading the pack of about 25,000 participants.

Here's everything you need to know about the New York City Half Marathon, including information on the course, details on which neighborhood roads will be closed, and how to track runners.

Race course

While the bulk of the 13.1 mile half marathon course is in Manhattan — giving runners the right of way in Midtown, Times Square, and Central Park — the race begins in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

Runners kick off on Center Drive and run up the East Drive hill before heading out of Prospect Park and onto Flatbush Avenue towards Grand Army Plaza.

Once at the plaza, runners go to the right and continue north on Flatbush Avenue, heading towards the Manhattan bridge through most northwest Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Park Slope and Prospect Heights.

Run around the right side of Grand Army Plaza and continue north on Flatbush Avenue toward the Manhattan Bridge.

By mile five the runners are on the Manhattan Bridge, and then it's off into Manhattan for the next seven miles (find a picture of the full race course here).

The runners will job up the FDR Drive, cross over to East 42nd Street then swing a right on Seventh Avenue and head for Central Park.

Road closures

Neighbors in Brooklyn have a front row seat for watching the race, but that also some road closures, mostly in Prospect Park and on Flatbush Avenue — all the way from Empire Boulevard in Prospect Lefferts Gardens to Nassau Street in Downtown Brooklyn, according to the NYPD.

The entirety of the Grand Army Plaza oval will also be closed, the NYPD said.

Here's a full list of the road closures that police said neighbors should expect in Brooklyn:

• East Lake Drive between Ocean Avenue and East Drive
• East Drive between East Lake Drive and Grand Army Plaza
• Hill Drive between East Drive and Well House Drive
• Well House Drive between Hill Drive and West Drive
• South Lake Drive between West Drive and Park Circle
• West Drive between South Lake Drive and Center Drive
• Center Drive between West Drive and East Drive
• Flatbush Avenue between Empire Boulevard and Flatbush Avenue Extension
• Grand Army Plaza Oval
• Flatbush Avenue Extension between Flatbush Avenue and Nassau Street

Here's Manhattan:

• Manhattan Bridge Upper Level (Manhattan-bound)
• Canal Street between Chrystie Street and Allen Street
• Allen Street between Canal Street and Division Street
• Pike Street between Division Street and Cherry Street
• Pike Slip between Cherry Street and South Street
• South Street between Pike Slip and Montgomery Street
• Montgomery Street FDR Entrance Ramp
• FDR Drive (Northbound) between Montgomery Street and 42ndStreet
• 42nd Street FDR Exit Ramp
• 42nd Street between FDR Drive and 7th Avenue
• 7th Avenue between 42nd Street and 59th Street
• West 44th Street between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue
• 59th Street between Columbus Circle and 5th Avenue
• Grand Army Plaza between 59th Street and 60th Street
• East Drive between Grand Army Plaza and Terrace Drive
• Terrace Drive between East Drive and West Drive
• West Drive between Terrace Drive and 7th Avenue
• 67th Street between Central Park West and West Drive
• Center Drive between West Drive and 6th Avenue
• Columbus Circle (Entire Circle)
• Central Park West between Columbus Circle and 69th StreetW

While it's unrelated to the half marathon, some roads in South Slope will also be closed to make space for the beloved Brooklyn St. Patrick's Day Parade, which kicks off at 12:30 p.m. at Bartel-Pritchard Square on the southwestern tip of Prospect Park (while after all the runners have left the park).

The following streets will be fully closed in order to make space for the parade, police said:

• 15th Street between Prospect Park West and 7th Avenue
• 7th Avenue between 15th Street and Garfield Place
• Garfield Place between 7th Avenue and Prospect Park West
• Prospect Park West between Garfield Street and 15th Street

Tracking runners

Anyone who wants to know exactly where to cheer on a family member or friend running the half marathon can download the United Airlines NYC Half App, which is available for free on the Apple and Android stores.

Each runner will have their own page on the app, which will display a dashboard of live tracking stats and give users the option to view and order race-day photos.