“Hi Martino, interested in a post about the Brooklyn Marathon?”
“Brooklyn marathon? But is there a marathon in Brooklyn as well?”
Thus began the Runlovers “editorial meeting” between Martino and me, and this post is what came out of it….
In short: YES, there is a marathon in Brooklyn too and it is profoundly different from “LA” New York City Marathon. So different that it could not be more different.
Let’s start with one of the few things in common: this marathon is also 42,195 meters long. Therefore, it is not a marathon, a 10K marathon, a marathonette, a marathonella or any other word that wants to include the concept of a marathon but not the “basket” that you have to make yourself to finish a whole one.
In reality, however, it is also a half-marathon, a gimmick to “up” the numbers of participants and make this race more popular.
The full name, in fact, is “Brooklyn Marathon & Half Marathon” and is organized by NYCRUNS.
“Ahhh I understand the people who organize the New York Marathon!”
Nope! Those are NYRR (New York Road Runners) these, on the other hand, are New York City Runs and, in some ways, are just the exact opposite. Very much against.
The folks at NYCRUNS are … let’s say the David of running in New York. The underdogs. The “we are small but pissed off”. I am the Bull of running in the city. And that definitely makes them sympathetic to me.
On April 24, 2022, the NYCRUNS team succeeded in the feat they had been planning for a long time: to take over the streets of Brooklyn (at least some of them) and to make so many people (about 20,000) run.
This race is actually in its “tenth” year, but until now it had been holed up in the borough’s largest park: Prospect Park. This strategy of “occupying” spaces in the city left “vacant” by NYRR (thus avoiding an impractical and really unequal head-on clash) seems to work for other NYCRUNS races as well.
Yeah whatever but where do you run?
Organizing such a large event (in terms of numbers and public space occupied) is not trivial, and let’s just say that some initial uncertainty was noted, especially on the route that changed several times up to a few weeks pre-race.
Eventually the start was at McCarren Park (in Williamsburg, north Brooklyn). The route continued to Greenpoint and then pointed south and followed the East River along the Brooklyn Navy Yard, passing through Dumbo below Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge.
After Dumbo followed a small “but mean” climb through Downtown Brooklyn until reaching Grand Army Plaza, the “edge” north of Prospect Park. Here, before entering the park, you run a few miles (back and forth) along Eastern Parkway and finally enter Prospect Park. After a three-mile or so stretch, the group splits in two: to the left toward the finish line go the half-marathoners, the “whole” ones, on the other hand, continue for another half-turn into the park, come out of it, make a half-turn outside and take Ocean Parkway, for more than a few miles south, and then turn back.
All that is left to do to complete the race is to complete another almost complete lap of the park on the same course (and here there are alternating good signs like “Mile 25” and alarming signs like “Mile 15”) and then reach the end, common to both races, along Center Drive.
In no particular order it should be said that: the part to the north was not originally planned this way and is distinctly the most beautiful part, the ride in Prospect Park is nice but the knolls much less so, the ride on Ocean Parkway (for marathon runners only) on the other hand does not hold up (and even seeing those much faster than you already coming back gives a good slap in the face). The last climb inside Prospect is beautiful but I don’t know if I would live there. For number crunchers according to my Garmin there is about 220 meters of positive elevation gain to pass.
Some “pieces” of the race are in common with a far more famous race run in Brooklyn (in May) the NYRR Brooklyn Half, which starts and goes around Prospect and then runs south along Ocean Parkway to the famous Coney Island boardwalk. Which was then the original planned route for this “Brooklyn Marathon” so not all bad things come to harm.
Some on-the-fly comparisons with “LA” sister.
The course here is all in Brooklyn, in the NYC Marathon “only” 19Km is run in the coolest borough of all (there is a slight personal opinion, I admit).
The Expo is very (but VERY) small but it is a perfect “Brooklyn” (Industry City) style location. The expo at Javitz is huge but the spaces are more aseptic and less “cool.”
Registering for the race is super easy: there were spots available up to a few weeks before. There is no lottery, candles to light, races to run, prayers to make, bribes to propose in vain: you go to the website and sign up. For the NYC Marathon, however.
The Brooklyn Marathon is “cheap!” About $140 versus $255 for its more popular cousin!
The organization is small: it shows in so many things especially on race day. The result is that everything a little bit more crafted, true, a little bit too messy, and definitely nice. On the TCS NYC Marathon side, however, everything is very precise. And it is also inevitable given the amount of people who start (usually over 50,000) and during the race the respect of the waves is, fortunately, felt.
The bib is simple (Number, Wave, Corral and indication of marathon or half) and it is small! The NYC Marathon one is big and so complex that Martino wrote a chapter of a book on it (by the way cool, the book, not Martino).
The start is Sunday at 7 a.m., which means that when you arrive in Downtown Brooklyn many are still sleeping blissfully; there are people on the streets and many inside the park (especially near the finish line), but not immense crowds. The New York City Marathon starts at 9:30 a.m. From 10 a.m. onward we pass through (almost) oceanic crowds of people. In this case, there is really no comparison.
As mentioned at the beginning this race is both a half and a marathon, with numbers clearly skewed in favor of the half (about 17000 of the 20000) participants. When the group splits up those running the marathon suddenly feel lonely (and also envious of those who are finishing). The TCS NYC Marathon is just marathon and alone is the one feeling you NEVER get.
The medal is colorful and has a distinctive style (common to all other NYCRUNS races). The TCS NYC Marathon medal is very “institutional” and also more understated.
And to learn more?
The calendar of “other” NYCRUNS races is rich, varied and pleasantly “different” in so many ways. If you happen to be in New York and feel like running a race with friends (in even strange areas than the usual ones) take a look at the website and the race calendar also counting on the fact that there are often places available up to a few days before.
The jerseys (and medals) are very colorful and distinctive.
At the moment I don’t think any Italian operator organizes travel packages for this race, but that could change quickly given the good results of this tenth (but first) edition on the streets of Brooklyn.
It is possible that the route will change to be able to get to Coney Island, hoping that the north side will not suffer, it would be a shame because it is very unique, beautiful and at the start I walk there from home (however, perhaps this is too personal a consideration….).
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Lorenzo is the author of the book “The Endless Run,” a comprehensive guide to the New York City Marathon. He has currently run the NYC Marathon eight times and lives between Bologna and New York (Covid permitting).
(Main image credits: Brooklyn Marathon’s Instagram profile)