An estimated 22,500 runners will race through the streets of New York City during the 2018 United Airlines NYC Half on Sunday, March 18. The 13.1-mile race will take runners on a completely new course in 2018 that will start near Prospect Park in Brooklyn and end in Central Park in Manhattan, passing by a number of iconic city landmarks along the way. Runners in the half-marathon general runner field will be selected in an entry drawing on Wednesday, December 6, while the professional athlete field will be announced in early 2018.
“We’re excited to partner with the City of New York to provide more runners with the opportunity to experience the unique neighborhoods and diverse communities during the 13th running of the United Airlines NYC Half,” said Jim Heim, senior vice president, event development & production, New York Road Runners, and technical director, TCS New York City Marathon. “This race embodies the spirit of New York City and is set to be the best yet in 2018, led by an exciting redesigned course that will give thousands of runners the chance to see even more of New York City’s iconic sights, while being cheered on by thousands of spectators lining the new route.”
The 2018 United Airlines NYC Half field will be made up of both guaranteed and non-guaranteed entrants. Runners received guaranteed entry through a variety of methods, which are detailed here. Non-guaranteed entrants are being selected through a drawing on Wednesday, December 6. The application period for all entrants opened on October 16, 2017, and closed on November 30, 2017.
An estimated 15,000 runners will be added to the race field through the non-guaranteed entry drawing. Over 42,000 applications were received for the drawing. The runners being selected will represent nearly 36 percent of the drawing applicants. An estimated 22,500 runners are expected to finish the 2018 United Airlines NYC Half.
“Drawing day represents an exciting first step in each runner’s journey toward the 2018 United Airlines NYC Half finish line,” said Christine Burke, vice president of runner products and services, New York Road Runners. “We look forward to welcoming our first group of runners to experience the new United Airlines NYC Half course and staying in close touch with them as they prepare for race day through New York Road Runners Group or Virtual Training offerings, programming at the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring the New Balance Run Hub, and our many exciting race-week activities.”
The 2018 United Airlines NYC Half will start 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, passing through the Lower East Side in Manhattan and heading north on the FDR Drive. Runners will then turn left onto East 42nd Street, where they will pass the United Nations, legendary Grand Central Terminal, and Bryant Park before making their way into Times Square. From there, participants will run north on Seventh Avenue and into Central Park. Once in Central Park, they will race north to the 102nd Street Cross Drive before making the final turn south on West Drive to the finish line near West 75th Street.
As the field makes the turn up Seventh Avenue, they will run alongside 1,000 young runners from schools across New York City taking part in the Rising New York Road Runners Youth Run at the United Airlines NYC Half. The 1500-meter out-and-back course will race through the heart of Times Square. Rising New York Road Runners is NYRR’s free, year-round youth program and events platform that serves 267,000 youth across the country annually.
Runners who are not accepted through the drawing, and those who did not apply during the application period, still have an opportunity to run the 2018 United Airlines NYC Half through NYRR’s Team for Kids (here), the United Airlines NYC Half’s largest charity, which raises funds to support NYRR’s free, year-round youth fitness programs across the country, or through a United Airlines NYC Half Official Charity Partner (here). Runners who have been accepted into the race can also raise money for charity—NYRR Team for Kids, any official charity partner, or a charity of their choice—by using CrowdRise. Approximately 2,700 runners participating in the 2017 United Airlines NYC Half raised $5 million for charity. That number includes both runners who gained entry through the more than 130 Official Charity Partners and those who used their own entry to raise funds for either an Official Charity Partner or another charity of their choice.
The 2017 United Airlines NYC Half had 19,409 finishers. 13,969 runners were accepted through the non-guaranteed entry drawing in 2017, representing approximately 35 percent of the non-guaranteed drawing applications. The 2018 field expansion and course change are the first major race updates since 2013, when a revised course configuration accommodated the addition of a professional wheelchair race.
About New York Road Runners (NYRR): Founded in 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization, whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. NYRR’s commitment to New York City’s five boroughs features races, community events, youth running initiatives, school programs, and training resources that provide hundreds of thousands of people each year, from children to seniors, with the motivation, know-how, and opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR’s premier event, and the largest marathon in the world, is the TCS New York City Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. To learn more, visit nyrr.org.
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