New York Road Runners Half Marathon Grand Prix Brooklyn Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

K O.
Brooklyn, NY

  (08-11-2009)

"Man, this was a joke for such a high-profile NYRR event! To start, the bathroom lines were insane, and volunteers directed my running mates to the longest ones. We started late because there weren't enough portapotties. People were using the trees out of desperation.

I didn't see a stitch of Gatorade until Mile 8 or 9 (where a kid was brewing it in a garbage can with a hose from the street, mmmm). There was no water out at the Prospect Park stations, and you frequently had to wait for a volunteer to pour you some. This killed the time, not to mention the hydration levels on a sunny day! I was shocked to find that at the finish line, there was nothing on the table and almost no direction or fanfare. Also, the boardwalk is the WORST place to end because the boards are loose and uneven -- I saw 4 people fall in the last quarter mile. You're tired, your coordination is low, and you want to run on a surface you can barely navigate sober and healthy? I think not!

I'll try this again next year because it's my hometown. But NYRR, get your sh*t together next time. You need more volunteers for a race of 10,000 thirsty people!"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Alan C.
Brooklyn, NY

  (08-03-2009)

"I forgot about the hills in Prospect Park - almost ran out of gas!"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2008

Alan C.
Brooklyn, NY

  (08-03-2009)

"The course was reversed from 2007, meaning you started in Prospect Park and ran out to Coney Island. This was an improvement for two reasons: (1) you got the hills out of the way first, so you could power down Ocean Parkway all the way to the beach; (2) less time on the CI boardwalk - last year the first few miles were on it, I saw people tripping on loose boards, and everyone had to be extra-cautious, whereas this year only the last half-mile or so was on it."

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009

Sandra K.
new york, NY

  (06-29-2009)

"i was really looking forward to running the brooklyn half this year, esp since it ended in coney island- cmon, hot dogs and beer? what more could you ask for?

well for starters, how about water at the water stations? how about water stations at every other mile (minimum)? and race participants who don't skip the entire 2nd loop? more bathrooms at the start (and no bathrooms that are in the direct path of the start of the course),water and food at the end of the course for those who don't finish in under 2 hours. prepared emergency staff on hand (a woman fell near mile 8 and not one officer or emergency medic had even a band-aid)

on the other hand, baggage check was extremely organized. in general, the festivities were organized. but the lack of water (and not knowing when the next water station would arrive), along with the extremely boring course from prospect park to coney island, made it a very very hard course to finish.

if they improved the logistics, and changed the course, i'd do it again."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Brandon W.
New York, NY

  (06-22-2009)

"I just got home from completing the NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix: Brooklyn. This was my first official "half" and I think that despite my lack of training for this particular event, it went very well!

In brief; the race began in Prospect Park doing about two full loops of the park and then moved to Ocean Parkway. It continued down Ocean until hitting Coney Island and Surf and then the boardwalk. The course in the park was not bad although there were a couple of sizeable hills, which somehow seemed like no trouble at all since I was running with some friends. Once the course exited the park it was (with the exception of a brief down and then up around the freeway) pretty flat and I fould plenty of trees along the side to escape the sun, which was a factor.

Please check back on Tuesday for Brandon's Marathon Podcast: Episode 43 where I will give a much more detailed race report and interview my wife, Danielle who also ran and did a great job!

Our official times were:

Danielle: 2:22:13

Brandon: 1:51:36"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Ashley S.
Brooklyn, NY

  (06-04-2009)

"This was my first half marathon and while I am biased since I live in the great boro of Brooklyn I must say this was my favorite race this year.
I'm glad they changed the course from previous years to begin in the park and end at coney Island so we got the hills out of the way at the beginning and for the ocean breezes at the end.
I agree with most of the other reviewers in that the fluid stations couldn't seem to keep up with demand so a lot of runners ended up waiting in later miles for water/gatorade, but the misting stations along Ocean Parkway were very much appreciated.

I'll definitely run this again!"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Lindsay F.
Astoria, NY

  (06-03-2009)

"Doing two loops of Prospect Park was a little rough, especially when you saw the Mile 5 sign at Mile 2. One larger loop probably would have been better instead of a few crowded loops. I was also disappointed with the lack of fluids at the fluid stations and also the placement. Having water stations right before a mile marker threw me off in terms of pacing and splits. Once you got onto Coney Island Blvd it was fun to see the sights, and finishing on the boardwalk was great, but I agree that there should have been a more visible finish line. The last mile felt like 3!Another issue I had was that there were not enough refreshments at the end. There were a few boxes of pretzels and they were all gone by the time the 2 hour runners had gotten there. It didn't make sense to me that they have bagels and apples for 10k and under races but for a half marathon, an insufficient amount of pretzels. But, details, details. The race was definitely fun and I will probably do it again! "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

jeanne m.
brooklyn, NY

  (06-02-2009)

"Agree, good to get the prospect park hills out of the way and fun to finish on the Coney Island boardwalk. Some beefs: several water stations (at mile 6 and mile 8) were out/not keeping up, which probably added at least 3-4 min total on time time. And once on the boardwalk, it was impossible to gauge where the finish was -- would have been nice to have a flag or something higher up/more visible."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

erin h.
New York, NY

  (06-02-2009)

"It was definitely a fun run and I enjoyed checking out the sites in Brooklyn. The water stops were a little too spaced out on Ocean Blvd. and the double loop in the park in the beginning was a bit repetitive. Other than that it was great and fun to end on Coney Island. I would definitely run it again next year."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Claire W.
New York, NY

  (06-01-2009)

"I ran with a friend who suffered in the heat. The long stretch on Ocean Blvd. was particularly hot, but there was ample shade so he was able to cool down easily enough. Though I've heard from some past participants that the previous course (Coney Island to Prospect Park) was better, I liked getting the Prospect Park hills out of the way at the start. It was fun to enjoy a beer on the Boardwalk and cheer on the other finishers as they came down the last stretch."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Henry B.
North Babylon, NY

  (05-30-2009)

"This race was a great course. I ran it last year and they changed it up for 09 so we started in prospect park and ended at coney island. Which was great because when you got out of the park it was all flat running.

The weather was perfect and we had shade for most of the course. I plan to run it again next year and hope to finish better. I finished in 2:07.

I reccomend this race to anyone who is in town when it is on. Plus what a great excuse to chow down on some world famous nathana hot dogs. "

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009