Put on by the New York Road Runners as a newer race to the Five Borough Series, this was the second year of the Manhattan 7 Mile and was held in Central Park in New York City, NY. It’s an odd distance for a race but it’s a great training race for those training for half marathons or marathons this fall. There are plenty of ways to travel to the start of the race which is great, there are plenty of bathrooms to use, and the NYRR have a well organized bag check for all runners to store their belongings during the race. The NYRR held pre and post race festivities in front of the Naumburg Bandshell that were fun. As usual, they had a DJ playing music and after the race runners could take photos in front of the race photo wall, get a photo ringing the 9+1 bell, get some ice pops to cool down, play some giant Jenga or corn toss, take photos with the NYC Ghostbusters and the 2016 Ecto-1, and even stretch out with a small yoga class. Speaking of the NYC Ghostbusters, they were on hand for the film’s 35th Anniversary and besides taking photos with fans they also drove the Ecto-1 as the lead car in the race. The Manhattan 7 Mile had 5,256 runners cross the finish line (2,821 men and 2,435 women) and registrants received a great short sleeve tech shirt with the race logo on front and sponsors on the back.

This particular course is one counter-clockwise lap of Central Park’s six mile loop plus one more mile on the lower loop of park. There are five water stations (two of which also offer Gatorade) throughout this course so be sure to stay hydrated. Runners will start on West Drive near 63rd Street heading south on West Drive and loop around as it becomes Center Drive. As you begin heading North you will soon hit Cedar Hill, better known as “Cat Hill” for a moderate climb after passing Mile 1. (Keep those legs pumping! It’s not as bad as it looks.) You then continue along East Drive as you pass the Reservoir on your left. As you pass the second mile there is a steady downhill until Mile 3. Coming up on Mile 4 you pass 102nd Street and start to climb Great Hill, better known to runners as Harlem Hill. This will be the toughest climb of the race. Again, keep those legs pumping. Take in the nice view of the reservoir on your left during Mile 4. Mile 5 brings a set of rolling hills as you start to head South on West Drive. You’re almost to the end. Just keep going and enjoy the beautiful trees around you. You’ll pass The Lake on your left for another nice view. As you come up on Mile 6 everything will start to look familiar as you pass the starting line and come on to the last leg of the race. Here you’ll once again complete the lower loop of the park as the course turns back onto Center Drive and then continues on East Drive. Keep going, you’re almost to the finish! The course will turn left at the 72nd Street Transverse and continue toward the finish line. You’ll finish on the 72nd Street Transverse near Bethesda Terrace which offers some great spots for post-race photos. Be sure to grab some of the post race treats offered by the NYRRs which included water, apples, and bagels.

This is a really fun race through an amazing park and it brings out the great running community of New York City. Though it may have seemed like there was less going on during the post race festivities it was still fun and you can’t help but get swept away by the energy that the NYRR and the NYC running community brings to these races. I highly recommend that everyone should look into running it.