The final race of the New York Road Runners’ (NYRR) 5 Borough Series has come and gone. The Staten Island Half Marathon was last weekend and it had runners running along the north eastern shore line of Staten Island. This race brought great views and some tough challenges to it’s participants.

As always with races put on by the NYYR, there was an extremely well organized bag check for all runners to store their belongings before the race, plenty of bathrooms to use, and some great music playing before the race as well. NYRR coaches spoke out on a PA system about the race and got runners pumped to run 13.1 miles in Staten Island. I was surprised that there really wasn’t much in terms of a pre/after party going on like usual. There was music playing on a PA system and some randomly placed cornhole games hidden along the side but other than that there was only the 9+1 NYC Marathon bell for runners to ring. Maybe I missed where things were but that also means that they weren’t exactly easy to find.

The Staten Island Half had 9,975 runners cross the finish line (5,548 men and 4,427 women) and registrants received a great long sleeve tech shirt with the race logo on front and sponsors on the back, a post race recovery bag with various drinks and food, free race photos provided by Game Face Media, and a beautiful medal that NYRR members could get engraved with their name and race time.

The Staten Island Half is a large out and back (with some minor turns that bring you back to the original route) that starts on Bay Street, below Slosson Terrace, and continues straight on Bay Street for the first two miles of the race. At Mile 2 1/2 you make a turn on School Road and then follow Lily Pond Avenue to a big downhill to Father Capodanno Boulevard. Once on Father Capodanno Boulevard you reach the flattest part of the course. This is a great time to open up your speed as you continue straight down to the 5 1/2 mile mark where you’ll make a u-trun back towards the start. Continue straight ahead until you hit Mile 8 and the toughest part of the course. That wonderful downhill you ran at Mile 4 is now a huge uphill at Mile 8. This is a long hill. Find a comfortable pace and keep those legs pumping. Don’t push harder than you need to. You don’t want to tire yourself out. After this hill, you turn left into Fort Wadsworth and make an inner loop before coming back onto the original route. Going through Mile 10 you start coming up to some of the amazing views of this course. As you approach you get a great view of the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge and the water on your right. You pass under the bridge and will soon find yourself back on Bay Street. Turn right onto Hylan Boulevard, then left onto Edgewater Street before reaching the Mile 11 marker. As you approach Miles 12 and 13 you’ll have some beautiful views of the NYC skyline and Upper Bay on your right. Be careful though as there are a few rolling hills in this area of the course that come out of nowhere and can be tough. After a few more turns you’ll find yourself once again back on Bay Street. This time you’ll continue straight on down all the way to the finish near the U.S. Postal Service building.

There were definitely some challenging parts to this course but all the same I had a fun time running this race. There was a good crowd of Staten Island residents who came out to support the runners but there were pockets where there was nobody and it was up to you to keep your spirits up and legs going. The pace runners were great and had amazing communication with runners before and during the race. Since this was an out and back style course, you got to see the elite runners go by as they raced for the win. That is still such an amazing sight to see. Speaking to other runners, it seems that this race isn’t for everyone but I recommend runners check it out.

The New Balance Bronx 10 Mile is a part of the New York Road Runners’ 5 Borough Series and the fifth race, out of six, in the series. Held in southern Bronx near Yankee Stadium this was a race that was truly a lot of fun to participate in. The race start is easily accessible by the subway, there are plenty of bathrooms to use, and the NYRR have a well organized bag check for all runners to store their belongings before the race. There was great music playing before the race as well as a few NYRR coaches talking about the race and getting runners pumped to run 10 miles. After the race the festivities really got underway. The NYRR provided plenty of music, an interactive photo area, the 9+1 NYC Marathon bell for runners to ring, and plenty of food trucks to indulge in. The New Balance Bronx 10 Mile had 12, 421 runners cross the finish line (6,364 men and 6,057 women) and registrants received a great long sleeve tech shirt with the race logo on front and sponsors on the back, a post race recovery bag with various drinks and food, free race photos provided by Game Face Media, and a beautiful medal that NYRR members could get engraved with their name and race time.

The New Balance Bronx 10 Mile is essentially a large out and back that starts on the Grand Concourse at 165th Street and finishes on East 161st Street near Macombs Dam Park and Yankee Stadium. Runners will start by heading north on the Grand Concourse for a straight run for Miles 1-4. Just before mile 4, you will turn left onto Mosholu Parkway. At about 4.25 miles, near Goulden Avenue, you will make a U-turn on Mosholu Parkway and head east toward the New York Botanical Garden. After reaching Marion Avenue you make another U-turn to head back west on Mosholu Parkway back toward the Grand Concourse. Continue west on Mosholu Parkway, then turn left onto the Grand Concourse. As you get back onto the Grand Concourse and pass Mile 6 you’ll be heading south back towards the starting line. At Mile 9.5 you’ll pass the starting line and and Joyce Kilmer Park. At East 161st Street runners will turn right and continue to the finish line.

I absolutely loved running this race. The Bronx community came out in full force and delivered high energy to pump up all of the runners with cheers, signs, music, and more. I love when the community gets involved with the races and creates a fun environment for the race. It really does add so much to the race and helps push me along. My pace runners were amazing and highly encouraging to those runners who were sticking by them calling out words of encouragement and times. There aren’t many iconic NYC sights on this course. You’ll be passing homes and storefronts. For the most part the course is pretty flat with a few rolling hills so the elevation will not be difficult for runners. One aspect I really enjoyed was that since this is an out and back style race, I got to see the elite running by racing for that win. It was a really cool sight to see. I highly recommend that everyone should look into running it.

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.

The New York Road Runners (NYRR) held their third race in the Five Borough Series last weekend on Saturday, June 15, 2019; the Queens 10K. This race was located in beautiful Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York and played host to 11,852 racers (6,252 men and 5,600 women). This was a fast and flat course that gave runners an opportunity to get out and be active on a wonderful morning.

Being as this is one of the Five Borough Series races, turnout was high and the energy of the crowd was great. People were everywhere, groups were stretching, and friends were laughing. You could see that people were at this race to have a great time. Personally, I only had two complaints about this race. First, although this was a beautiful course, some of the run ways that runners went through were very narrow. Much narrower than I expected. Given the amount of runners in the race this caused a lot of congestion which slowed things down quite a bit. I was in Wave 1 Corral E so I cannot speak for how it was for those in the second Wave. The pack traveled at a good pace but I definitely felt that the first 2.5 miles were extremely congested and that I could not find space to pick up my pace. After that mark there were areas where the crowd lightened up a bit but the congestion would come back again when we reached narrower areas. This is of course all a part of racing and a good lesson on crowd strategy but runners should be aware of this.

My second complaint is on the running community of New York City and the NYRR for their late management of a particular situation. During the race you pass the iconic Queens landmark; the Unisphere. So naturally everyone is going to want photos in front of it with their medals. Just before Mile 6, runners who completed the race seemed to not be concerned about the race anymore and were casually and blatantly walking in the road, aka the course, blocking runners and making them have to weave in between them. It was extremely disrespectful and shocking to see. I had never seen that before at a race. They even looked annoyed when people asked them to get off the course. After a long while a NYRR volunteer finally came over to try to clear the course of people walking through and taking photos but it was a difficult task for one person. I really hope that the NYRRs put more volunteers at this spot next year.

As for the race itself, this race is set up in two waves of runners and different time corrals. Runners will start out in Corona Park on Meridian Road between the Avenue of Discovery and the Avenue of Research. As the horn goes off you'll head straight on Meridian Road before turning left onto Meadow Lake Road West/Meadow Lake Promenade. Turn right to continue on Meadow Dr, around to the Meadowlark Circle to cross the Amphitheater Bridge and continue on Avenue of Asia. Right turn onto Avenue of Africa and right onto Meridian Rd. As runners approach Mile 2 they'll follow Meridian Road past the Queens Museum straight down to an out and back loop on Shea Road that will bring you to Mile 3 near Citi Field at Boat Basin Place. Half way through Mile 3 you'll make a loop onto Hall of Science Bridge turning left onto Zoo Path as you head south past the Queens Zoo at Mile 4. Turning right onto United Nations Avenue South and then a right as you run all the way around the Carousel Loop. Turn right back onto United Nations Avenue South and cross over Zoo Brigde. Turn right at Avenue of the States to run around the New York State Pavilion. Mile 6 will have you continue straight to run clockwise around the Unisphere, then continue on Avenue of Americas. Turn right onto the Avenue of Commerce and then turn right onto Herbert Hoover Promenade, reaching Mile 6 at Astronaut Court. Continue on Dwight Eisenhower Promenade and turn left to the finish on the Avenue of Commerce. Congratulations on completing the Queens 10K!

Despite my two minor complaints I highly recommend this race. It is a great distance in a beautiful park and it takes you by some absolutely wonderful New York City sights.

The New York Road Runners (NYRR) hosted another great race in Central Park in New York City to kick off June. The NYRR put on the Italy Run (5M) by Nutella Cafe as part of the Festa della Republica which is the Italian National Day and Republic Day. The race started and ended with a great festival that shared Italian culture with the New York running community from foods to travel destinations and of course Nutella Cafe was on hand to hand out samples of the delicious chocolate to all those in attendance. There was also a DJ that got everyone pumped with some great music. This was a nice sized race that consisted of 8,068 finishers (3,868 men and 4,200 women). With water stations placed just before each mile on Miles 1 through 4 (and water at the finish line) runners should feel plenty hydrated throughout this race. Those that register for this race will receive a great short sleeve running tech shirt with the race logo on the front. Unfortunately, this race did not award finisher medals.

Runners of the Italy Run (5M) will line up in Central Park on West Drive near 67th Street. The great thing about this race, for those that frequently run races in Central Park with the NYRR, is that it has a different starting location than some of the other races so the hills you expect to hit in the park will come at a different point in the race making it feel fresh. From West Drive, runners will begin running south and complete the lower loop of the park and then turn back onto East Drive before hitting Mile 2. As you head north on East Drive you pass the 72nd Street Transverse and begin to make the climb up Cat Hill. This will be the steepest hill that you will face on this particular course. Runners will see some small rolling hills and then a downhill stretch as they come to Mile 3. Mile 3 continues along East Drive and passes the Reservoir on your left. You’ll pass Engineer’s Gate near East 90th Street and as you pass Mile 3 there is another steady hill that you will climb to Mile 4. This hill is long but very manageable. You approach Mile 4 and turn left onto the 102nd Street Cross Drive. Another left quickly follows that brings runners back onto West Drive. A few small rolling hills will meet runners as they begin to run south. Runners will hit a nice downhill coming onto Mile 5 before hitting a flat finish. Turn onto the 72nd Street Transverse and finish strong just west of Bethesda Terrace.

This was a great race with a fun pre / post race party that all runners should look into running. Central Park is a beautiful park to be running through and the NYRR always put on an amazingly well organized event.