In my progression towards the 9+1 for the 2017 NYC Marathon, I headed out to Brooklyn, NY for the “largest half marathon” at 27,410 people. Regardless of the enmity everyone seems to have going to the “pre-party” that forced us out to Brooklyn to pick up our bibs, the race itself was something I was looking forward to.
The weather was cool and overcast – threatening to rain the the entire time – which was perfect weather for a race. The race started with a crowded half mile run south on Washington Avenue before turning right onto Flatbush Avenue for an out and back that looped around Grand Army Plaza and back down to Ocean Avenue. Making a right onto Parkside Avenue around the edge of Prospect Park brought us to the three mile and 5k markers. At the 3.5 mile point we turned into the park and made a 3.5 mile loop around the park. From there it was a quick run onto Ocean Parkway and a 5 mile run straight down towards Coney Island. A quick run on Surf Avenue led to the ramp onto the boardwalk and a 400 meter run to the finish line.
Last year, I had my best run ever during a half marathon at 1:53:02. Unfortunately it was soon after that race that I was injured and took time off from running. A year later, I returned to the course to run it in 2:03:32. I was hoping to finish it in under two hours, but I’m happy to be able to run it again with just a 10 minute time loss, and it will give me a goal to achieve the next time I run in Brooklyn.
