This is your only chance to run through Times Square without traffic. One of my favorite races to do each year. Especially if you are a NY'er!

I got my registration in the NYC Half via lottery. I didn't think I would get chosen but to my surprise I did. I am a walker and am just barely capable of finishing a half marathon in 3 hours. Despite this race's "3 hour time limit", the race is very generous time-wise with walkers. Results show many finish times closer to the 4 hour mark. Race support is excellent with plenty of hydration stations and porta-potties. The first half of the course winds through Central Park. ...Then southward through Times Square where you see cheering crowds. After Times Square the course heads directly over to the parkway along the Hudson River and heads south all the way to the southern tip of Manhattan. The finish line is on the southeastern tip of Manhattan near the Wall St area. This half marathon has a view like nowhere else in the word. It passes by many of New York City's iconic locations. If you can afford the trip to New York City, it is an excellent experience.

This was one of my favorite races I've ever run. Central Park is always beautiful (I live here so I get to run there all the time--if you're from out of town this will be a real treat) but running right through Times Square was an absolute highlight. The race is superbly organized, well supported throughout, and there was a lot of entertainment along the course as well. Highly recommend checking a bag as traveling back from the Wall Street area can take a little while--you'll feel better if you have some dry clothes to change into after!

Pros: Running through Times Square is epic! Crowd support throughout the course is awesome. The last few miles you can see the World Trade Center and that's motivating! There were police all over and you had to go through a metal detector, so I felt safe. The medal, shirt, Mylar at the end of the race and goody bag were nice. Plenty of photo opportunities at the expo. There was a race wall with everyone's name that was super cool! Race communications were helpful.
Cons: I wasn't expecting so many hills in the first 6 miles! Harlem Hill was crazy!! The weather was really cold and windy (guess it was worse in 2016!), so sign up at your own risk! They didn't allow hydration vests, so I ran with a hand held which I never do! The expo wasn't very organized and there were wall to wall people.
Overall, I enjoyed it and glad I did it. I probably won't do it again. I would encourage others to add it to their list. Since its a once in a lifetime experience running through Times Square!!

Pros: Running through Times Square is epic! Crowd support throughout the course is awesome. The last few miles you can see the World Trade Center and that's motivating! There were police all over and you had to go through a metal detector, so I felt safe. The medal, shirt, Mylar at the end of the race and goody bag were nice. Plenty of photo opportunities at the expo. There was a race wall with everyone's name that was super cool! Race communications were helpful.
Cons: I wasn't expecting so many hills in the first 6 miles! Harlem Hill was crazy!! The weather was really cold and windy (guess it was worse in 2016!), so sign up at your own risk! They didn't allow hydration vests, so I ran with a hand held which I never do! The expo wasn't very organized and there were wall to wall people.
Overall, I enjoyed it and glad I did it. I probably won't do it again. I would encourage others to add it to their list. Since its a once in a lifetime experience running through Times Square!!

While enjoyable, it seemed like just another half. The medal was average at best, the staging area seemed to have under estimated the amount of porta pottys to people (some of whom took to the trees in the park to relieve themselves), some pottys I heard ran out of toilet paper (the one I used was out). Good crowd support.

The NYC 1/2 had a new course this year. The weather was beautiful, but cold. I took a bus down that a local running store organized so it was great to not have to worry about transit, have a bathroom on the bus, and Wave 2 runners had warmth. If you can do a bus, I highly recommend it.

I took quite a few pictures since we had a view of just about every landmark. The course is more challenging in years past with the first 2 miles being mainly downhill and final 3 being rolling hills, but it’s far from the most challenging course I’ve run.

This year, bib pickup was a mini expo.The "expo" really wasn't one, but it was better than packet pickup.

After the finish, folks had to walk at least 10 blocks out of the park a la the NYC Marathon (the finish line was actually in about the same place, just approached from the other direction *downhill* yay!). Runners were given a recovery bag food and beverage.

I still love this race and it’s an amazing way to see the city!

This is a great race, despite the fact that New York's weather in March is consistently cold and windy. The wait in corrals was longer than usual leaving me shivering with cold by the time I started, but I think that was the kind of glitch because of the new route, which is fabulous. The challenging climb over the Manhattan Bridge offers spectacular views of the NY skyline. The entire run takes you through iconic areas like the Lower East Side, up the East River Drive (with more views), along 42nd Street, through Times Square, up into Central Park where you loop most of the park. There is something about beginning and ending in a park that I found especially lovely, and for tourists, it gives a nice sense of New York's variety, going from a residential area of Brooklyn to Midtown New York.

Wonderful race with amazing Course through Times Square & all of the NYC iconic landmarks ending in Central Park! A wonderful one of a kind experience!

Amazing race! Super organized with an incredible course!

The race was well organized. There were lots of volunteers and they were very helpful. I would definitely run this race again. Great pic scenes.

How often do you get to run through Central Park and then down Times Square. For a Midwesterner, it was a great experience and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Amazing race. Great support. There is something really special about running out of Central Park onto 7th Ave and down through Times Square.