ADVISORY: 2017 United Airlines NYC Half to Feature Over 20,000 Runners of All Ages and Abilities Led by 21 Olympians and 11 Paralympians on Sunday, March 19
WHAT:
Media are invited to cover the 2017 United Airlines NYC Half, from the start of the runners’ 13.1-mile journey in Central Park, to the finish in historic downtown Manhattan.
Before making their way downtown past the World Trade Center via the West Side Highway, runners will pass through Times Square where they will race side-by-side with youth participating in the third annual NYRR Times Square Youth Run.
WHEN:
Sunday, March 19
United Airlines NYC Half
5:30 a.m. | Runners begin arriving
7:05 a.m. - 8:10 a.m. |Professional starts, and general wave starts
7:40 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. | Timing window for finishers
NYRR Times Square Youth Run
7:00 a.m. | Youth start arriving
7:50 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. | Youth heats, boys & girls ages 7-18, including youth wheelchair athletes
WHERE:
United Airlines NYC Half
Start: East Drive in Central Park, just north of East 72nd Street
Finish: Water and Wall Street
NYRR Times Square Youth Run
Start and Finish: Seventh Avenue at West 47th Street in Times Square
WHO:
20,000 Runners and Athletes with Disabilities, including top pros:
Molly Huddle (USA) – Two-time defending race champion
Meb Keflezighi (USA)– 2009 New York City Marathon champion
Feyisa Lilesa (Ethiopia) – Rio 2016 Olympic silver medalist
1,000 youth runners, including youth wheelchair racers
PRESS INFO:
Members of the press interested in conducting a live remote at the start, covering the NYRR Times Square Youth Run, or capturing the finish must coordinate with NYRR prior to race day. Please RSVP to Stuart Lieberman, slieberman@nyrr.org or 212-548-7332.
NYRR Media Center at the 2017 United Airlines NYC Half
The NYRR Media Center provides a full-service indoor location for members of the media covering the United Airlines NYC Half. Services include large-format direct feeds of the race broadcast, and uninterrupted coverage of the professional races. Real-time updates and printouts of splits and elapsed times for race leaders at every 5K will also be available. The NYRR Media Center will also host post-race press conferences and interview opportunities with the top finishers, and other selected competitors. Members of the press who wish to reserve a spot in the NYRR Media Center, must RSVP by March 17, to Stuart Lieberman, slieberman@nyrr.org or 212-548-7332.
About the United Airlines NYC Half
Founded in 1958, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization, whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. The United Airlines NYC Half is NYRR’s signature half-marathon, and the opening event of the NYRR Five-Borough Series. The race features a talented American and international professional athlete field, competitive, recreational, and charity runners, some 1,500 volunteers and thousands of spectators. The event offers the quintessential New York experience—a 13.1-mile tour of the Big Apple like no other—from the rolling hills of Central Park, up to Harlem, down through Times Square, along the Hudson River waterfront, to a finish in lower Manhattan. The NYRR Times Square Youth Run at the United Airlines NYC Half gives 1,000 youth runners and wheelchair racers the free opportunity to run through the heart of Times Square right alongside the 13.1-mile course. United Airlines, New York area's largest airline, is the title sponsor of the United Airlines NYC Half and an NYRR foundation partner. To learn more, visit unitedairlinesnychalf.nyrr.org.