'My Favorite Part Was Finishing!': Chatting with the Popular® Brooklyn Half Finishers

The sun was shining on Brooklyn this past Saturday as runners crossed the finish line of the 2019 Popular® Brooklyn Half. With nearly 27,000 finishers, it was a race to remember. We caught up with some of these finishers at the NYRR RUNCENTER, where they were receiving complimentary medal engraving for NYRR members, to ask about their favorite parts of the day.

“I’ve been a New York Road Runners member for a long time. Today was my 150th NYRR race after turning 52. My favorite thing about the race today was how we had really nice weather, but it was also organized really well for the finish. So when you finished the people giving you the medal, the people giving you the water were all really good. And the baggage claim also worked like a charm. I stepped up and in 90 seconds I had my bag. It was great!”
—Dempsey, Manhattan

“I liked the cheerleaders on the course. That made me feel good! And the check-in process was really smooth, and there were enough porta potties in the corrals. And I liked that there were a lot at mile one, too. It was a great day and the weather was amazing!”
—Emera, Manhattan

“The beautiful weather and the beautiful course and all the great support and fans who lined the boardwalk as we ran toward the finish line.”
—Kevin, New York

“I really liked Prospect Park. Seeing how beautiful it was and the shade gave us a lot of energy.”
—Diane, New York

“My favorite part of the race was finishing! It was amazing. I saw some people with disabilities finish with me and it was so inspiring. I just had a great time with my friends, and I got a PR!”
—Juliana, Colombia