2022: A Year of Renewed and Reinvigorated Impact

As 2022 draws to a close, we’re grateful to look back on a year of races and programs at full capacity and to share with you a renewed and reinvigorated appreciation for our community.

Races Back at Full Capacity

Our marquee races – the United Airlines NYC Half, RBC Brooklyn Half, and TCS New York City Marathon – returned at full capacity celebrating the local and global running community. Learn about what’s in store for these events in 2023.

These and other major races – including the Mastercard New York Mini 10K, New Balance 5th Avenue Mile, and the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K – welcomed stellar fields of pro athletes from around the world and saw amazing competition and record-setting wins.

Full Return to In-Person Events and Programming

As detailed in our FY2022 Annual Impact Report, as we emerged from the pandemic we hosted in-person races, youth events, and community programming across NYC, allowing runners of all ages and abilities to run stronger, together, once again. Read the report.

Expanded Inclusivity Initiatives

As part of our ongoing commitment to increasing inclusivity and representation in the running community, we expanded our diversity and inclusion efforts, including:

• The historic Stonewall Inn, the original safe space for the LGBTQ+ community, named the TCS New York City Marathon a Safe Space, the first sporting event given that designation.
• The course-record bonus for the professional wheelchair division at the TCS New York City Marathon was raised to $50,000 this year, making the wheelchair division bonus equal to the open division bonus.
• The TCS New York City Marathon became the first Abbott World Marathon Majors race to award prize money to non-binary runners.
• NYRR worked with &Mother to elevate the lactation experience for marathon runners and remove the barrier to allow full participation and success for mothers in sports.
• We launched our Contributors Circle to elevate under-represented voices in our communications.
• Our Rising New York Road Runners Wheelchair Training Program sent kids to the Move United Junior Nationals for the first time. 

We also hired a dedicated full-time Director of Accessibility, relaunched and extended our Race Free program to provide race-fee assistance to under-resourced NYC runners, and applied a DEIS lens to all our operations including being intentional about vendor selection. Read more in our press release. 

History-Making Moments at the TCS New York City Marathon

Nearly 48,000 runners finished this year's race, led by event records in the wheelchair division. The TCS New York City Marathon App Powered by Tata Consultancy Services had 487,117 downloads and featured livestreaming of all pro races in their entirety.

Also during marathon week, our Night of Champions gala raised over $1 million to support our youth and community programs, and the Marathon Opening Ceremony Presented by United Airlines included a Native American Land Acknowledgment Ceremony for the first time.

Night of Champions also celebrated 20 years of NYRR Team for Kids, honored NYRR Board of Directors Chair George Hirsch, inducted pioneering runners Art Hall and Mary Keitany into the NYRR Hall of Fame, and presented the Abebe Bikila Award to Nina Kuscsik.

Milestone Anniversaries for Women’s Running

This year we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Mastercard New York Mini 10K, the world’s original women-only road race founded as the Crazylegs Mini Marathon in June 1972. That same month, Title IX was signed into law, guaranteeing women and girls the right to participate in school sports and creating new opportunities for generations of female athletes.

We also celebrated 50 years since the 1972 New York City Marathon, where women first were recognized as official participants, yet forced to start 10 minutes before the men. In protest, six women sat down on the start line and raised signs challenging the rule. The actions of the “six who sat” struck a blow for equality in women’s sports and was commemorated by current NYRR staff.

Expanded Commitment to Sustainability

At the TCS New York City Marathon:

• We held a plogging event with special guest Tina Muir to pick up trash while running a loop from the NYRR RUNCENTER.
• For the first time, the paint used for the marathon's blue line was made from upcycled paint!
• Attendees at the TCS New York City Marathon Expo Presented by New Balance could learn about NYRR's sustainability efforts at the evergreen Sustainability Educational Cube. 

Learn more about NYRR sustainability. 

We wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to continuing to run with you!