Your plan in four answers
NYC Half has not announced its next date, so we have estimated March. Change the date below once you know it.
- Distances
- Half marathon
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Field
- 30,229 finishers in 2026, a record for the event and for NYRR
Course
The NYC Half course
A park-to-park tour of New York: start on Washington Avenue beside Prospect Park in Brooklyn, run up Flatbush Avenue past Grand Army Plaza and cross the East River into Manhattan, then race north on the FDR Drive. You exit at 42nd Street for a crosstown run past Grand Central into Times Square, then head up Seventh Avenue into Central Park to finish on West Drive near 68th Street.
Read the full course notes
In 2025 and 2026 the course crossed the Brooklyn Bridge instead of the Manhattan Bridge, the first NYRR race ever to use it. The bridge climb and the rolling hills of Central Park in the last mile or so are the main climbs, while the FDR and 42nd Street are flat and fast.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Distances
- Half marathon
- Field
- 30,229 finishers in 2026, a record for the event and for NYRR
- Weather on race day
- Mid-March in New York usually means a start in the 30s or low 40s °F with highs around 50 °F (Central Park normals of about 36 °F and 50 °F). Wind off the East River along the FDR can feel cold, and sun between the towers is patchy. Dress in layers you can shed, and do not let a chilly start push you into going out too fast.
What to train for
The bridge comes early, so practice starting relaxed and settling into pace by mile 4.
The FDR and 42nd Street are flat and fast: rehearse 4 to 6 miles at goal pace inside your long runs to own that middle section.
Central Park's rollers arrive when you are tired, so finish some long runs on hills and add a weekly session of 6 x 2 minutes uphill at half marathon effort. Late-winter tune-up races help you dial in cold-weather race clothing.
Sample week
A sample NYC Half training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1 km at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 5–6 mi
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 7 mi with 4 mi at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 4 mi, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 10–12 mi easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 4 mi, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the NYC Half
Start the taper ten to fourteen days before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the United Airlines NYC Half (Half marathon) in March. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
NYC Half training questions
How long should I train for the NYC Half?
Most runners give a half marathon twelve to sixteen weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the NYC Half course hilly?
Rolling. A park-to-park tour of New York: start on Washington Avenue beside Prospect Park in Brooklyn, run up Flatbush Avenue past Grand Army Plaza and cross the East River into Manhattan, then race north on the FDR Drive.
What is the weather usually like at the NYC Half?
Mid-March in New York usually means a start in the 30s or low 40s °F with highs around 50 °F (Central Park normals of about 36 °F and 50 °F). Wind off the East River along the FDR can feel cold, and sun between the towers is patchy. Dress in layers you can shed, and do not let a chilly start push you into going out too fast.
When should I start tapering for the NYC Half?
Start the taper ten to fourteen days before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week.
Do I need an account to get a NYC Half training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.