Four Down, One to Go - NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix

By Cornell Dawson

It started on a cold day in January 2007, my quest to run a half-marathon in each of the five New York City boroughs.   Last year I ran in three of them while running nine races to qualify for the 2007 ING New York City Marathon. On January 21, with the temperature at 14 degrees, I ran the Manhattan Half-Marathon, two loops around Central Park, in 2:06:15.  I was seventh out of 27 in my age group, 65-69.

Next, on February 11, with the temperature warming up to 19 degrees, I ran the Bronx Half-Marathon, with my daughter Joanna, in 2:03:27.  That was good enough for fourth of 16 in my age group.  Last year this race was held in the summer and it was brutal.  I preferr the cold and my time improvement of 12 minutes reflected it.

The Brooklyn Half-Marathon was next on April 14.  The temperature was ideal at 45 degrees.  My 2:01:19 placed me eighth out of 28 in my age group.

The fourth race in the Grand Prix was held on September 23 in the College Point section of Queens.  Last year the race was two loops through the College Point residential and business areas.  This year the course was changed to a single loop which started in the Hermon MacNeil Park in College Point, ran through College Point, out to the approach to the Whitestone Bridge, through the Whitestone residential area and then back to College Point to finish in the park.  This course contains a lot of turns to navigate the city and residential streets and it seemed to have more small hills of a block or two than the old course.  The other change in the race was the start time, which I didn’t like.  Last year the race was started at 8:00 AM whereas this year it started at 7:00 AM.  This meant in order to get any reasonable sleep the night before, we stayed at a motel in Jericho, Long Island.

The race morning was clear and 64 degrees so it was a good running day.  I again improved my time in this Grand Prix series to 1:57:04.  This resulted in a third place award in my age group against 25 other runners.

Next up is the Staten Island Half-Marathon on October 21 at 9:40 AM.

So what do you get if you complete all five half-marathons?  In addition to the sense of accomplishment, you get a first hand view of the greater New York City few will ever see.  Running down the main thorough fares and having the police keep the cars off the roads for you to enjoy is a kick.  The New York Road Runners does keep track of all participants in the Half-Marathon Grand Prix.  If you complete four of the five races you receive a commemorative patch.  If you complete all five races you should get a certificate, a special gift, and public recognition of the achievement. 

Additionally, runners who accumulate 20 or more points by placing overall or in their age group, who have completed at least two races in the series, and who have been an NYRR member for at least three months prior to the final race, will be awarded prize money of $2 per point.  In each race the overall winner gets 25 points and the age group winners get 15 for first, 10 for second and 5 for third.  In the 20-39 age group points are awarded up to seventh place. 

The Grand Prix standings after four races shows Michael Slinskey has 15 points, as a result of winning his age group in the Manhattan Half-Marathon, and I have 5 points for my third place age group finish in Queens.  Since I would have to win my age group in the Staten Island race to get to 20 points, it is very unlikely any money will be coming my way.  However, for someone who didn’t start running until four years ago, It is fun to think about.