The History of the RBC Brooklyn Half
Updated May 2025.
The Brooklyn Half has been on the New York Road Runners annual calendar since 1981. In most of the early years the race was run entirely in Brooklyn's Prospect Park over a series of challenging hills.
On a chilly morning in March 1996, a hearty group of runners arrived on the boardwalk in Coney Island. They lined up at the start line to run from the wind-swept boardwalk to the Brooklyn Half finish line in Prospect Park.
For the next 13 years, early each spring runners made their way along the boardwalk and up Ocean Parkway to the park. The race had a loyal following, but participant growth stagnated. At the same time, Coney Island businesses were suffering.
Coney Island had once been considered the amusement mecca by the sea. Thousands of people would flock on summer weekends to enjoy a ride on the Cyclone rollercoaster, eat hotdogs and ice cream, and cool off in the ocean.
Coney Island in the 1940s.
This heritage inspired New York Road Runners to reimagine the Brooklyn Half as a kickoff to summer and to bring the runners to the boardwalk, helping to reinvigorate the surrounding businesses while drawing on what made Coney Island special.
Working with community and city officials, the idea came to life. In May 2009 the Brooklyn Half course started in Prospect Park and finished on the iconic Coney Island boardwalk with nearly 10,000 participants.
Brooklyn was revitalizing, too, its art and music communities thriving and the hipster lifestyle taking hold. This presented an opportunity for NYRR to further support the communities and add something novel to the Brooklyn Half. Drawing on Brooklyn’s culture, a multi-day "pre-party" took the place of the traditional pre-race expo with Brooklyn-based musicians, DJ’s, and food vendors on hand and extended evening hours.
The first Brooklyn Half Pre-Party took place at the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn's Dumbo neighborhood in 2013, with Brooklyn-based musicians, DJs, and food vendors on hand and extended evening hours. The following year, with support from New Balance, the pre-party moved to the newly opened and much larger Pier 2, where it has been held ever since.
The popularity of Brooklyn grew, and so did the Brooklyn Half. In 2022, title sponsor Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) came on board. As a purpose-driven global financial institution, RBC, like New York Road Runners, is strongly committed to giving back to communities.
The 2024 RBC Brooklyn Half had more than 28,400 finishers, making it one of the largest half marathons in the country.
Race day also includes the Kids Boardwalk Run at the RBC Brooklyn Half with 1,000 kids ages 2–18 running alongside the adults on Ocean Parkway.
The race-day experience is enhanced by music and DJs along the course and an After-Party at Maimonides Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Through the years, bringing the RBC Brooklyn Half vision to life has given countless runners and community members an unforgettable day in Brooklyn.