43 Years of Brooklyn Half History
Updated May 2025.
The Brooklyn Half has an amazing history, from its origins in 1981 on a course that featured Prospect Park loops, to many years of starting in Coney Island and finishing in Prospect Park, to its current status as one of the country's largest half marathons with accompanying youth races and a three-day pre-party.
The 2025 RBC Brooklyn Half on May 17 will host more than 28,000 runners with more than 1,000 youth to participate in the accompanying Boardwalk Kids Run at the RBC Brooklyn Half. Throughout its history, the Brooklyn Half has celebrated and given back to the extraordinary borough of Brooklyn and all it has to offer. It is the highlight of NYRR's year-round presence in Brooklyn, which includes programs for youth, seniors, and the entire community.
Humble Beginnings
The first Brooklyn Half Marathon took place in early spring of 1981 on a course in and around Prospect Park with several hundred finishers.
For the next 27 year the race took place in March or April, often on a course that took runners from Coney Island to Prospect Park but in some years simply looping around the park. The Brooklyn Half was well-loved and slowly grew to several thousand participants who embraced its unique (though cold and windy) boardwalk start and hilly final miles.
NYRR dreamed of a Brooklyn Half that would celebrate Coney Island and kick off summer. The 2008 race date was May 3, and the following year, 2009, saw the Brooklyn Half run from Prospect Park to Coney Island on Memorial Day weekend with nearly 10,000 finishers.
A New Half Is Born
The new Brooklyn Half celebrated Coney Island, which has its own amazing history thanks to a world-famous amusement park, Nathan’s hot dogs, and miles of sand and surf.
In 2013, the year after Superstorm Sandy devastated the Brooklyn coastline, the Brooklyn Half helped reinvigorate Coney Island and reminded New Yorkers what makes Coney—and all of Brooklyn—so special. The 2013 Brooklyn Half brought nearly 20,000 runners and their fans to the boardwalk in a party spirit.
The Brooklyn Vibe
Brooklyn had become an artistic and cultural center, and that same year the Brooklyn Half supported the borough and its communities by adding something new and special to the event: a unique pre-race, borough-centric festival, centered around bib pickup, to celebrate artists, musicians, DJs, and local food. This became the Brooklyn Half Pre-Party, launched in DUMBO in 2013 and moved to Pier 2 in Brooklyn Bridge Park in 2014.
The race-day experience featured more music and DJs along the course and a fun post-race festival in MCU Park (now Maimonides Park). Youth races (initially on the boardwalk, now along Ocean Parkway) made their debut in 2015 for nearly 1,000 kids.
In 2020 and 2021 the Brooklyn Half took place virtually due to the pandemic. In each year thousands of runners around the world took part, connected through Strava and their love of running. This year’s Virtual RBC Brooklyn Half offers three participation tiers with free and paid options.
New Title Sponsor in 2022
For 2022, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) became the title sponsor of the Brooklyn Half and a strategic partner of NYRR. As a purpose-driven global financial institution, RBC is also strongly committed to giving back to communities.
This year's 2025 RBC Brooklyn Half will once again take runners on a unique 13.1-mile journey through the diverse neighborhoods of Brooklyn, beginning at the Brooklyn Museum, passing scenic Grand Army Plaza, and looping through Prospect Park before heading along Ocean Parkway to the finish line at Coney Island.
The race continues NYRR’s decades-long tradition of serving and engaging the borough of Brooklyn, not only on RBC Brooklyn Half race day, but year-round through events and free programming for runners of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.