Largest Field Ever at the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half
On a perfect day for racing, more than 27,000 runners—a record number—celebrated the start of their spring season at the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half. The excitement was electric all along the 13.1-mile course from Brooklyn to Central Park.
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal, Abel Kipchumba, Susannah Scaroni, and Geert Schipper broke the finish tapes, while hundreds of youth runners ages 2–18 took part in short dashes and a 1-mile run at the Times Square Kids Run at the United Airlines NYC Half.
For Grøvdal, a three-time Olympian and European cross country champion from Norway, the victory was especially sweet, as she'd placed third in her three previous United Airlines NYC Half appearances. "I struggled with third place for some time," she said. "Then suddenly I get some energy and I can finish strong. I'm just so happy to take a win here—I had a dream to do that."
Grøvdal, who finished in 1:09:09, is the first Norwegian champion in event history and the first European women's open winner since 2010. Second and third places went to Gladys Chepkurui and Edna Kiplagat, respectively, both of Kenya. Olympic medalist Jenny Simpson was the top American finisher, in sixth overall.
In the men's open race, Kipchumba, of Kenya, won in 1:00:25 after pulling away from Zouhair Talbi of Morocco in Times Square at about 11 miles. Talbi was second in 1:00:41, followed by Yemane Haileselassie of Eritrea in third. Hillary Bor was the top American finisher, in fourth overall.
"In Times Square I set my mind on, I must go, I must win," said Kipchumba, who made his United Airlines NYC Half debut today and has run seven sub-one-hour half marathons.
Scaroni, of the U.S., won in 53:50, defending her United Airlines NYC Half title; she also won in 2017 and took part in the first wheelchair division of this race, back in 2014. Tatyana McFadden of the U.S. was second and Eden Rainbow-Cooper of Great Britain was third.
"It's always fun to be here," said Scaroni, who will compete in the Paralympic Games in Paris this summer. "I was thinking how much I love the crowd, how much energy I feel. It brings me a lot of joy."
Schipper, a two-time Paralympian in paratriathlon from the Netherlands, won today in 48:43 in his United Airlines NYC Half debut. "It feels unexpected," he said. "I liked the uphill and downhill sections better than the flat parts." Second place went to Evan Correll of the U.S., with Johnboy Smith of Great Britain third.
The Times Square Kids Run at the United Airlines NYC Half was a chance for hundreds of youth ages 2–18 to stop traffic in Times Square with a course alongside the adult race; check out Stage 3 results here. In addition, the Virtual United Airlines NYC Half saw thousands of runners around the world complete their 13.1 miles from March 9 to March 17.
A Commissioner’s Cup race-within-a-race took place for members of eight NYC agencies and the Mayor's Office. The NYPD defended their 2023 title.
“From starting as an event that helped revitalize Lower Manhattan following 9/11 to now having more than 260,000 all-time finishers and bringing significant economic impact to our city, the United Airlines NYC Half has become the world’s premier half marathon," said NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer.
The NYC Half began in 2006 as a race held in Manhattan in August. It became a spring event in 2010 and adopted a Brooklyn-to-Manhattan course in 2018. United Airlines has been the title sponsor since 2015. Check out the event-day press release here.