Enjoy amazing views of the Manhattan skyline while running this small but awesome race. Learn all about it with this Brooklyn Greenway Half Marathon Race Recap!
Welcome to another great Wild Workout Wednesday Link Up where Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama, Jen from Pretty Little Grub, Michelle at Fruition Fitness and I bring you workout ideas, motivation, inspiration and recipes to try. Join us each week by reading along, linking up and grab the button to proudly display on your blog/in your posts!
After making the 13.1 miles of the Rock’n’Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon part of my 18-mile long run, I fell in love with adding races to my marathon-training plan. With a 20-miler on tap for the following weekend, I went online to see if there were any local races I could add to my long run last minute. Luckily, there were still spots left in the 4th Annual Brooklyn Greenway Half Marathon!
The course is a route I run all the time, it’s close to my apartment, you get a race tee and medal and the proceeds go toward finishing and finessing the Brooklyn Greenway (a 14-mile landscaped route for pedestrians, runners and cyclists to enjoy). I’m more than happy to give some money toward enhancing city-running routes!
Race Day Strategy
As I mentioned, I had 20 miles on the race calendar. Since the race wouldn’t be starting until 9:30am, I’d have plenty of time to get in 7 miles before hand. The start of the race was just under 5 miles from my apartment, so I figured I’d run to the race, run a mile past it, a mile back, queue up and run the half for a total of 20 miles.
My goal was to run the first 7 miles at a comfortable, easy pace and then push myself to run the whole half marathon at marathon goal pace. I also wanted to test out the new fueling strategy I implemented during RNR Brooklyn to make sure it was solid.
The Day Before The Race
It was a gorgeous day, so I decided to walk the 2.5 miles to Brooklyn Running Co to pick up my bib, figuring it’d be a good shakeout for my legs. I arrived at the store and had no trouble getting my number and long sleeve tech tee. The race is small, so there wasn’t an expo, which is a.ok by me since I’m not an expo-lover.
I shopped around the store and may or may not have bought myself a new hat. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I have a bit of a baseball hat problem. I have a few that I run with but the non running-friendly ones (which I have at least 10 of) don’t get all that much use. Still, for some reason I love baseball hats. Some girls love shoes. I love hats. I also love shoes… Whatever. The hat is awesome.
I got home and got my carb on with a bombtastic salad from Chipotle, got Flat Nicole ready (note my new hat!)…
… and before I knew it, it was time for bed.
Race Day
I woke up at 6:55am, which was much better than the 4:15 wake up call I had the week prior. I made my prerace oats…
… got dressed and did my warm up routine. At 7:45, I was out the door and off to tackle my first 7 miles.
As I ran, I came across race volunteers who were already out on the course setting things up and directing people to the start. I pretty much ran the last 1/3 of the course on my way to the race!
After finishing my pre-race miles, it was time to line up for the final 13.1.
The 5K started at 8:30 and the half was supposed to start at 9:30 from the same starting line. 5Kers were still trickling in, so the start of the half was slightly delayed.
There weren’t any corrals, so we all just kind of lined up wherever. I tried to be somewhere in the front of the middle. I crossed the starting line a mere 10 seconds or so after the super speedy speedsters.
The first mile was very crowded. We were all on a side walk and ran a half mile away from the start and then a half mile back toward and across the starting line in the other direction – and we were all on a sidewalk. It was basically two people across. Luckily, I fell in step right behind some other runners and didn’t have to do a lot of dodging and weaving. I was really happy when we were able to spread out a bit more as we neared mile 2, though.
Miles 2-3.5 took us along all the beautiful Brooklyn piers and Brooklyn Bridge Park, which have beautiful views of the Manhattan skyline, the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge.

View from Brooklyn Bridge Park from another training run
Then we ran up through some neighborhoods, through the Brooklyn Navy Yard and into Williamsburg. We were on the sidewalk there, and because the course was out-and-back, it got a little tight again. Fortunately, runners were more spread out at that point.
At mile 7, I turned around and started making my way back. I had 14 miles under my belt and was feeling good. My pace was pretty solid, and my fueling strategy seemed to be working well. My goal was to finish the last 6.1 miles strong and maybe even speed up for the last 4 miles if I could.
When I entered Brooklyn Bridge Park for the last 3 miles of the race, I knew there would have to be a lot more dodging and weaving. It was a gorgeous day and because the course wasn’t closed, the park was getting crowded with people out walking their dogs, pushing strollers or out on tours. At one point, I got stuck behind a wall of tourists. It took me and 2 other runners saying, “Excuse us!” over and over again for what seemed like 2 minutes (but was probably only 10 seconds) for them to realize there was a race going on and move over a bit. Ah the glory of an open course.
Before long, I was in the final stretch. I hauled ass to the finish line and clocked in with an average pace that was 1 second faster than my goal marathon pace. 20-miler for the win!
Post-Race
The post-race party was pretty sweet. They had music playing and an awesome food spread. There was a ton of fresh fruit…
…bagels, bars and gels from CLIF, chocolate milk from Nestle and the thing I was most excited about: COFFEE!!
I hung out for a bit and stretched, I walked up into the nearby neighborhood to shake out my legs and then Ubered it back to my apartment. My Uber driver asked me if I won the race. Ha! At least he thinks I look fast?
I showered, stretched, foam rolled, got my compression socks on and got a massage later that afternoon. Ahhhhh so good.
Now I’m officially in taper mode!
Before we get to the Wild Workout Wednesday link up, a few overall pros and cons:
PROS:
- Small race so crowds of runners thin out quickly
- Water & Gatorade along the course
- Great volunteers directing runners where to go
- Excellent post race spread (COFFEE!!)
- Sustainable wood medals
CONS:
- No corrals so the start is a guessing game
- Open course = dodging regular people and traffic
- Headphones are not allowed (though a number of people, included me, ignored this – shhhh!)
- Not a ton of spectators (due to open course and just the general nature of small races)
- No fuel along the course (I always bring my own, so I don’t care too much about this but just a heads up to bring your own fuel if you want to run this in the future)
Overall, I loved this race! I don’t think it’s the best first half for anyone to do (I’d chose a closed-course for that), but it was perfect for tacking onto a longer training run or just to do for fun with a friend.
Alright, my wild workouters, let’s see how you’ve been sweating lately. As always, you can find the link up rules right here.
Let’s Chat:
Have you ever run an open-course race?
What’s the best post-race spread you’ve experienced?

HASHTAG NAILED IT.
😀 yaas
Susie @ SuzLyfe recently posted…Why I Race : Favorite Race Memories
That’s an awesome medal. The one open course half I signed up for I ended up DNSing due to injury. But my friends that ran it said it was no good. The traffic really freaked them out! But if I’m going to be running a training run anyway might as well, right? Great job!
Rachel recently posted…How to Survive Taper (and Live to Tell About It)
Yea open courses can be really tricky, but you’re right – I was going to run that route anyway, so why not!
Wahoo, way to go! I can’t believe you ran before your race to get your 20 miles in, I’m exhausted just thinking about it. Lol. And I never knew some races don’t have closed sidewalks and streets, that would definitely make it really difficult. But yay for a beautiful day, feeling good, and getting a great time!
Patricia @Sweet and Strong recently posted…What I Ate Wednesday, Game Day Party Recipes
Boom! Way to nail your training run and that race- great job, friend!
Annmarie recently posted…How to PR Your Next Half Marathon
Nice job Nicole, this looks like a fun race. I love that photo of you by the bridge. They had some great post race food here!
I like putting races in my marathon training too, but I have trouble not racing them! Great job, and it sounds like a fun race except for the sidewalks…
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…You Might Be A Runportunist…
Not racing them is really tricky!
Wow super impressive to run that much before the race and still nail it! I love the 9:30 start time I am not an early bird. Thanks for the link up
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner recently posted…Will Run For Chocolate-Hershey Half Recap
What a fun race! And you killed it with your marathon goal time! Congrats! This sounds like my kind of race!
Julie @ Running in a Skirt recently posted…101 Reasons to Love Running
Thanks, girl!
Great job! I wish I could find a race to run during my 20 miler. Open courses can be tough though.
Jen @ Pretty Little Grub recently posted…Hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu (Part One)
An open course sounds difficult. I’ve only done that for smaller races, 5k and 8k, I can’t imagine doing it for a half. Great job with the race! It was handy this one was so close to your place and fit into your training so well 🙂 All that post-race fruit sounds like it would really hit the spot.
Chaitali recently posted…Army 10 Miler Review – Part 2
The open course was tricky, especially toward the end of the course since it was later in the day and more people were out and about, but the fruit was fab!
Sounds awesome! Love the wood medal too. I’ve never added mileage on to a race (and clearly I’m in no position to do that right now!), but it helps when you can run to the start…beats the traffic too!
Michelle @ Fruition Fitness recently posted…What to Do When Your Marathon Training {or half!} Does Not Go as Planned
I am really liking this use a race for part of your long training runs…of course it’s too late for me to try that now! Congrats on your race, it looks like you’re in great shape for the marathon. Glad your new fueling strategy is working out. Bobbing and weaving through people is so frustrating, I don’t think I could get down with an open course like that, but I do love the medal!
Janelle @ Run With No Regrets recently posted…Philly Marathon Training Week 11 Recap
You’ll have to incorporate races into your next round of marathon training ;-P
Oh I just love it when a race donates to a good cause! And I also adore small races.
Okay, so I also love hats, but I have a child-sized head, so that means 98% of all of the hats I own are way too big on me. I don’t let that stop me, but I probably look ridiculous.
Ange // Cowgirl Runs recently posted…Weather + My Mood
Could you get a child-sized hat?
Wowzers!!! That’s a great finish time, especially considering you already had seven miles under your belt at the start line! High-5!!!!! Awesome job!!
Kimberly Hatting recently posted…Mercy Live Up Loop 5-Miler recap
Thanks, Kim! It was hard not to race it as you know, but I got in a good non-racing groove.
You know I’m a huge fan of adding races to long runs 🙂 This race sounds great and it’s awesome that it wasn’t too far from your house and I love the 9:30am start time. Sleeping in is always great! That sucks about the open course – I could see it being annoying having to run around people that are not paying attention that a race is in progress!
Kimberly G recently posted…SoNo Half Marathon Race Recap
I was stoked about the late start time, too, but because it’s an open course, it probably would have been better to be earlier now that I think about it. Fewer people out early in the morning.
Congrats on your race! I love the medal and post race coffee!
toni recently posted…Alternates to Running & Why You Should Cross-Train More #TCSNYCMarathon
The post race coffee was top notch.
Eek no corrals for a half marathon?!? What a bummer. But kudos to you for getting all 20 miles in. Impressive that you ran the extra 7 miles prior to the start of the race.
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running recently posted…Why Now is a Better Time to Consider Running a Marathon
I thought no corrals would suck, but the race was so small it didn’t really matter all that much.
I am always so inspired that you run before your races to get your training miles in! It sounds like you were right on target with your pace too! GReat job girl!
Lauren recently posted…How Running Changed my Life
Thank you!
What a great way to get a long training run in! Love that medal.
vicki recently posted…Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Spinach, Curry Spiced Chickpeas, & Cashew Cream Sauce