Brooklyn, NYC (April 26, 2026) – An event-record 28,052 runners finished the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon on Sunday, April 26, announced NYCRUNS, the Brooklyn-based race organizer who produced the event.
“Brooklyn took center stage for a record-breaking day with over 28,000 runners,” said Steve Lastoe, Founding CEO of NYCRUNS. “Boosted by tens of thousands of cheering supporters, it was an inspiring day on the streets of Brooklyn, from our first to our final finishers.”
Phoebe Ward of Brooklyn won the Women’s Division with a time of 1:19:12, Aidan Ward from Montclair, NJ won the Men’s Division with a time of 1:11:56, Danica Reinicke of Brooklyn won the Nonbinary Division with a time of 1:19:26, and Ricardo Corral of Queens won the Handcycle Division with a time of 56:45. All times are unofficial pending confirmation.
America’s fastest growing race continued that trend by adding 3,449 finishers from 2025 to 2026. The field included entrants from 68 countries, including 49 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. Two-thirds of the runners were from New York City’s five boroughs while over 500 charity runners raised funds for 33 nonprofit organizations through the NYCRUNS Charity Partner Program.
One runner, Kamen Yatov of Brooklyn, running with a commemorative platinum bib, become the only person to have run the race every year since the event began in 2011.
The NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon began in Greenpoint and ran along the East River waterfront under the historic Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges. Runners then made their way through downtown Brooklyn, up the historic concourses of Fulton Street and Flatbush Avenue then past Grand Army Plaza before celebrating their finish in Prospect Park.
Launched in 2011 as the NYCRUNS Brooklyn Marathon in Prospect Park with a few hundred finishers, the half marathon was added in 2018. In 2022, both distances stretched across the borough with a new start in North Brooklyn, before becoming a standalone half marathon in 2023. In 2025, 24,603 runners finished the race, making it the third largest half marathon in the nation.
Runners wasted little time registering for next year’s NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon set for Sunday, April 25, 2027, as early bird registration opened after the final 2026 runner crossed the finish line. Runners can register for the 2027 race at nycruns.com.