Tortoise and the Hare at Van Cortland Park

Held at Van Cortland Park, in the Bronx, the NYRR Henry Isola Cross Country Classic offers plenty of room for runners of all ages and abilities. The NYRR is organizing the event, which is a distance of 4 miles. The race begins at 11:30 A.M., and race day registration is available, at the venue, beginning at 10:00.

This is a great opportunity for those participating in the 9+1 program, for next year’s NYC Marathon, to run a scored qualifier, that does not take place in Central Park. The race starts near the statue of the Tortoise and the Hare, in Van Cortland Park.

The course for this race contains a lot of diverse terrain, including trails and hills. An NYRR Course Map can be found here.

More details about the race, including entry fees, directions to the event, and peripheral race day activities can be found on the NYRR Website, here.

Join the New York Road Runners, the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce Health Committee, the Daily News, Fox-5, and WBLS-FM this weekend in St. Nicholas park for a family fitness event. The 5k will kick of at 8:30 AM, followed by the 2 mile walk at 9:30 AM. As of today, online registration for the event is still open.

The course for the 5k is as follows: Head north along Edgecombe Ave. At 141st Street, bear right onto Bradhurst Ave. Turn left (West) at 145th Street. Turn right (North) back onto Edgecombe Ave. At 155th Street, take sharp left (south) onto St. Nicholas Place. Turn right (west) on 150th Street. Turn left (south) onto Convent Ave. Turn left (east) onto St. Nicholas Terrace. Proceed straight (south) along top of St. Nicholas Park. Turn left (east) on 127th Street. Turn left (north) on St. Nicholas Ave. Proceed straight (north) on St. Nicholas Ave, alongside St. Nicholas Park. Here is a link to the NYRR Course Map.

This is a great opportunity for those participating in the 9+1 program to run a race that does not take place in Central Park. View all upcoming races on the Run-NYC Event Calendar.

Monday August 17, 2009 Elite middle distance athlete Lauren Fleshman led NYC runners in a training run over the Brooklyn Bridge to launch the 2009 Nike+ Human Race registration. More than 20 Nike-hosted runs will take place around the world on October 24, “the day the world runs.” Sign up for Nike+ Human Race at nikeplus.com

This year’s Nike Plus “Human Race” will be taking place on October 24th in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Although, the cool part is, that it doesn’t have to be in Brooklyn, at all. This race can be run by anyone, anywhere. On-line Registration is now open. Follow this link to register.

This race is a unique opportunity for New York City runners, who use the Nike Plus program, to compete against other runners on every continent of the world. For more information, click through here, to the event’s website.

Sunday morning was a very hot day to be running, even at 7 A.M.. Weather and all, nearly 10,000 runners showed up to compete in the 2009 New York City Half-Marathon. The course remained in the shade, for the majority of the beginning, in Central Park. But, once the runners took to the West Side Highway, it was a very warm stretch to the finish. The male winner of the race was Tadese Tola, of Ethiopia. For the women, as expected, Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain was the winner. Paula was a late entry, announced last week. She has been recovering from a foot problem. This was Radcliffe’s first race of 2009. Full results can be found at the NYRR website.

The NYRR did a great job of organizing the race. It was a complete success. Congratulations to all of the finishers of the 2009 NYC Half Marathon. WABC-7 , will be airing coverage of the race, beginning tonight at 11:30 P.M.. Click here for the photo gallery.

NYC Nike Facebook running group distributed the following email, this week:

MONDAY AUGUST 17TH @ 7:30 PM Sharp
WATER TAXI BEACH, PEIR 17 – SOUTH STREET SEAPORT (FULTON & FDR)

Celebrate the kickoff of the 2009 Nike+ Human Race with a special run and post-run festivities, including appearances by Runners Alan Webb and Lauren Fleshman and WNBA Star Essence Carson.

Long & short run options – Refreshments – Human Race Kickoff Event Training Shirt

RSVP to humanrace@runnyc.org to secure your spot, limited one RSVP per person. Space is limited to the first 200 reservations received.

Include your Nike+ POWERSONG in your RSVP to be played during the post-run celebration!

Paula Radcliffe (photo: NYRR)

The NYRR Half Marathon Grand Prix, continues, this weekend, with the New York City Half-Marathon. This race will take place in the borough of Manhattan. This leg of the NYRR Grand Prix is probably the most popular, because of its location.

The course begins on the east side of Central Park, on Central Park Drive, near 85th Street, headed south. After one clockwise loop of the park, runners will exit, onto Central Park South, headed west, to the West Side Hwy. The remainder of the course is located on the south-bound portion of the West Side Highway, to the finish line in Battery Park City. Click here for a course map.

The gun, will be at 7:00, Sunday morning. The weather forecast is looking favorable. As if there weren’t enough reasons to be excited about running, or attending this race on Sunday, It was recently announced the Paul Radcliffe, winner of multiple major marathons, will be participating. This will be the first race of the year for Radcliffe.

The NYRR announced on Thursday:

Making her first start of the year after being sidelined with a foot injury and looking to test her fitness, marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain will run in the fourth annual NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, August 16, it was announced today by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg. Radcliffe last competed nearly 10 months ago when she won her third ING New York City Marathon. She had bunion surgery on her right foot in March. The NYC Half-Marathon will be her first-ever half-marathon in the United States

This should be an extremely exciting event, with an expected participation of nearly 10,000 runners. Check back on Monday, for photos of the race.

Bored of running that same route, day after day? Well, starting Saturday August 8, and for the following two Saturdays, runners will have a unique opportunity to run the heart of the East Side, of Manhattan without dodging taxis.

New York City’s 2009 Summer Streets get underway at 7:00 AM Saturday morning. Park Avenue will be closed to automobile traffic from 72nd Street, going south. Connecting streets will also be closed, so that one could run/ride/skate, all the way from Central Park to the Brooklyn Bridge and back. Click here for a map of the route.

This is the second year of New York Summer Streets. It should be even bigger and better than last year. According to the City’s website, the 2009 Summer Streets will kick off with a fun run:

Kick-off Summer Streets with a fun run with Team-in-Training at Foley Square at 7:30 am. The group will head north up the Summer Streets route to 72nd Street and into Central Park. The run is open to all and you are welcome to go for as long (or as short) as you would like. You can also bike or skate your way along the route. We’ll be providing over 150 free bikes, 180 pairs of free skates at the Soho Station at Spring Street, the Music and Culture Rest Stop at 24th Street and the Family Rest Stop at 51st Street. Feel like really working up a sweat? Take a free class with Crunch at 12th Street. See the Activities page for a full line up of events. And check back often for updates.

The route will be closed to auto traffic from 7:00 AM until 1:00 PM. So, make sure to get out early, and join in the fun. For more information, please visit the City’s Summer Streets Website.

New York Road Runners Team Championships are also Saturday August 8th in Central Park. Various track clubs from around the NYC area will be competing this Saturday, for bragging rights. The men’s race begins a 9 AM, the women’s is at 10 AM. Click here for a course map.

Monday night was beautiful weather for a run on the beach. That is exactly what nearly 2000 people did at Long Island’s Jones beach. It was the Jones Beach 5 Mile Race, part of the New York State Parks Summer Series. The male winner was Peter Hawkins of Malverne New York. He scored a 23:22, pacing a sub-5 minute mile! The female winner was Erin Silvering-Grey of Levittown New York, clocking a very respectable 31:42. Full results can be seen here. Congratulations to all of the finishers.

Torrential rains did not stop dedicated New York City runners from paying tribute to Sgt. Keith A. Ferguson, Sunday morning. According to some of the participants, the ceremony before the race, was very touching. It was also noted that there were some close calls during the race, involving cyclists, and that the number pick-up was a bit disorganized. One participant noted:

The start was a little disorganized. I think they tried to group people by their pace, but it didn’t pan out. It could have improved everyone’s experience if it was corraled properly somehow since the path is so narrow. Also, I couldn’t believe the bridge was not closed off to pedestrians and bicyclists. With hundreds of runners flooding that narrow space, there could have been some dangerous situations. Aside from those 2 points, I thoroughly enjoyed this 5k. It was a great experience and I look forward to running it again next year… hopefully it will be a little bit better organized.

Congratulations to all of those who participated in Sunday’s race.