NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The New York City Half Marathon is making its big comeback this weekend.
The event was the first running race to be canceled when the pandemic began in 2020.
On Sunday, it will be the first race since the pandemic to return at full capacity with 25,000 runners.
The 13.1-mile race will take runners from Prospect Park, over the Manhattan Bridge and into Central Park.
On Friday morning, the New York Road Runners and the city celebrated the return of the race with a kickoff event in Times Square, which is mile 11 in the race.
Elite runners Galen Rupp and Sara Hall helped break the tape at the kickoff event.
"It is New York City running again," race director Ted Metellus said. "To have the event back what I would hope our participants, youth, volunteers, spectators, family and friends think about is have a little perspective about where we've been and what we've gone through and what the future holds for us when we're together and we're being active and healthy."
Metellus noted that the half-marathon serves as the only time other than New Year's Eve that 42nd Street in Times Square is closed to traffic.
The Crossroads of the World, meanwhile, is once again bustling with visitors and Times Square Alliance President Tom Harris is looking forward to welcoming the runners on Sunday.
"We have seen numbers spike in the last week. Yesterday, we had almost 300,000 people walk through Times Square," said Harris. "This is mile 11 in the race and it's all uphill from here. It is an exciting route and we wish all the runners well on Sunday."
Dr. Torian Easterling, first deputy commissioner at the city's health department, lauded the event as a big comeback for the city, both physically and psychologically.
"We know that the pandemic has taken a toll on us. It has been devastating, we have seen such loss in our communities and so thank you to all of the runners for what you're going to be doing, making sure that you're bringing inspiration to our city, because we all have a marathon to run," Easterling said.
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