Before I get into my United NYC Half Marathon race recap, I wanted to share some details about the race and the logistics of it. I had quite a few people ask me how it worked out using the travel provider so I wanted to share those details. I also wanted to share a bit about the expo because I thought some details of it were unique compared to other race expos I have been to.
Hopefully this information will be useful for anyone thinking about running the United NYC Half Marathon.
I mentioned in a previous post that I did not get into the United NYC Half through the lottery. I was gifted the registration as a Christmas gift by my husband who went through the travel partner that this races uses which was Anthony Travel. In my opinion, this was the BEST way to do this race if you are from out of town. You have to wait until the lottery is over before booking a guaranteed entry into this race. Also, to guarantee your entry, you must book a package at the hotel that Anthony travel uses as their ”host” hotel. In this instance, it was the Millenium Hilton on Church Street in the Financial district. Of course you have to pay for the hotel room and then the price of the race gets added to that. I am not sure what the actual cost of this race is but I did have someone tell me that if you are a NYRR member that it was somewhere around $150. I will tell you that my race registration was more than that so perhaps the Travel partner charges extra because it is a “guaranteed” entry.
The Expo
I have to say that the United NYC Half Marathon expo was a
bit underwhelming. If you are expecting
an expo like Disney or even a Rock n Roll race, you will be disappointed. I
wasn’t disappointed as I didn’t really need to buy anything at the expo but I
was hoping to see a few of my favorite vendors there. The lack of vendors made
it easy for us to get in and get out. The expo was at the Metropolitian Pavillion on 18th street. The subway stops are on 14th street and 23rd street. We got off at 14th street and walked 4 blocks to the expo.
Bib Pick up
I thought bib pick up was odd as runners could
go to any booth and pick up a bib. Again, it was not like Disney or Rock n Roll
where you have to go to the booth that corresponds to your last name. I just
got in the shortest line and when it was my turn the lady at the booth just
picked a random bib (based on the wave I was in), scanned it so it was assigned
to me, and I was on my way.
Race shirts
I really love the race shirt, although I would
say they do run a tad small. Another
thing I thought was unique to this expo was that there were volunteers that were
holding the shirts up all along the wall where you picked up your bag and race
shirt. I thought they were just showing you what the shirt looked like but in
reality they wanted you to try it on before you picked up your own shirt.
When I went up to pick up my shirt, I went to the booth that said “small” because I just assumed that was the size on my registration, but the lady asked me what size I wanted. I still said small. After getting my shirt, Scott convinced me that I should try it on. I had a cami on under my sweater so I just slipped the shirt on over the cami. The shirt fit, but I wondered if a size medium would give me a little more wiggle room. I went over to one of the ladies holding the shirts to be tried on and asked if I could try on the medium shirt. At that point she told me that I couldn’t exchange my shirt even if I wanted to because I had already tried on the shirt that was in my bag. Ooops, I had no idea I wasn’t allowed to try on my own shirt.
When I went up to pick up my shirt, I went to the booth that said “small” because I just assumed that was the size on my registration, but the lady asked me what size I wanted. I still said small. After getting my shirt, Scott convinced me that I should try it on. I had a cami on under my sweater so I just slipped the shirt on over the cami. The shirt fit, but I wondered if a size medium would give me a little more wiggle room. I went over to one of the ladies holding the shirts to be tried on and asked if I could try on the medium shirt. At that point she told me that I couldn’t exchange my shirt even if I wanted to because I had already tried on the shirt that was in my bag. Ooops, I had no idea I wasn’t allowed to try on my own shirt.
As far as official race merchandise, there really wasn’t a
whole lot of “stuff”. I saw hats and
water bottles but that was about it, the rest was clothing. I saw a jacket
online that I was considering purchasing but when I got to the expo there was
only one left and it wasn’t in my size. I wasn’t extremely upset as it saved me
$100! They also had these rain jackets
that were going for $125 and I am not kidding you when I say that they were as
thin as a Dollar Store poncho and had no pockets on them. Completely worthless
if you ask me.
The expo did have a few good spots for photo ops, so that
was a good thing but overall it was too hot and crowded in there and we were
glad to not have to spend a whole lot of time there.
The Hotel
Like I mentioned above, the hotel that we stayed at was the Millenium Hilton. It was in a perfect location in the Financial district in Lower Manhatten (near the finish line). It is located right across the street from the "E" subway (the blue line), which is the one you would take to get to the expo (it's only 4 stops away). It is also right across the street from the 9/11 Memorial. We had a view of the west side facing the river and Scott said he could even see the runners out the window when he got up on race morning. By booking through Anthony Travel we got a late check out at 3:00 pm, However, we had to valet our car (the only option for this hotel) which cost $60 a day and they charge you by a 24 hour period. In this instance we had to remove our car by 1:45 pm or we would be charged an extra day. I know that is such a small detail but it's important to note for anyone looking to stay at this hotel and drive their car. The hotel also has a nice restaurant with a great view but has limited options. It was convenient for us to go there for a post race lunch once I was all cleaned up though.
The hotel also had a runner's breakfast they were offering. I believe it was a piece of fruit, a granola bar, a Gatorade, and a water for something like $14. I opted to not take the breakfast as I had already packed my own fruit and granola bar.
Transportation
One of the best parts about booking through Anthony Travel is that THEY provided me with transportation to the start of the race which was in Central Park. Even though I was in a later wave and my start time wasn't until 8:10 am, I still had to be on the bus at 5:45 am and we left the hotel at 6:00 am. The bus then dropped us off right outside of race security in Central Park. In my opinion, that was the best way to get to the race.
I hope these details are helpful to anyone who is considering this race in the future.
I'll have my race recap up next week. I do hope you check back then to check it out! -M
I am flip flopping the the Friday 5 themes this week and I will be sure to post my "Food" post next week!
I hope these details are helpful to anyone who is considering this race in the future.
I'll have my race recap up next week. I do hope you check back then to check it out! -M
I am flip flopping the the Friday 5 themes this week and I will be sure to post my "Food" post next week!