Obiri sets women’s open division event record, Romanchuk claims his third men’s wheelchair division title, and Rainbow-Cooper and Wildschutt capture their first victories
More than 30,000 athletes raced the iconic 13.1-mile park-to-park course from Prospect Park to Central Park
NYPD wins fourth straight Commissioners’ Cup, defeating six other New York City agencies and the Mayor’s Office
Notable athletes including Broadway star Jordan Litz, former NFL player Justin Britt, and hip-hop icon N.O.R.E. Tackle their first United Airlines NYC Half
Times Square Kids Run features more than 1,500 youth dashing through the Crossroads of the World
New York, March 15, 2026 – New York Road Runners (NYRR), the nonprofit that “runs” New York City producing 60 annual adult and youth races including the TCS New York City Marathon, welcomed 30,229 athletes to the finish line of today’s 2026 United Airlines NYC Half—the world’s premier half marathon. The race set a record as the largest half marathon in event and NYRR history, as well as the biggest in the country. The 13.1-mile park-to-park course started near Prospect Park before crossing the Brooklyn Bridge—the only race in history to do so—passing by Grand Central Terminal and running through Times Square—one of only two times a year the Crossroads of the World is closed to traffic.
This year’s star-studded professional athlete field featured 26 Olympians and Paralympians, 16 national record holders, 10 global medalists, and athletes from 17 countries.
Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, the defending TCS New York City Marathon champion, captured her second United Airlines NYC Half women’s open division title; Adriaan Wildschutt became the first man from South Africa to win the men’s open division in his New York Road Runners debut; Great Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper won her first United Airlines NYC Half title with the largest margin of victory in event history; and Daniel Romanchuk of the U.S. claimed his third men’s wheelchair division title, returning to racing for the first time since August 2025.
Obiri, who shattered the 22-year-old event record at the TCS New York City Marathon last November, surged to victory Sunday, dominating the second half of the race. She dethroned the defending United Airlines NYC Half champion Sharon Lokedi and set a new event record of 1:06:33, while running one of the largest margins of victory in event history. In their eighth head-to-head meeting, Obiri maintained her advantage over Lokedi, with the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon champion finishing second in 1:07:10, the third fastest time in event history. Great Britain’s Megan Keith rounded out the podium, clocking 1:07:13 in her half marathon debut, the fastest women’s open division United Airlines NYC Half debut ever, and coming just weeks after she broke the European road 10K record.
Obiri said on ABC New York, Channel 7’s live broadcast following the race: “For me, New York City has been like home…winning [the TCS New York City Marathon] last year with an event record…this is an incredible moment for me. When you’re alone and people are cheering for you, [they] made me run so fast.”
Five American women cracked the top 10, led by American marathon record holder Emily Sisson’s sixth-place finish in 1:09:06. She was closely followed by Amanda Vestri, Annie Frisbie, Susanna Sullivan, and Emily Venters, who swept seventh through 10th with sub-70-minute performances.
In his New York Road Runners debut and just the second half marathon of his career, Wildschutt made history to win South Africa’s first-ever United Airlines NYC Half men’s open division title in 59:30, the second-fastest debut time in event history. The South African record holder at 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, and the half marathon won by 11 seconds, running away from American Zouhair Talbi—who has been on the podium in all three of his United Airlines NYC Half appearances—and India’s Gulveer Singh—the national record holder at 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 meters—who was also making his New York Road Runners racing and half marathon debut. Singh became the first Indian man to break 60 minutes at the half marathon distance, running 59:42.
Wildschutt said on a live taping of NYRR Set the Pace Presented by Peloton after his victory: “I could see I felt really good and I was like ‘at some point I’m going to get up the bridge and make a big surge down the hill.’ After the downhill, you get a hill again, so I wanted to keep pushing.”
The American contingent also included Alex Maier, the second-fastest U.S. half marathoner in history, who finished fourth in 59:51. U.S. Olympian Joe Klecker placed ninth in 1:00:02, followed by Ryan Ford—the sixth-fastest American half marathoner of all-time—in 12th with 1:00:22. Two-time Olympic bronze medalist and world record holder Grant Fisher finished 14th in 1:00:53 in his half marathon and professional road racing debut.
In her second United Airlines NYC Half, Rainbow-Cooper improved upon her third-place finish from 2024 to claim her first women’s wheelchair division title in 54:27. It was also the first title for Great Britain in the United Airlines NYC Half women’s open division. She won in commanding fashion, finishing more than five minutes ahead of runner-up Tatyana McFadden who clocked 1:00:21 after also placing second in both the 2025 and 2024 editions of the race. Irish Paralympian Shauna Bocquet took third in her New York Road Runners debut in 1:02:59.
Rainbow-Cooper said on NYRR Set the Pace Presented by Peloton: “I’m over the moon, I’m so excited. I was up against Tatyana, and she is an absolute beast, so I knew from the gun that my way to get away was to go fast downhill [as] that’s my strength. [I hoped] that I [could] get a lead and maintain a lead, and I was able to do that.”
American Romanchuk continued his dominance in New York City, winning his third United Airlines NYC Half title in 48:10—his first since 2022. The victory marked his return to racing following an injury at the 2025 Sydney Marathon in August. The second and third place finishers, Evan Correll of the U.S. and Geert Schipper of the Netherlands, were separated by two seconds, running 50:22 and 50:24, respectively. Schipper entered the race as the two-time defending United Airlines NYC Half champion.
Romanchuk said on NYRR Set the Pace Presented by Peloton: “It’s great to be back in New York and just amazing to be back on the start line [after injury] … I created a little bit of distance and said, ‘I’ll see how long I can hold this,’ and I was able to hold it the whole way thankfully.”
Notable and Inspiring Runners
Following the footsteps of the professional athletes on the 13.1-mile park-to-park tour of New York City were notable and inspiring runners, including:
- Matt Wilpers (1:25:27) – Peloton Instructor
- Jordan Litz (1:28:22) – Broadway star and actor who ran the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon and performed two shows as Fiyero in “Wicked” on Broadway
- Errol Barnett (1:29:37) – CBS News anchor and national correspondent
- Justin Britt (1:31:11) – Retired offensive lineman for the Seattle Seahawks and Houston Texans who runs for his mental health; coached by Emily Venters, who ran in the professional athlete field, finishing in 10th place in 1:09:46
- Mariana Fernandez (1:46:22) – Peloton Instructor
- Mike Marza (1:46:42) – ABC New York anchor
- Tiki Barber (1:51:34) – New York Giants legend and longtime runner
- Liz Cho (1:58:03) – ABC New York anchor
- Chris Di Niso (2:04:58) – A Staten Island-based nonbinary runner and Commissioners’ Cup participant who is celebrating 20 years of keeping the city’s streets clean with the NYC Department of Sanitation
- Kristen Ferguson (2:10:26) – Peloton Instructor
- Brandon Allmon-Jackson (2:10:45) – Broadway stage manager who was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in December and fundraised with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
- Eddie Collazo (2:12:49) – Brooklynite who ran in memory of his father and to set an example for his son Isaiah, a Rising New York Road Runners Youth Ambassador and Times Square Kids Run participant
- Amy Robach (2:13:32)& T.J. Holmes (2:13:33) – Broadcast personalities and hosts of iHeartMedia’s “Amy & T.J.” podcast
- N.O.R.E. (2:15:38) – Rapper, actor, and media personality who recently ran his first-ever TCS New York City Marathon alongside his “Run Champs” run crew
- Harjinder Singh (2:18:08) – A Queens-based Assistant Director and Civil Engineer with NYC DOT’s Capital Project Engineering team and Sikh and Punjabi athlete who competed for the Commissioners’ Cup with Team DOT.
- Kade Cahe (2:19:21) – Sustainability advocate, nonbinary athlete, and Dominican-born New Yorker who ran their first half marathon with NYRR Team for Climate
- Julia Khvasechko (2:25:10) – Brain cancer survivor who ran as an NYRR pacer in the 2:25 pace group and has fundraised for Fred’s Team at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where she was treated
- Mickey Thomas (2:42:00) – Wrexham Association Football Club legend who ran with a team from the Wrexham AFC Foundation to raise funds for the foundation and Kick4Life
- Safiatu Diagana (3:35:26) – A Queens-based NYRR Run for the Future alum and now first-time half marathoner, running while fasting for Ramadan
- Donna Nerges (3:46:15) – New Jersey-based NYRR Striders participant who started running in her 60s encouraged by her son and the community she found through the older adult fitness program
“Racing the United Airlines NYC Half was unbelievable. Running through Times Square and the theater district, where I’ve performed for the last five years, felt like an encore performance,” said Litz after running his first-ever United Airlines NYC Half. Litz recently completed his historic, five-year run as the longest-running Fiyero in “Wicked” on Broadway. “I loved the TCS New York City Marathon, but today’s half marathon may have topped it to become my favorite New York Road Runners race.”
“The day [was] pretty good … the crew was rolling, the crowd was loud. I found out a lot about myself. [I’m] grateful to compete [and am] looking forward to coming back [to New York City] hopefully in November [for the TCS New York City Marathon] to set another standard for myself,” said Britt after receiving his finisher medal from his coach and professional runner Venters.
“This is so much bigger than me. There are so many people with cancer or battling other things in life, and [finishing this race] shows that with commitment and focus and perseverance, you can push through and come out the other side,” said Allmon-Jackson after completing his first half marathon. After the race, he went to rehearsal for the new Broadway show he’s stage managing, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.”
“Belief pushes you to go further. If you know [within] yourself that you got this, then you can do it,” shared Diagana at the finish line. “Running a half marathon fasted is not the easiest thing in the world, but we’re here, and I can say that I did it.”
Commissioners’ Cup
For the fourth year, New York Road Runners hosted the Commissioners’ Cup during the United Airlines NYC Half, featuring teams from seven New York City agencies and the Mayor’s Office in a friendly competition highlighting their decades-long partnership with the nonprofit. The New York Police Department defended their title, winning their fourth straight trophy, followed by the New York City Department of Sanitation and NYC Department of Transportation. Other competing teams included the NYC Mayor’s Office, New York Fire Department, NYC Parks, New York City Public Schools, and NYC Environmental Protection. The Commissioners of each agency served as honorary captains, with the top three finishers from each city agency determining the scoring.
“It’s amazing we’ve won this thing four years in a row,” said NYPD Assistant Chief Aaron Edwards after leading his team to victory. “For the NYPD, we get a lot of bragging rights, but more important [for us] is our partnership with New York Road Runners.”
Times Square Kids Run
In addition to the adult race, 1,596 kids ages 2-18 completed free dashes and races as part of the Times Square Kids Run, one of more than 20 free Rising New York Road Runners youth events the nonprofit hosts during the year, including the TCS New York City Marathon Kids Kickoff. The event took place in the heart of Times Square, as participants ran alongside the professional athletes and adult participants for a fun and rewarding experience. Many finishers were members of Rising New York Road Runners, NYRR’s free running-based youth program that serves 200,000 students nationwide, with 100,000 students in New York City.
First run in 2006 and known as the One to Run, the NYC Half has been one of New York Road Runners’ most popular races for two decades, attracting athletes from around the world. The event, alongside the TCS New York City Marathon and the 30+ other adult races New York Road Runners produces year-round, helps contribute nearly $1 billion to the city’s economy.
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About New York Road Runners (NYRR)
A New York City-based nonprofit, New York Road Runners’ vision is to build healthier lives and stronger communities through the transformative power of running – serving more than half a million people annually through its races, free community events, youth running initiatives, and school-based programs across the five boroughs. During its nearly 70 years, New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world’s premier community running organization, producing more than 60 adult and youth races each year, including the TCS New York City Marathon. Held the first Sunday each November, the TCS New York City Marathon features more than 55,000 runners—from the world’s best professional athletes to a vast range of runners across experience levels, ages, genders, abilities, and backgrounds. To learn more, visit www.nyrr.org.