Significant changes for 2018 NYC Half

The 2018 NYC Half will feature a new course on March 18, race organizers announced recently.

The United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon, organized by the New York Road Runners, who put on the TCS New York City Marathon, will begin in Brooklyn and finish in Central Park in Manhattan as part of the redesigned course. Along the way, runners will pass by many of New York City’s most popular sights, including Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, the United Nations, Grand Central Terminal, Times Square before finishing in the park.

RELATED: Results of celebrities from the United Airlines NYC Half.

Previously, the race began in Central Park, where runners completed about half of the 21.1K, and finished in Lower Manhattan via the West Side Highway.

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The 2018 field expansion and course change are the first major updates since 2013, when a revised course configuration accommodated the addition of a professional wheelchair race. The NYRR expects as many as 22,500 runners in 2018, up from the 19,409 finishers in 2017.

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The application for guaranteed and non-guaranteed entry into 2018 United Airlines NYC Half opened at 12 p.m. EDT on Oct. 16 and will close at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Nov. 30, 2017. The drawing will take place on Dec. 6, 2017.

With files from the New York Road Runners.