How to Be a Popular® Brooklyn Half Spectator

Planning on showing your support from the sidelines of this year’s Popular® Brooklyn Half? Check out our tips and recommendations and plan your strategy to have the best race-day experience possible for yourself and your runners.

• Review the maps of the start, course, and finish and plan where you’ll be.

• Avoid the start area. The corrals and staging area on Eastern Parkway are for runners only for security purposes, and the starting line on Washington Avenue is very crowded.

• Take advantage of the full course. Runners will need the most support down Ocean Parkway and as they approach the finish on the Coney Island boardwalk. Watch at these locations for a great spectator experience:
-Flatbush Avenue (miles 1–2): Runners will still be clustered together as they start their 13.1-mile journey. If you are supporting a group, this is a good place to catch them all together.
-Parkside Avenue/Park Circle (miles 3–4): Enjoy the scenery of Prospect Park and support the runners through this iconic section of the race. There are two cheer zones in this section where you can combine forces with other supporters and make an impact.
-Ocean Parkway at Ditmas Avenue and south (starts at mile 8): This stretch is long and daunting for the runners, who may use the strategy of counting down the alphabetically named avenues to get through it! Prepare to be loud, and if you’re spectating as part of a group, spread out along this section. Supporting a Team for Kids runner? Check out the TFK Cheer Zone at mile 8.
-Coney Island boardwalk between West 10th Street and Stillwell Avenue (mile 13/finish; access the boardwalk via Stillwell Avenue or West 12th Street): Get them to the finish line! Witness runners power to the end on the iconic Coney Island boardwalk and help them get there!

• Take public transportation. There is no parking at the start or along the course. If you want to be at the beginning and end of the race, you can take the F train to West Eighth St/Stillwell Ave near the finish.

• Dress for the occasion! Wear comfortable shoes. Pack sunscreen, sunglasses, and a water-resistant outer layer—race-day weather has historically been fickle!

• Bring snacks and water to keep you going throughout the morning.

• Create a big, bright sign to cheer on the runners. Make it funny, be supportive, and keep it clean!

• Plan to reunite at the Popular® Brooklyn Half After-Party at MCU Park. Agree on a general time frame, as cellphone saturation may make communication difficult.

• Stick around for the Rising New York Road Runners at the Popular® Brooklyn Half, a one mile race for hundreds of youth ages 8-18.