Early on a dreary Saturday, Saymah Nah and Robin Dambreville were cheering on their friend at the starting line of the 2023 RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon by New York Road Runners.

“So I’m here to support my college friend Natasha Oh, her sister. Her older sister. She missed the race last year, so because of the injury, really excited to be back and, yeah, kick butt,” says Nah.

The starting line was near the Brooklyn Museum. The finish line of the race was on the Coney Island boardwalk.

Natacha Dambreville is who they were chearing for.

She crossed the finish line along with many of the thousands who participated on Saturday.

“This is my redemption race, and I had no time, so I just wanted to complete it. And it feels so good to be here in Brooklyn,” said Dambreville. “My whole family’s here. My friend. Support is my number one love language. So to see them here, it just brings joy to my heart.”

This year, 26,000 people registered to run the 13.1 mile course.  

The sold out race began near prospect park and ended on Coney Island, where spectators and racers alike were not deterred by the rain.

“I think it was actually a bit easier than like, running, like practicing because everyone’s cheering you on. Like, you get the motivation from that and it really helps you, like, fit through,” says Grant Paulus who ran the event for the first time.

The course took runners past the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, through Prospect Park and down Ocean Parkway.

Brooklynites are appreciative of the attention it brings to the borough.

“Sometimes parts of Brooklyn get overlooked and not many people make it to Coney Island. And I think being able to celebrate finishing a half marathon at Coney Island is like one of the coolest things that you can do in Brooklyn,” said Mary Morrison at the finish line.

This event is just one of many races organized by New York Road Runners throughout the year.

“It’s amazing how much planning goes into these events. And, you know, we put on 45 races a year at New York Road runners,” says New York Road Runners CEO Rob Simmelkjaer. “So as soon as an event like this passes, we’re moving on to, first of all, the next event and the next one and the next one. And we’re already taking notes about how we can make this event even better next year.”