NYRR Manhattan 10K Highlights New York Road Runners' Impact in Manhattan
On February 1, thousands of runners will run the NYRR Manhattan 10K in Central Park.
The race is the first event in the 2026 NYRR Five-Borough Series. For the first time, this year’s race was filled via a drawing, with thousands of applicants signed up to be a part of this historic race. The field is expected to be the largest in NYRR Manhattan 10K history.
We look forward to welcoming runners to test their limits with a full loop around Central Park, and spectators to come out to cheer and celebrate the Empire City!
History in Manhattan
Though New York Road Runners was founded in the Bronx in 1958 and held many races in that borough over its first 10 years, many members lived in Manhattan, including founding president Ted Corbitt. In the late 1960s, Mayor John Lindsay started a trend toward making Central Park more pedestrian-friendly by banning cars from the drives on Sundays, then all weekend.
This paved the way for the first New York City Marathon to take place in September 1970 over a course of four-plus Central Park loops. In 1976, to celebrate the United States bicentennial, the marathon course included all five boroughs of NYC. This year, NYRR is celebrating the 50th anniversary of that first five-borough marathon course. Be a part of history and apply or claim your guaranteed entry for the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon anytime between February 4 and February 25.
NYRR’s headquarters has a long history in Manhattan. In its earliest days when the organization was a volunteer-led running club, Corbitt typed newsletters at his kitchen table in Upper Manhattan. Later, longtime president Fred Lebow held club meetings at his Upper East Side apartment. NYRR’s first office space was at the West Side Y in Manhattan on West 63rd Street. In 1981 the organization purchased an Upper East Side brownstone at 9 East 89th Street, which was its home until moving to its Midtown location in 2013.
Impact Today
Manhattan is home to the largest number of New York Road Runners members with notable running races including the United Airlines NYC Half, Mastercard New York Mini 10K, Percy Sutton Harlem 5K, and NYRR Manhattan 10K.
A breakdown of New York Road Runners’ impact in Manhattan:
- Nearly 12,000 Rising NYRR in the 2024–25 school year
- 250+ Open Runners in 2 Manhattan parks: Inwood Hill Park and Morningside Park
- 400+ Race Free members from Manhattan
- 400+ Striders across 9 Manhattan sites: ARC Central Harlem Older Adult Center, Marcus Garvey Park, Goddard NORC, Greenwich House Older Adult Center, Engineers’ Gate in Central Park, DOROT, Columbus Circle Central Park, Rosevelt Island Senior Center, and Morningside Park
- 24,000+ NYRR members
- 61,900+ participants from Manhattan across all events and programs
Manhattan Running Routes
Our running routes are a series of cultural running experiences through the lens of the diverse running community of New York City. Check out these routes for inspiration.