New York Road Runners – NYC 60K in Central Park

You’ll start with a 1-mile out-and-back from Engineers’ Gate in Central Park, and then you’ll complete nine 4-mile clockwise “inner” loops of the park. The start/finish, which is in the middle of the course’s longest flat section (about 1000 meters), is just opposite the bronze statue of Fred Lebow, legendary founder of the New York City Marathon, who’s shown checking his watch. After this flat stretch (look for the Metropolitan Museum of Art on your left), you’ll go up a slight rise and then make an approximately 600-meter descent of “Cat Hill” (watch out for its namesake, the Still Hunt statue of a crouching panther, atop a rock wall to your right).

You’ll level out and turn right/west to cross the approximately 500-meter 72nd Street Transverse (the Bethesda Fountain will be on your right at the midpoint), then turn right/north on West Drive. After a brief flat section, you’ll climb an 800-meter hill that’s followed by a generally downhill 1-mile rolling section. You’ll turn right/east on the 102nd Street Transverse, run across it (400 meters), and turn right/south on East Drive. After a gentle uphill of about 800 meters, you’ll level out onto the flat section and return to the start.

Water will be available twice on each loop (see course map). Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, fruit, and snacks will also be available.