On a perfect day for racing, more than 27,000 runners—a record number—celebrated the start of their spring season at the 2024 United Airlines NYC Half. The excitement was electric all along the 13.1-mile course from Brooklyn to Central Park.
Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal, Abel Kipchumba, Susannah Scaroni, and Geert Schipper broke the finish tapes, while hundreds of youth runners ages 2–18 took part in short dashes and a 1-mile run at the Times Square Kids Run at the United Airlines NYC Half.
For Grøvdal, a three-time Olympian and European cross country champion from Norway, the victory was especially sweet, as she’d placed third in her three previous United Airlines NYC Half appearances. “I struggled with third place for some time,” she said. “Then suddenly I get some energy and I can finish strong. I’m just so happy to take a win here—I had a dream to do that.”
Grøvdal, who finished in 1:09:09, is the first Norwegian champion in event history and the…