Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Debuts In Perfect Conditions

Photo: PhotoRun.net

The fall-like conditions in New York City on Saturday morning—sunny skies with crisp temperatures in the low 50s—couldn’t have been more welcoming for the participants who had turned out to run in the first-ever Rock ‘n’ Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon.

Saturday’s race kicked off in front of the iconic Soldiers and Sailors’ Arch at the Grand Army Plaza. It was the first running event to start in such a prominent Brooklyn locale for more than two decades and with the newness came a bit of growing pains as runners experienced a delayed start due to increased security screenings. But true to the New York City spirit of perseverance, runners celebrated with an extra cheer the moment the starting gun finally sounded.

A three-runner pack comprised of Mekuria Abebe Sihine of Ethiopia, his compatriot, Birhanu Dare Kemal, and Mengitsu Nebsi of New York City, went right to the front with a strong start. American pre-race favorite Ben Bruce of Flagstaff, Arizona stayed with them for a few strides, but dropped back into the first mile.

The leaders headed out and back along the beautiful Brooklyn avenues that were lined with cheerleaders, stilted characters in tall wigs, and bearded hipster bands jamming on mandolins and acoustic guitars.

Sihine did the heavy lifting, setting a quick pace early, but was reeled in by the other two runners by the 8th mile. Sihine didn’t fade and so it became a three-person footrace all the way until the pack arrived at Prospect Park. The race’s dynamic changed, however, as soon as the leaders passed the pair of tall bronze statues of men astride wild horses trying to tame them. Nebsi and Kemal made the decisive moves by injecting a sudden surge that dropped the flagging Sihine.

The outcome came down to a dramatic finish-line sprint between the shorter Kemal and the taller Nebsi. The 29-year-old Kemal edged ahead of his rival and celebrated with raised hands as he broke the finish-line tape in 1 hour, 5 minutes and 3 seconds. Nebsi came through one second behind, while Sihine was third in 1:05:38.

“I felt really good,” Kemal said afterward with a smile on his face. “The weather was great and I really liked all the support here in Brooklyn. It helped.”

American Ben Bruce was fourth in 1:06:52. “It was kind of tough,” Bruce admitted. “We were all cold at the start because of the delay, and the leaders went out pretty fast early, but I still had a great time. I’ve run so many of the Rock ‘n’ Roll races that I got a lot of support along the course since people recognized my face.”

The top female finisher was 35-year-old Salome Kosgei of Kenya who won in 1:15:53. Second and third place were awarded to Valentine Kibat (Kenya, 1:16:27) and Leslie Higgins (1:20:08) respectively. Kosgei was pleased with her win, but said it was a surprise. “I expected to run well here, but not to win,” she said. “I’m happy with my training and look forward to making the Kenyan Olympic marathon team.”

Prospect Park’s vast Nethermead green space became the scenic venue for the race’s finish-line festival as Nate Ruess from the Grammy-award winning band, FUN, jammed in front of the crowd of runners wearing their finish medals.

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