Race Report: A Hilly Struggle at the 2025 Fred Lebow Half Marathon

This weekend, I ran the Fred Lebow Half Marathon in Central Park.

I signed up for the race this year because I wanted a chance to run a qualifying time for the 2026 NYC Marathon at one of the NYRR Half Marathons – and you can sign up for Fred Lebow without having to earn a spot through the lottery.

It’s also the toughest course out of the four NYRR Half Marathons. The hills in Central Park are notorious (infamous?). So I went in knowing that the qualifying time was a long shot, but why not give it a go?

Thankfully, I did get a spot in the United NYC Half in March. I’m really eyeing that as my prime opportunity to hit the qualifying time – and I approached this more like a tune up or a training race than a goal race.

So how did it go?

Pre-Race Logistics and Race Morning

We came into the city Friday after work and stayed at the Aloft in Harlem. It’s less than a mile from the north end of the park – so a perfect spot logistically.

Saturday morning, I woke up and took a quick jog through the park. I wanted to get a feel for the hills in Harlem. I’ve run the Central Park Loop before, I remembered it being hilly … but not terrible. And frankly, that’s the way I felt about it Saturday morning.

After a leisurely morning at the hotel, I took the subway down to Columbus Circle to go to the NYRR RunCenter and pick up my bib. The beanie is nice, but I don’t wear hats very often, so it’s going to sit in my closet until I forget about it. In the evening, we ate dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant near our hotel.

Sunday morning, I woke up just before six. Went down the street to Dunkin to get some coffee and a bagel with honey. With my coat on, it felt warm when I left the hotel. Nice!

About 7:15, I left the hotel and jogged down to the park. The streets of Harlem were quiet, and I only saw one or two runners on the way to the park. But once I got into the park, the crowds started to pick up. I followed everyone towards the starting area. I hopped on line for a final pit stop at the porta potty, finished my warm up, and got into my corral.

The vibe was electric. The announcers at the mic were having a good time talking, and everyone seemed pretty happy about the weather. I was wearing shorts, a light long-sleeve base layer, and a singlet over top of that. Everyone was bundled up early on, but by the time the race started I noticed more shorts – and a handful of people with nothing under their singlets.

After the security and logistics of the Brooklyn Half Marathon last year, it was nice to be able to just show up and be ready to go. In retrospect, I could have waited until 7:30 to leave my hotel, jogged right to the start, and hopped into my corral. Without a bag to check or a bib to pick up, race morning was super simple.

Goals and Strategy

When I first signed up for this, I was hopeful that I could hit 1:25. Since then, I’ve moderated my hopes a bit.

I’ve had a few good workouts so far, but it’s still kind of early in the season. I could use a few more weeks to sharpen things up, and race day seemed to get here way faster than I expected. On a pancake flat course, I might have been able to run 1:25 … but I was pretty sure I couldn’t do it this weekend in Central Park.

Still, that was my A goal. I figured I would start towards the front, feel out the hills and the first loop, and check my time at the halfway point. If i was on pace, I’d push it – otherwise, I wasn’t going to kill myself.

A more reasonable goal was to run 1:27:XX. My PR, from the Brooklyn Marathon last year, is 1:27:54. Even with the hills, I think there’s a good chance I could hit that. Plus, it’d be a good sign of what I’m capable of doing on a flatter course later on.

And for a C goal, I really just wanted to get under 1:30. That’s a respectable finish.

I figured that if I handled the hills well enough and ran ~6:25-6:30/mi on the flats, I’d be in good shape. I’d check my pace after the first loop, and then take a gel after the second time through the Harlem Hills. At the south of the park – around mile 9 – I’d check in and make a final determination of what might be possible and choose to push it or not.

The First Loop – Feeling Pretty Good

Right on time, we lined up and took off. I was in the middle of corral A – fairly tightly packed with a bunch of other runners in the 1:30ish pace range. I saw two pacers holding the 1:30 signs, and they were in front of me.

The first half mile or so, things were pretty tightly packed. There’s a steep decline as you head into the northern part of the park, and I was still too hemmed in by people around me to really unleash. It was probably a good thing, though. I heard someone’s phone go off and say our pace – at the half mile mark – was ~6:20. Sure, I could have gone a little faster on the downhill, but the crowd helped me keep things under control. I did manage to move past the 1:30 pacers.

After that, we hit the Harlem Hills for the first time. I slowed down and took it at a steady effort. I felt pretty good going up – working hard, but my heart wasn’t beating out of my chest. I knew my wife would be waiting around here, so I looked for her … and eventually spotted her sitting on a rock about two thirds of the way up. That gave me a little boost of energy to push through to the top of the hill.

One down! I coasted downhill and tried to pick up the pace. We passed the first mile marker, and my GPS was off already. I neglected to set up Race Screen on my Garmin, thinking the GPS would be fine in the park. But I guess the sharp cutbacks in the northern part of the park messed things up. Oh well – lesson learned. My split was 6:45. Not bad.

It got easier from there. We went downhill a bit, then through some rolling hills. I was hoping to pick up the pace – but the second mile marker came and my watch read 13:30 when I got there. Another 6:45 split.

Miles three and four went better. Although there were a few bumps in there, these were net downhill. I got my legs under me, and I felt a lot smoother. I didn’t fixate on the pace on my watch, though, and my mental math was a little fuzzy. I was waiting for the six mile mark to really check in.

It was also around this point that I started to warm up. My hands had been a little chilly at the start, but now I felt quite comfortable. As we looped around the south end of the park, I saw a guy in front of me take off his commemorative beanie take it off and drop it on the side of the road. I guess he doesn’t like hats, either.

Checking the stats, my pace here was about 6:30-6:35. So slightly off from my goal. But not bad.

Heading up the east side of the park, there’s one more moderate hill. I pushed up it, and it didn’t really phase me. I glanced to my left, and I saw a yellow and black singlet pass me – a woman from Garden State Track Club. She was the only New Jersey runner I recognized (although I’m sure there were more of us out there).

That hill cost me a few seconds, and I lapped 6:45 for mile 5. For most of this mile, I was next to two guys that were having a full blown conversation. I’m over here struggling … and they’re just out for a jog in the park.

Mile 6 was better – 6:33. We passed by the starting area, and the announcers were still chatting on the microphone. Gave them a wave and kept going. I checked my overall time at the six mile mark – 40:20.

I knew that to be on pace for 1:25, I’d need to come through in around 39:00. So that was out the window. But I did some mental math, and I thought 1:27:XX was still possible. Onward!

The Second Loop – Starting to Suffer

As I passed through the halfway point, I was feeling pretty good. A little off my lofty goal pace – but still on pace for my B goal. And my legs felt strong.

We wound around the northern corner, heading steeply downhill. This time, I had some room to open up my legs, and I charged a little bit. Picked up a little time and momentum going into the hill. I backed off as we got to the hill, and made my way up. About the same pace as the first time around – but it felt a little harder. Saw my wife again, gave her a wave and a smile, and kept on going.

As we crested the hill, I caught my breath. I knew the water stop was coming in a half mile or so, and I took the gel out of my pocket. I’ve never taken a gel in near freezing temps before … and Gu is a different experience when it’s cold. I choked it down like some disgusting fudge, and looked for the aid station. I grabbed a cup of Gatorade, and I pulled off to the side to slow down and drink the whole thing.

For a brief moment, I felt like slowing down was a mistake. It seemed like I lost all my momentum, and my legs didn’t want to get started again. But then we caught the net downhill portion at the southern end of the park, and I felt ok. The hills had really wiped me out, but I felt ok on the flats. I was losing ground here, and now and then, somebody would pass me. But it wasn’t like I was getting dropped left and right.

We turned the corner and started north for the final stretch up the east side of the park. At this point – around mile 9 – we started to pass some of the walkers and slower runners. At first, it was a handful of people. Over the next few miles, it got more and more congested.

At mile 10, I looked at the clock. 1:07:30. I had lost a little time – the last few miles were 6:45-6:50 – but I did some rough math and thought 1:27 high might still be possible. I attempted to push the pace a bit, and my watch showed ~6:35-6:40 for most of the next miles. A little better.

A little further on, I heard the 1:30 pacers nipping at my heels. They must have been a little ahead of schedule, but I didn’t want to let them pass me. That gave me a little extra boost, and I slowly pulled away from them over the next mile.

As we neared the end of the second loop, there was an old guy on the side of the course, helpfully calling out, “Only 5.5 miles to go!” He was talking to the people who were still on their first loop – who really had 7.5 miles to go. But I had been running next to someone for the last half mile or so, and I joked to him, “If we have 5.5 miles to go, I’m quitting!”

He said he was aiming for 1:28, and asked what I was hoping for. I said around the same – but at this point, it was looking closer to 1:29. That exchange – and running next to him – gave me a surge of energy, though, and I picked up the pace. I glanced at my watch and saw 6:20 flash across for the pace. Alright! Keep it up.

The Final Hills and the Finish

We passed by the twelve mile mark, and my overall time was 1:21. That pretty much sealed it, there was no way I was going to finish up that last full mile – up the hill – and the extra tenth in just 7:00. So 1:27:XX was out of the picture.

But I charged down the downhill, as best I could. The course was really crowded now with the back of the pack. You could tell who was trying to finish up, because we were weaving around the large groups.

We got to the bottom of Harlem Hill, and I gave it what I had. There was an old guy on the side – I’d seen him the first two times yelling words of encouragement. This time, he was giving people high fives, and I gave him a quick slap.

The hill was a struggle. I kept pushing, but my pace lagged way behind what it was the first two times up. My breathing was labored. I just wanted to get to the top.

Part of me wanted to give up and walk … but I was so close. And I knew I could still finish well under 1:30. So let’s go. I got to the top of the hill, and I felt life in my legs again.

Cones were set up to take the finishers off to the left, and I made my way to the left lane. I charged down the hill – mercifully, the race ends with a steep decline. I looked to the left and saw the finish through the trees and breathed a sigh of relief. I looked to the right, and I saw my wife cheering me on by the side of the course.

I carried that momentum around the corner and finished strong across the finish line. Officially 1:28:48.

Post Race

I ambled through the finishers area, grabbing my medal and a space blanket. I was still quite warm from running, but I knew I’d cool off soon. I doubled back to meet up with my wife, put on the sweatpants she had brought, and then finished walking through the finish area to grab some Gatorade, water, and a bag of pretzels.

We chatted for a few and took in the atmosphere. Then we left for the hotel. We had to walk along the course to get through to the north end of the park, and I watched as the next group of runners tackled Harlem Hill for the third time. Glad it wasn’t me!

By the time we got back to the hotel, I had cooled off quite a bit. But the twenty minute walk wasn’t too bad. We grabbed breakfast sandwiches downstairs, then I showered and took a nice long nap.

After naptime, we took a Lyft over to Tom’s Restaurant – aka the Seinfeld Diner – for lunch. Chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Yum. Then, we took a leisurely stroll back through Morningside Park. My legs felt pretty good. And then the weekend was over, and we were driving back to New Jersey.

Reflections

When people tell you this is a hard race … listen to them.

First, there’s the hills. If you only did Harlem Hill twice – the way it used to be – I don’t think it would have been so bad. But starting off with the hill really killed my momentum early. It took a couple miles to really get in the groove. And then the next time around, I couldn’t get back up to speed after the hill.

I still think I could have run ~1:26 on a good day with a flat course, so those hills probably cost me 2-3 minutes.

Second, there’s the crowd. This isn’t a huge race, only four or five thousand people. Being towards the front, the first loop was nice and clear. But once we lapped the stragglers, the course got more and more crowded for the last few miles. So just as you’re starting to struggle, you’ve got to make the extra effort to run around people who are going at a much slower pace. This is probably less of a problem, if you’re back in the 1:45-2:00 range.

That being said, it was a fun race. The vibe was great. People were out there for a good time. I’m happy the weather cooperated, and I had a great time running through the snowy park with a few thousand people. I don’t run a lot of races in January and February, so this was fun. If I did it again, I’d probably go in without a serious time goal.

I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t finish under 1:28, and I think I threw in the bag a bit mentally. My first loop was fine. I finished strong. But I eased up a little from miles 8 to 11. That’s on me. But I am happy with the way I felt. I wasn’t struggling towards the end – like I did at Brooklyn – nor were my legs dead – like they were at the Jersey Shore Half. I had a lot of life in them, and I just didn’t quite push hard enough.

Looking ahead, I’ve got seven weeks until the United Half. This week is easy for recovery, and that last week I’ll take it easy to taper. That gives me five weeks to really train. With this as a starting point, I think I’ve got a really good chance to sharpen things down to a 1:25:00 finish in March.

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