Confused? You’re not alone. The legal battle between two New York City half-marathons sharing the same name reached the finish line on Tuesday, according to Front Office Sports. One race gets to keep the title, while the other is now forced to change its name.
The NYCRuns Brooklyn Half Marathon and rival organizer New York Road Runners (NYRR) Brooklyn Half have shared the name since 2018. In February 2024, NYRR filed a complaint against NYCRuns in federal court, seeking full ownership of the Brooklyn Half name.
The legal move came after NYRR contacted NYCRuns in February 2023, expressing concern about the name, after which NYCRuns continued using the Brooklyn Half Marathon name to promote its 2024 race.
The organization that co-ordinates the NYC Marathon, NYRR, has held its 21.1-kilometre race in Brooklyn since 1981, with its 2025 race set for May 17. The race also has a Canadian connection, with The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) as its official title sponsor. The NYCRuns organization, founded in 2009, began its late-April Brooklyn race in 2018. Until Tuesday, it was known as the “NYCRuns Brooklyn Half Marathon” but will now be called “NYCRuns Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon” as the title of Brooklyn Half will remain in the hands of NYRR.
RBC becomes title sponsor of Brooklyn Half Marathon
NYRR’s argument was based on trademark law, and claimed people could be confused by both races having the same name. According to the complaint, NYRR had been contacted by several runners who signed up and paid for the wrong race. (And threw a dig that NYCRuns events “do not enjoy the same established, quality reputation” as theirs.) NYRR also reportedly argued their race earned a claim to the name because they’ve used it for decades.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Organization granted a trademark request to NYRR regarding The Brooklyn Half in 2017. The USPTO originally said the organization’s petition was mainly geographical, so NYRR claimed it “acquired distinctiveness” by using its name for at least five years—making it a term people associate with its event in particular.
A spokesperson for NYCRuns told Front Office Sports that the lawsuit was “amicably resolved” and the group thinks the new name “better identifies the race for runners as an authentic Brooklyn running experience.” A spokesperson for NYRR also told the publication the matter reached an “amicable resolution.”
