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New York’s most competitive half-marathon doesn’t involve qualifying times, prize money or even particularly impressive athletic ability. It does, however, come with pastries from 10 of the city’s most coveted bakeries, plus a seated course at Eleven Madison Park.
The NYC Bakery Run returns on Sunday, October 25, sending 100 runners on a 13.1-mile route through Manhattan and Brooklyn. Participation is free, but hopeful carb athletes will need to enter a lottery for one of the limited spots. More than 17,000 people applied when the event debuted last year, so your odds are just slightly better than getting into the New York City Marathon—and considerably more delicious.
Most of the run’s bakery stops will hand participants a quick bite before they continue pounding the pavement. At three-Michelin-star Eleven Madison Park, however, runners will enter the dining room overlooking Madison Square Park, take their seats and receive a course from the restaurant’s pastry team before lunch service begins. (Running shorts are presumably acceptable attire.)
“Welcoming runners into our dining room gives us an opportunity to share the work of our pastry team outside the traditional tasting-menu experience,” said Eleven Madison Park chef de cuisine Dominique Roy in a press release.
The route will also include Librae Bakery, Radio Bakery, La Cabra, From Lucie, L’Appartement 4F, Hani’s Bakery, Elbow Bread and Saison Bakery. Librae, known for pastries that blend Middle Eastern flavors with Scandinavian baking techniques, is returning after participating in last year’s inaugural run.
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One exciting newcomer to the route is Altbau Bakery, the forthcoming project from Tartine cofounder Chad Robertson and baker Pam Yung. That space will pair a bakery counter with an upstairs mill and a teaching studio and residency program. Its inclusion offers runners an early taste of one of the city’s most anticipated bakery openings.
Like last year, this isn’t really a race. The 100 randomly selected participants will run together in pace groups, stopping to eat along the way. There’s no award for finishing first, although anyone who consumes 10 pastries while covering 13.1 miles has already accomplished something worth bragging about.
Lottery registration is open through October 14 at 11:59 pm ET and selected runners will be notified on October 15. If you don’t get in, you can always recreate the route yourself—preferably without attempting all 10 stops in one morning.