When New York City turns into an Irish village – for one weekend only
It’s hard to describe what it feels like to touch down in New York City on St. Patrick’s weekend to run the Half Marathon. But let me try. Over the last number of years, we have brought over 500 people to the USA to run with us. This has been a dream come true for us and something we still find it hard to get our heads around!
Each year, our adventure to New York starts long before March. Five months out from the half-marathon, Team Good Glow assembles, usually in a park in Dublin, as many of us meet for the first time. Our team, from all corners of Ireland, has one ambition, and that is to cross the finish line in Central Park together in a few months time.
Team Good Glow is special. We have people from all walks of life, but one thing we can guarantee is that every single person has a story. You don’t have to look far to find someone who’s overcome something monumental. Courage, bravery, strength, and resilience is all around. And each person brings something different. Each person is at a different stage of their journey, but for this moment in time, we all share one goal.
March comes around quickly and before we know it, we are making our way to The Big Apple. In 2025, we had 210 people on our team. 210 people! We travel on different flights and different days, but over those few days even the staff in Dublin Airport come to know us. Why? Because we have Team Good Glow sweaters and we wear them to the airport. It’s so we can spot each other and make friends along the way. And it works a charm every time. It’s starts with a wave, then a hello and then the instant connection begins.
We touch down at JFK, and a journey into Midtown Manhattan awaits. After about 30 minutes, we arrive into the heart of NYC – Grand Central Station. As we gather our bags and make our way up the escalators, that’s when peak excitement kicks in. As we step outside those big metal doors, it’s hard not to gasp. New York City bursts into view. Not only are we in New York, but we are in the centre of the city. It’s like landing straight into the scene of a movie. Taxis whiz by, a hot dog stand on every corner, and it seems like everyone is moving at a hundred miles an hour… while we stand..still. Our giant cases creating huge obstacles for the mile a minute New Yorkers.
‘Ooops sorry’
‘I’ll get outta your way there’
We apologise profusely like any good Irish person would, until finally Jamie says:
‘Right lads this way’.
We follow him for a block or two, while making sure to annoy another American or two, and like some sort of miracle we all end up at the hotel together. Well, that said, we’ve often lost some of the gang to a food stand or a shop along the way. It’s impossible not to.
What makes our arrival into the city on St Patrick’s weekend even more special, is the Irish flags waving proudly on every street corner.
The city has already turned green and the Irish have landed.
We check in to the hotel, just a stone’s throw from Central Park and Times Square. And even though we’re exhausted, we head straight out again, eager to explore.
But after a few hours an early night calls, and as our heads hit the pillow, it’s impossible to take it all in.
Friday is exciting. It’s the day of our welcome party, typically in a nearby bar, so our Friday arrivals don’t have far to travel.
The WhatsApp group buzzes with updates, selfies from Dublin, Shannon and London airport lounges, proud faces in Good Glow sweaters.
State side, the rest of us are already sightseeing, carb-loading and getting into the NYC swing of things.
That evening is our first official Good Glow event, our ‘Welcome To New York’ party. This is a chance for the whole team to gather together for the first time. This is an opportunity to mix and mingle, collect your Team Good Glow running shirt, and realise, gulp, just how many of us there are.
This is our opportunity to take to the mic remind everyone why they are here and how special this is. This is our moment together.
The jet lag works in our favour throughout the weekend and we’re up early every morning. On the Saturday, some of the team head out at the crack of dawn to watch the sunrise over Brooklyn Bridge and various texts appear in the WhatsApp group.
‘We’re heading to the bridge at 6am if anyone would like to join?’
‘I’m going to grab a coffee, if anyone wants to meet at reception?’
‘I’m booking Broadway tickets if you’d like to join?’
No-one is left behind. It’s this all weekend.
Our Shakeout Run is scheduled early on Saturday, this is one of our favourite NYC traditions. A gentle 3km run around the park the day before the half marathon.
This run grounds us. It settles our nerves. It brings us together and reminds us why we are here.
Central Park is magic at that hour, dogs off the lead, locals out jogging.
We say a few words at the entrance to the park to steady ourselves, to remind everyone they can do this. And then, we run.
Running together through Central Park with Team Good Glow is hard to describe. There’s joy, connection, a sense of belonging. We always say Team Good Glow brings out the best in people. And you become the best version of yourself in NYC. In this place, with these people, you can be your true self. The person you were born to be. Everyone takes each other at face value. Everyone is interested and kind. And there is no denying the positivity, encouragement, and joy.
People often say it feels like a ‘school tour for adults’, and that’s exactly it. We laugh like we did ‘back in the day’. Those big belly laughs. We’re carefree. We’re living in the moment. The only person with any worries is Jamie, who has to organise everything. And that’s ok for the rest of us. We’re in safe hands.
After our run, we grab bagels and coffee, then head back for quick showers before it’s time to gather for the Marathon Expo. This is the best thing about the weekend, each event on the itinerary is as exciting as the next. As we enter the massive Marathon Expo building off Bryant Park, we’re greeted by an enormous banner that says the NYC Half is ‘The One to Run’. We stand and look. And we feel that. This feels different. It’s impossible not to feel like you are part of something…bigger.
Inside, we collect our race numbers, view the course on a giant screen, and shop for official merch. But the best part? Seeing your name on the wall, alongside 20,000 runners, all ready to take on this challenge. Emotions run high. Some cry. Some have no words. But all of us feel the same sense of pride. We squeeze each other’s hands, take photos of each other so we can share with our favourite people at home. But… how could we ever describe it.
Saturday afternoon is for chill. Some go to Broadway shows or sightseeing bus tours. Others rest. Anything to get ‘off the feet’ for a couple of hours. One of our team mates Eugene made a rookie mistake a couple of years ago clocking up 45,000 steps the day before. His legs paid for it the next day. But who cares! It’s a great story! Before dinner, many make a stop at Whole Foods for muffins, bananas, and last-minute supplies. We wave to each other through the supermarket aisles and inspect each other’s baskets. Ooooh bagels, where’d d’you get them?
And this is what I mean about NYC turning into a village for one weekend only. You can’t walk one block in New York that weekend without bumping into someone from Team Good Glow.
That night, we gather at a local Italian for a final pasta meal before race day. Giving ourselves the best chance by filling our bellies. Prayers help too.
That evening, the WhatsApp group comes alive again with good luck messages, photos of race kits laid out and alarms set. We’re ready.
Race day begins before dawn. Our alarms buzz just after 4am. We gather in reception, Irish flags in hand, Good Glow race shirts displayed proudly. The walk to Central Park is a quiet one. It’s a chance for some reflection before the big challenge. Then it’s onto the buses to Brooklyn.
The team is so big now, we are held in a VIP school hall in Brooklyn, and wait for our call to the start line. It’s here we avail of a luxury most marathon runners don’t have before a big race – coffee stations and bathrooms. As we head toward the start line. Music pumps, adrenaline rises, and then it begins.
The run is a journey through the heart of New York. Prospect Park. Brooklyn streets. Over the Manhattan Bridge. Through Chinatown. Up FDR Drive. Into Midtown. And then Times Square. Each borough with a completely different personality. This is what makes it so spectacular.
When you turn the corner into Times Square, it’s electric. The crowds, the lights, the energy, like nothing else in the world.
By the time we hit Central Park, the legs are tired, but the finish line is near. The hills are rolling and relentless, but the cheers keep us moving forward. The final stretch is surreal. The New York Road Runners announcers try to name every finisher as they cross the finish line. And at the end, Team Good Glow is there, waiting, cheering, hugging.
There are tears. There’s laughter. Every emotion hits at once.
Then it’s time to celebrate.
That evening, after an afternoon of burgers, ice baths and blow drys, the Finisher’s Party takes place at a bar with a special connection to us. Blooms Tavern on 58th Street. It’s the same bar Jamie and I went to after running the half marathon back in 2022. That’s the year that just the two of us ran the half. Look how the Team has grown since then.
Four years ago, we had stopped in on the way back to the hotel for some lunch, starving after running 21kms. The owner of the bar swung by our table to take our drinks order. He sounds like Blindboy I said to Jamie. It was Noel. And just like that, he’s now Noel, our friend from New York.
It feels only right to go back to Blooms with Team Good Glow every year. And so we do.
The Finisher’s Party is pure joy. We connect. We celebrate. We laugh until we cry. There’s an awards ceremony, always full of surprises and OF COURSE a good old sing song and dance. We are delirious with tiredness and adrenaline, and it has nothing to do with alcohol.
The next morning, some of us say goodbye as we prepare to head to the airport. Some stay on in the city for a few more days of exploring and celebration.. But the hotel lobby becomes our gathering spot again, for one last time. We always say we’ll pop down for 10 minutes and end up staying for hours. Nobody wants it to end.
We promise we’ll run together again soon. And we do, in Italy, the Alps, Chicago. But nothing compares to New York.
Because running through the streets of New York on St. Patrick’s weekend is something you truly have experience to believe.
And so, our trip to NYC in 2026 awaits, a new tribe, new dreams and new friendship just around the corner.
Team Good Glow, get ready. ☘️
