IMPORTANT UPDATE: Due to concerns in the Brooklyn community, the date of the 2008 NYRR Half-Marathon Grand Prix has been changed from Saturday, April 26, to Saturday, May 3, at 9:00 a.m.

The Brooklyn Half Marathon is one of the premiere events in the Dukes of Flatbush racing schedule and is on home turf. The race starts on the Coney Island boardwalk and then is a flat pancake run down Ocean Parkway and a fantastic finish inside Prospect Park.

I hope that this last minute schedule change does not impede anyone from joining (myself included) and may allow for more entrants as it does not conflict with Passover and gives all aspiring runners an extra week to train.

Here is the official note from the NYRR regarding the date change and what runners can do about it:

For those who have already registered, NYRR is offering three options to resolve issues resulting from this change:

* Leave your entry as it stands and run the race on May 3

* Contact NYRR by 11:59 p.m. on March 31 and request that your entry be transferred to another equivalent NYRR event of your choice

* Contact NYRR by 11:59 p.m. on March 31 and request a coupon good for entry to another equivalent NYRR event that you will choose at a later time