Thousands of runners will pour through Brooklyn streets on May 16 for the annual RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon, but for many participants, the 13.1-mile race is about far more than pace times and medals.
For lifelong Brooklynite Theresa Hui, Bed-Stuy runner Kenneth Serrano and heart transplant survivor Lisa Colon, this year’s race is a testament to perseverance through disability, grief and life-threatening illness — all tied to a deep connection to the borough.
The race, organized by New York Road Runners, runs from Prospect Park to the Coney Island boardwalk and is among the city’s most recognizable spring events. The RBC Brooklyn Half draws more than 25,000 runners each year, each with a unique story. Brooklyn Paper spoke with three participants about their journeys to the starting line.
Still running strong: Theresa Hui’s journey through disability and perseverance
Hui, who lives in Brighton Beach, said running transformed her life after she once struggled to make it down a single block more than two decades ago.
“The first time, I think I couldn’t even do half a block without being winded,” Hui told Brooklyn Paper. “But I kept on going, and then one day, something just felt good.”
Since then, Hui has completed 25 marathons and hundreds of races with NYRR, despite living with multiple disabilities. Last year, she finished second-to-last in the entire New York City Marathon, crossing the line just before midnight.
Rather than feeling isolated, Hui said she felt supported every step of the way.
“There were folks on bikes just checking up on me, making sure I was okay,” Hui said. “I never felt like I was in danger. I felt 100% supported the whole way through.”
This year, Hui will not only run the RBC Brooklyn Half but also sing the national anthem before the race begins — a fitting combination for the opera singer and actress, who recently appeared on the HBO show “Hacks.”
“It is the greatest honor to get to be part of the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon, not only as a runner, as a singer, but just being part of the whole day,” Hui said. “There’s just something really magical about that day.”
She added that the race carries special significance because it ends just a mile from her home near the boardwalk.
“It’s really magical and historic,” she said. “People fly in for this race from everywhere, and they get to see my home.”
She also spoke about how running has become foundational to every other part of her life.
“Running has helped me continue to keep on moving with everything else in my daily life,” Hui said. “That has helped me with everything.”
Hui said she hopes adaptive athletes and runners with disabilities see themselves reflected in her story.
“Disability doesn’t mean that you can’t live life,” she said. “Your journey is your journey. However long it takes you, there will be a community cheering you on.”
Running for Charles: Kenneth Serrano returns to the RBC Brooklyn Half one year after tragedy
For Serrano, the race will mark an emotional return to the course where his close friend died during last year’s event.
Serrano, a Bed-Stuy resident and member of Brooklyn-based Goldfinger Track Club, first discovered distance running in 2023 after spotting a subway advertisement for the Brooklyn Half.
A former football player turned boxer, Serrano initially viewed running as conditioning work before discovering distance racing as its own discipline.
“I was like, ‘I’m an athlete. I can do it,’” Serrano said. “That was the initial launch into my discovery of distance running as a sport and a discipline in and of itself.”
Since then, Serrano has completed multiple marathons and qualified for the Boston Marathon. But his connection to the RBC Brooklyn Half changed forever after the death of his close friend Charles Rogers during last year’s race.
Rogers, whom Serrano encouraged to begin running, collapsed around Mile 8 during the 2025 event.
“It’s the most unfortunate situation that you could ever imagine,” Serrano said.
Now preparing to run the RBC Brooklyn Half again, nearly one year later, Serrano said the race has taken on new meaning.
“It becomes bigger than me and my PR,” Serrano said. “I want to finish the miles that he wasn’t able to do.”
Now approaching the first anniversary of Rogers’ death, Serrano said the experience reshaped how he thinks about competition, grief and runner safety.
“I lead with embracing,” he said. “There are some emotions that are not necessarily favorable, but they are all collectively part of who I am.”
He added that “there are always lessons we can take away” from runners’ safety.
“You really want to be in tune with yourself. Know your limits. Listen to your body,” he offered.
Serrano said the tragedy reinforced the importance of self-awareness among runners, especially newer athletes pushing themselves into endurance sports.
“We want to challenge ourselves,” he said. “But knowing yourself is the most important thing.”
Still, Serrano said Rogers’ legacy continues to motivate him and those around him, especially as he completes the RBC Brooklyn Half.
“All he wanted to do was provide value,” Serrano said. “Hopefully, somebody else is inspired and takes that and pushes it a little bit further. That’s how we prolong the legacy.
A second heartbeat: Lisa Colon’s return to running after a life-saving heart transplant
Colon’s journey back to running, meanwhile, once seemed medically impossible.
The Brooklyn-born attorney began running after graduating from law school at the University of Miami, initially using it as a social outlet outside her legal career.
“It was just important to have other friends,” Colon said. “Running was social.”
What began with local 5Ks eventually evolved into marathon travel across the globe. Colon completed races in cities including Chicago, Athens and Rio de Janeiro before receiving devastating news in 2013: doctors diagnosed her with a genetic cardiomyopathy and warned her to stop running immediately.
“He called me and said, ‘You have to stop running,’” Colon recalled. “I had to pull over because I was shaking.”
She eventually underwent surgery for a pacemaker defibrillator before her condition deteriorated. By 2023, doctors informed her that she needed a heart transplant.
The process moved quickly. Colon was placed on the transplant list in June 2023 and underwent surgery weeks later on July 10.
“I would run 10 marathons before I do that again,” Colon said of the transplant surgery. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
But within months of recovery, Colon returned to cardiac rehabilitation, determined to run again.
“I decided in my cardiac rehab that I wanted to run a 5K,” she said.
“To go from being told, ‘You have to stop running to live,’ to being told, ‘You have a new heart — go run, have fun, do whatever you want to do,’ what kind of miracle is that?” Colon said.
Last year, Colon completed the New York City Marathon. She said she still cries crossing finish lines.
“I’m living with somebody else’s heart,” Colon said. “That person had to die for me to live and get the chance to do what I love.”
Now back in Brooklyn for the summer and preparing for the RBC Brooklyn Half while training for the Sydney Marathon, Colon said relearning how to run after a decade away has been humbling.
“You go from running a sub-two half to starting from the beginning again,” she said. “It’s learning to walk again.”
Still, she said the experience taught her patience and self-compassion.
“You have to run your own race,” Colon said. “Give yourself grace.”
As race day approaches, Hui, Serrano and Colon each carry different motivations to the RBC Brooklyn Half starting line. But all three said the RBC Brooklyn Half represents far more than athletic achievement.
“There’s gonna be a party for you at the finish line,” Hui said. “No matter what.”
The RBC Brooklyn Half is scheduled to kick off at 7 a.m. on May 16 along Washington Avenue, near the Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Park. For more information, visit nyrr.org.
