WEBVTT - New York Road Runners’ State of the Union 0:00:00.630 --> 0:00:03.480 Ready to level up your running? With the Peloton Tread and 0:00:03.480 --> 0:00:07.680 Tread+, you can challenge yourself anytime, anywhere. Whether you're building 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:10.590 strength or working on speed, Peloton has a class for 0:00:10.590 --> 0:00:15.720 every goal from five to 120 minute workouts. With muscle 0:00:15.720 --> 0:00:19.650 building classes and flexible training options, you'll have everything you 0:00:19.650 --> 0:00:22.890 need to crush your next race and then recover from 0:00:22.890 --> 0:00:26.940 it. All- access membership separate. Find your push, find your 0:00:26.940 --> 0:00:33.990 power at onepeloton. com/ race- training. Peloton, the official digital 0:00:33.990 --> 0:00:35.970 fitness partner for New York Road Runners. 0:00:39.990 --> 0:00:44.400 Thank you, New York. Today we're reminded of the power 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:49.260 of community and the power of coming together. Athletes, on 0:00:49.260 --> 0:00:54.750 your mark. The first woman to finish for the second 0:00:54.750 --> 0:00:58.500 straight year here in the New York City Marathon is Miki Gorman, 0:00:58.500 --> 0:01:02.010 a smiling Miki Gorman, and why not. 2: 29:30 is 0:01:02.250 --> 0:01:06.540 the time for Grete Waitz. Look at the emotion of Shalane Flanagan as she comes 0:01:06.540 --> 0:01:11.459 to the line. Pointing to his chest, pointed to the USA he so proudly 0:01:11.459 --> 0:01:20.160 wears across his chest. A great day for Meb Keflezighi. 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:24.060 Hey, everybody, happy New Year, and welcome to the first 0:01:24.060 --> 0:01:28.920 Set the Pace of 2025. We are presented by Peloton, 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:31.110 as we are each and every week. I'm the host 0:01:31.110 --> 0:01:33.360 of Set the Pace and CEO of New York Road 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:37.080 Runners, Rob Simmelkjaer, and with me, my lovely co- host 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:41.160 from Peloton, Becs Gentry. Happy New Year, Becs. How are you? 0:01:41.190 --> 0:01:44.700 Hi. Happy New Year. I'm great, thank you. I think 0:01:45.090 --> 0:01:47.880 we were both just discussing how much of a break 0:01:47.940 --> 0:01:49.710 it actually felt like this year. 0:01:49.800 --> 0:01:53.820 Yeah, it was amazing. We had a really nice quiet 0:01:53.820 --> 0:01:56.970 period at New York Road Runners, fairly quiet on the 0:01:56.970 --> 0:01:59.700 race front. I'll talk about that in a second. But 0:01:59.700 --> 0:02:04.140 it was really quiet, really restful. I got away for 0:02:04.140 --> 0:02:06.510 a little bit with my girls, did a little skiing 0:02:06.510 --> 0:02:08.340 up in Vermont. That was nice. 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:08.790 Wow. 0:02:09.930 --> 0:02:12.210 And it was just a really, really nice break. What about you? What'd you 0:02:12.210 --> 0:02:12.720 guys do? 0:02:12.810 --> 0:02:17.790 We did a very quick weekend before Christmas down at 0:02:17.790 --> 0:02:21.450 the Jersey Shore with family, and then everybody was scattering 0:02:21.450 --> 0:02:25.530 to different places for actual Christmas this year, so we had 0:02:25.530 --> 0:02:30.600 our first Christmas just the three of us in our home in Brooklyn 0:02:30.690 --> 0:02:32.040 which was wonderful. 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:32.070 Oh my gosh. 0:02:32.190 --> 0:02:36.090 We created memories. Tallulah had her first coming down the 0:02:36.090 --> 0:02:40.440 stairs on Christmas morning and Santi Claus as she calls 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.740 him. So it was very wonderful, and we have some 0:02:43.740 --> 0:02:47.399 great neighbors and good friends, so it was a big 0:02:47.760 --> 0:02:49.799 family local affair which was great. 0:02:49.799 --> 0:02:55.168 There is nothing like a kid's first Santa, Christmas, and the magic 0:02:55.169 --> 0:02:58.380 of that. It brings back all of the magic that 0:02:58.380 --> 0:02:59.730 we felt as kids- 0:02:59.940 --> 0:03:00.091 It does, yeah. 0:03:00.091 --> 0:03:03.000 ... when you have a kid who's experienced that. It's 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:04.110 just amazing, so I'm sure. 0:03:04.110 --> 0:03:09.210 She doesn't quite grasp it just yet. She loves Santa Claus, 0:03:09.360 --> 0:03:12.870 the lights, but she doesn't understand the concept yet. So 0:03:13.500 --> 0:03:15.960 the presents were just, the fun was opening them and 0:03:15.960 --> 0:03:18.450 then it was like shove it aside, next one, okay. 0:03:18.750 --> 0:03:21.750 So I think next year when she's three, four, that's sort 0:03:21.750 --> 0:03:24.570 of when the real magic and all of that comes 0:03:24.570 --> 0:03:27.180 is going to be... just judging by her excitement this 0:03:27.180 --> 0:03:28.950 year for something she doesn't quite understand. 0:03:29.070 --> 0:03:29.579 Yeah. 0:03:29.669 --> 0:03:31.380 Oh, it's going to be so good. I can't wait. 0:03:31.380 --> 0:03:36.450 You've got so much to look forward to with that. That's awesome. I'm glad you had a great time. 0:03:36.450 --> 0:03:38.761 Did you do much running or were you kind of on the shelf? 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:38.761 I did not. 0:03:38.761 --> 0:03:39.181 Good for you. 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:42.330 I was on the shelf. It was divine. My body 0:03:42.330 --> 0:03:45.210 was like, " Thank you. My goodness me. What a great 0:03:45.210 --> 0:03:46.740 Christmas present you can give me after this year." 0:03:46.740 --> 0:03:48.690 You belong on the shelf, like an elf on the 0:03:48.690 --> 0:03:51.630 shelf, Becs. You needed to sit still for a while 0:03:51.630 --> 0:03:52.621 after what you did in 2024. 0:03:52.621 --> 0:03:57.480 I did. Yeah, I really did. I really did take time off. 0:03:57.810 --> 0:04:00.180 We worked up until the wire here at Peloton. We 0:04:00.180 --> 0:04:04.140 were in until the Saturday, and Sunday there was classes, 0:04:04.140 --> 0:04:06.150 but I went to the Jersey Shore from the studio 0:04:06.150 --> 0:04:10.080 on Saturday, and then I didn't run for about a 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:14.040 week until after Christmas which is unheard of for me. 0:04:15.090 --> 0:04:17.580 But I loved every second, and now I'm back on 0:04:18.450 --> 0:04:22.440 it but in the gym. I'm in the strength, I'm in the building phase. 0:04:22.770 --> 0:04:23.070 I love it, I love it. 0:04:23.070 --> 0:04:23.220 It's great. 0:04:23.820 --> 0:04:25.890 Well, that's great. Glad you had a break. I did 0:04:25.890 --> 0:04:30.600 some running with some local friends up here in Connecticut. 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:31.560 Great. Oh, gorgeous. 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:35.880 One thing I did not run unfortunately was the New 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:38.340 York Road Runners Midnight Run on New Year's Eve. 0:04:38.340 --> 0:04:43.200 Yeah, for good reason, for good... I was standing outside on 0:04:43.200 --> 0:04:45.750 our way to our friend, our neighbor's house on New 0:04:45.750 --> 0:04:49.200 Year's Eve, and I thought it was fireworks going off, 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:52.860 and Austin just turned and looked at me and went, " No, no, that is 0:04:52.860 --> 0:04:55.890 thunder and lightning." And I said to him, " I'm so 0:04:55.890 --> 0:04:58.170 happy I didn't go and run because I would've been 0:04:58.170 --> 0:05:00.630 scared." And then you guys had to cancel it. 0:05:00.630 --> 0:05:04.110 It was crazy. The Midnight Run which is a four- 0:05:04.110 --> 0:05:08.219 miler on New Year's Eve, yeah, we just could not 0:05:08.220 --> 0:05:11.550 put it on. Obviously it's crazy to see that kind 0:05:11.550 --> 0:05:14.221 of weather on New Year's Eve in New York City. 0:05:14.221 --> 0:05:14.731 It's wild. 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.659 Thunder and lightning. I was actually in Connecticut. I wasn't 0:05:18.660 --> 0:05:20.850 there for the race this year, hadn't planned to be, 0:05:20.850 --> 0:05:25.980 but yeah, Ted Metellus, our chief of event operations and 0:05:25.980 --> 0:05:30.810 race director called me around nine o'clock and said, " Listen, 0:05:30.810 --> 0:05:32.700 there's a lot of thunder and lightning in the forecast." 0:05:33.089 --> 0:05:35.610 I was like, " What? Really?" I mean, I couldn't really 0:05:35.610 --> 0:05:38.940 believe it in late December, and sure enough, a little 0:05:38.940 --> 0:05:41.190 while later the skies in New York just lit up, 0:05:41.700 --> 0:05:44.640 and we had no choice but to cancel that event 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.219 which was of course disappointing, although I think most runners 0:05:47.220 --> 0:05:50.760 were kind of relieved because the weather was brutal. Who 0:05:50.760 --> 0:05:53.849 wants to be out in the pouring rain on New 0:05:53.850 --> 0:05:55.589 Year's Eve with lightning overhead? 0:05:55.830 --> 0:05:56.070 Yeah. 0:05:56.070 --> 0:05:58.140 It had been a weird year. We had had to 0:05:58.140 --> 0:06:01.230 cancel the fireworks because of the drought that existed. Then 0:06:01.230 --> 0:06:02.221 all the rain came so- 0:06:02.221 --> 0:06:03.390 Kind of was irony, wasn't it? 0:06:03.390 --> 0:06:05.490 But it was too late to have the fireworks. Then we tried to put on 0:06:05.490 --> 0:06:08.339 a drone show and then we had to cancel that 0:06:08.339 --> 0:06:12.270 because of some issues with drones around the country. So 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:15.630 there were all kinds of backs and forths and it just seemed like 0:06:15.630 --> 0:06:17.159 it wasn't meant to be this year. 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:19.800 Exactly. But you know what we can take away from 0:06:19.800 --> 0:06:22.680 this is that New York Road Runners puts the safety 0:06:22.770 --> 0:06:27.270 of their people first, and as disappointing as it can be 0:06:27.270 --> 0:06:29.339 to have to cancel things we know that that's the 0:06:29.339 --> 0:06:33.690 best decision and there will always be other runs. I mean, 0:06:33.750 --> 0:06:35.550 I can tell you a pretty cool four- mile run 0:06:35.550 --> 0:06:38.760 that's coming up in spring this year that you convinced 0:06:38.760 --> 0:06:39.720 me to do last year. 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:39.780 Yeah. 0:06:40.290 --> 0:06:42.750 So there's always more races, people. 0:06:42.750 --> 0:06:45.870 There's so many. Very well said, I couldn't agree more. Thank 0:06:45.870 --> 0:06:47.310 you. I can tell you've been hanging out with me 0:06:47.310 --> 0:06:50.880 for a while. You're speaking my language a hundred percent. 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:51.330 Exactly. 0:06:51.570 --> 0:06:54.930 We obviously put safety first. So happy New Year. Sorry 0:06:54.930 --> 0:06:56.969 we didn't get a chance to see you all on 0:06:56.970 --> 0:06:59.490 New Year's Eve, but we know we'll see all of 0:06:59.490 --> 0:07:02.760 you out there running one way or another in the 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:06.419 coming weeks. So, Becs, we have a fun thing we're 0:07:06.420 --> 0:07:09.300 going to do this year. For the first show of 0:07:09.300 --> 0:07:12.480 the year, a little bit different, we're calling it New 0:07:12.480 --> 0:07:14.940 York Road Runners State of the Union. We're going to 0:07:14.940 --> 0:07:18.030 talk a little bit about where New York Road Runners 0:07:18.030 --> 0:07:22.170 is as an organization, where we are with our running 0:07:22.170 --> 0:07:26.040 community, with our mission, our vision, all the things that 0:07:26.340 --> 0:07:29.490 we care about to let you, our listeners, our community, 0:07:29.490 --> 0:07:33.030 know what our plans are, what our priorities are for 0:07:33.030 --> 0:07:36.720 the year ahead. Becs, we got a lot of great questions from 0:07:37.140 --> 0:07:38.011 listeners and members. 0:07:38.011 --> 0:07:39.270 We do. Yeah, thank you, everyone. 0:07:39.450 --> 0:07:41.370 Yeah, thank you so much for all the questions. We're 0:07:41.370 --> 0:07:43.890 going to run through those questions. Becs, you're going to 0:07:43.890 --> 0:07:45.571 grill me on all the questions that we got. 0:07:45.571 --> 0:07:48.180 I am. I know. It sounds so serious, but it's not. It's going 0:07:48.180 --> 0:07:49.680 to be informative and wonderful. 0:07:49.770 --> 0:07:51.660 A hundred percent. We're going to make it fun. We're 0:07:51.660 --> 0:07:52.920 going to make it fun because that's what we do. 0:07:52.920 --> 0:07:56.610 And Becs, we can start a little bit with just 0:07:56.610 --> 0:07:59.100 some highlights from the last year. We had so much 0:07:59.100 --> 0:08:02.670 happen at New York Road Runners. We issued a new 0:08:02.670 --> 0:08:08.310 reimagined mission statement and vision statement which is a huge deal for 0:08:08.310 --> 0:08:11.880 the organization and really kind of is a north star, 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.790 as I like to call it, for what we're doing 0:08:14.790 --> 0:08:18.630 in the coming years. Our vision statement is to build 0:08:18.630 --> 0:08:23.280 healthier lives and stronger communities through the transformative power of 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:26.640 running, and that's really what we're all about. We know 0:08:26.640 --> 0:08:29.700 that running makes us healthier as individuals, it makes our 0:08:29.700 --> 0:08:33.900 communities stronger, and it transforms us. You and I can 0:08:33.900 --> 0:08:35.760 speak about that, we speak about it every week and 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:37.860 we speak about it with amazing people who have had 0:08:37.860 --> 0:08:41.190 their lives transformed by running. So we know that's what 0:08:41.190 --> 0:08:43.530 this organization's all about, but to put those words to 0:08:43.530 --> 0:08:47.189 paper really helped. Our mission statement, we talk about being a 0:08:47.190 --> 0:08:49.920 New York City- based nonprofit which is really important that 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:55.230 people understand. We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming 0:08:55.230 --> 0:08:58.620 the health and the wellbeing of our communities through inclusive 0:08:58.620 --> 0:09:03.179 and accessible running experiences, empowering all to achieve their potential. 0:09:03.179 --> 0:09:05.760 So that's what we're all about and that gives us 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:07.980 a sense of what we do and what we are. 0:09:08.010 --> 0:09:11.340 Becs, we had an incredible year in terms of racing 0:09:11.340 --> 0:09:15.420 and record numbers of finishers at the TCS New York City Marathon, 55, 0:09:15.450 --> 0:09:24.240 646. We also saw records at the United Airlines NYC Half with 27, 843- 0:09:24.240 --> 0:09:24.420 One of my favorite races. 0:09:24.420 --> 0:09:28.920 ... and the MasterCard. Yeah, amazing race, and the MasterCard Mini 10K- 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:29.611 Yeah, another. 0:09:29.611 --> 0:09:35.040 ... was also a record with 9, 694 finishers as 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:36.630 well. So it was a big year for racing. 0:09:37.439 --> 0:09:39.660 Do you think we can get over 10K this year 0:09:39.660 --> 0:09:40.530 at the 10K? 0:09:40.860 --> 0:09:43.110 I think we got a shot the way things are 0:09:43.110 --> 0:09:46.500 going. It definitely is a good goal. So you're right. 10K for the 0:09:47.190 --> 0:09:48.510 10K, let's make that a goal. 0:09:48.570 --> 0:09:51.240 Let's make it a goal. We should get that on New York 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:53.819 Road Runner social. Come on, 10K for the 10K. 0:09:53.850 --> 0:09:55.350 Okay, we're going to do it. We're going to make 0:09:55.350 --> 0:09:57.059 that happen. We'll get some good weather in June (inaudible) do that, Becs. 0:09:57.060 --> 0:09:58.290 Everybody in your office hates me now. 0:09:58.290 --> 0:09:58.530 Exactly. 0:09:58.530 --> 0:09:58.770 They're like, " Ugh." 0:09:59.820 --> 0:10:02.520 A memo to staff. Sorry, Becs made me do it. 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:04.140 But no, I think it's a good idea. 0:10:04.140 --> 0:10:04.230 It's fun. 0:10:04.290 --> 0:10:05.400 So let's put that down. 0:10:05.550 --> 0:10:06.150 I'll run it. 0:10:06.660 --> 0:10:07.981 Yeah. Okay, good, we've got one. 0:10:07.981 --> 0:10:07.982 Got one. 0:10:07.982 --> 0:10:10.650 Just need 9, 999. 0:10:10.650 --> 0:10:11.130 We can do this. 0:10:11.130 --> 0:10:11.790 I think we can do this. Okay. 0:10:11.790 --> 0:10:11.819 We can do it. 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:15.449 We have a record number of New York Road Runners 0:10:15.450 --> 0:10:19.230 members right now. We have new member exclusive events for 0:10:19.230 --> 0:10:23.010 the first time. We had a first member- only race 0:10:23.250 --> 0:10:26.610 this year. Grete's Great Gallop last year was a member- 0:10:26.700 --> 0:10:30.120 only race for the first time, a part of Member 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:31.800 Week, which was awesome. And of course we had a 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:34.410 lot of great live episodes of Set the Pace, Becs, 0:10:34.410 --> 0:10:36.780 where you and I got a chance to meet members 0:10:36.780 --> 0:10:38.490 face to face. Love that. 0:10:38.490 --> 0:10:39.240 Yeah, me too. 0:10:39.870 --> 0:10:42.630 We've also, Becs, as you know, had a big focus on mental 0:10:42.630 --> 0:10:45.179 health and mental well- being over the last couple of years. 0:10:45.510 --> 0:10:48.030 We launched a new event, the New York Road Runners 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:52.260 Mindful 5K, a new race out in Queens which had 0:10:52.260 --> 0:10:55.500 a mental health focus and a lot of great activations 0:10:55.500 --> 0:10:59.340 around that, lots of new online resources and in- person 0:10:59.340 --> 0:11:02.850 resources at the marathon for people to have a good 0:11:02.850 --> 0:11:05.190 experience both with their mental health as well as their 0:11:05.190 --> 0:11:08.820 physical health. And Becs, I'm super proud of one additional 0:11:08.820 --> 0:11:13.829 thing we did in 2024, a really expanded commitment to 0:11:13.830 --> 0:11:17.850 sustainability at New York Road Runners. We launched our Team 0:11:17.850 --> 0:11:22.260 for Climate which was incredible. We had 250 runners run 0:11:22.260 --> 0:11:25.290 the TCS New York City Marathon to help us raise 0:11:25.290 --> 0:11:29.220 money to offset the carbon footprint of the marathon, and 0:11:29.220 --> 0:11:30.691 that team crushed it. 0:11:30.691 --> 0:11:30.810 Wow, yeah. 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:36.900 They raised over $ 600,000, nearly 800, 000 actually. The goal was 0:11:36.900 --> 0:11:41.400 600, they raised almost $ 800,000. So it was a great 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:43.979 year, Becs, and we're excited about so many things in 2025. 0:11:45.300 --> 0:11:49.559 And rightly so, and congratulations to everybody who came over 0:11:49.559 --> 0:11:51.660 the finish lines of one of the New York Road 0:11:51.660 --> 0:11:55.319 Runners races for the first time or hundredth time. Wherever 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:58.979 you're at, congratulations. It was amazing, and obviously thank you 0:11:58.980 --> 0:12:03.510 to all of the volunteers who help make the events go 0:12:03.510 --> 0:12:07.530 as smoothly and smilily... that's not a word, but I'm going 0:12:07.530 --> 0:12:09.480 to go with it... smilily as possible. 0:12:13.110 --> 0:12:16.260 It is now. I love it. I love it. And one other thing that I want to mention about '24 and then we'll get into some of the '25 priorities 0:12:16.260 --> 0:12:18.929 is our Rising New York Road Runners program- 0:12:18.929 --> 0:12:18.961 Oh, the best. 0:12:18.961 --> 0:12:21.900 ... which is our program for New York City public 0:12:21.900 --> 0:12:27.150 school kids that introduces them to physical fitness and running. 0:12:27.390 --> 0:12:32.490 We are now at 100, 000 kids in New York City 0:12:32.790 --> 0:12:35.340 who are a part of that program, and we're just 0:12:35.340 --> 0:12:38.520 so thrilled to see the growth of that because that's 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:41.850 fundamental to our mission is getting young people active. Those 0:12:41.850 --> 0:12:43.950 are the runners of the future here in New York 0:12:43.950 --> 0:12:46.740 City. So we're very proud of that as well. Now 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:50.970 what we're thinking about for 2025 already, well, obviously we 0:12:50.970 --> 0:12:54.150 want to continue our focus on mental wellbeing and sustainability. 0:12:54.150 --> 0:12:56.880 We're going to continue to have resources at events. The 0:12:56.880 --> 0:12:59.910 Mindful 5K will come back. Team for Climate is going 0:12:59.910 --> 0:13:02.460 to expand not only to the marathon but also the 0:13:02.460 --> 0:13:05.370 United Airlines NYC Half and the RBC Brooklyn Half, so 0:13:05.370 --> 0:13:10.050 we're excited about that. Technology is a huge focus, Becs, of 0:13:10.050 --> 0:13:13.380 what we want to do, and so everybody in our 0:13:13.380 --> 0:13:16.229 running community is soon going to start to see the 0:13:16.230 --> 0:13:19.890 impact of some of these technology initiatives. We're going to 0:13:19.890 --> 0:13:24.480 be launching a new registration platform in 2025. This is 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:27.719 coming soon, and so people can start to get ready 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:30.809 to see this. One of my goals, I joke around 0:13:30.809 --> 0:13:33.089 about this, Becs, as CEO of New York Road Runners. 0:13:33.300 --> 0:13:35.760 You know that little walking man that you see sometimes 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:38.910 when you're go on our website and you have to wait and wait 0:13:38.910 --> 0:13:41.340 and wait to get on the website to register for 0:13:41.340 --> 0:13:43.890 a race? My goal is to kill that walking man. 0:13:44.850 --> 0:13:48.328 I want him dead, seriously. 0:13:48.420 --> 0:13:48.780 Sinister. 0:13:49.230 --> 0:13:50.341 I know. So that's the evil side of Rob Simmelkjaer. 0:13:50.341 --> 0:13:50.342 He's gone. 0:13:50.342 --> 0:13:56.010 I want that to go away because I want people to 0:13:56.010 --> 0:13:59.520 have a much cleaner, more efficient experience of signing up 0:13:59.520 --> 0:13:59.761 for our races. 0:13:59.761 --> 0:14:00.240 I would agree with that. 0:14:00.240 --> 0:14:05.100 So we're partnering with a platform called haku and soon 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:08.220 everybody out there will be getting some messaging around that. 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:12.570 So keep your eyes peeled on your email because that 0:14:12.570 --> 0:14:15.420 is coming very, very soon at New York Road Runners. 0:14:15.690 --> 0:14:18.569 Speaking of technology, Becs, we're also working closely with our 0:14:18.570 --> 0:14:23.010 partners at TCS to launch a new app for New 0:14:23.010 --> 0:14:26.340 York Road Runners. Many of you have used the kind 0:14:26.340 --> 0:14:29.130 of one- off apps that we have for the TCS New 0:14:29.130 --> 0:14:32.760 York City Marathon and the United Airlines NYC Half. We 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:35.670 are going to create a new year- round app that 0:14:35.670 --> 0:14:38.910 will allow you to track runners at all the races 0:14:38.910 --> 0:14:41.369 with one app no matter what, and it's going to 0:14:41.370 --> 0:14:43.350 have lots of other great bells and whistles as well. 0:14:43.350 --> 0:14:47.220 So that's coming also in 2025. So tech is a 0:14:47.220 --> 0:14:51.510 big, big focus. Other things, Becs, programming, we're going to 0:14:51.510 --> 0:14:55.320 bring more programming back to the RUNCENTER in Manhattan over 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:59.190 on 57 Street, fitness classes coming back, more panels and 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:02.670 discussions and things like that. We're going to expand the 0:15:02.670 --> 0:15:06.450 Race Week programming during our big race weekends like the 0:15:06.450 --> 0:15:09.720 United Airlines NYC Half, the Brooklyn Half, and the New 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:13.110 Balance 5th Avenue Mile. So more coming up, more member- 0:15:13.110 --> 0:15:17.010 only events at RUNCENTER and more live podcasts both at the 0:15:17.100 --> 0:15:19.860 RUNCENTER and around New York City. So, Becs, I'll get 0:15:19.860 --> 0:15:21.210 to see you in person even more- 0:15:21.210 --> 0:15:21.211 Yay. 0:15:21.211 --> 0:15:21.271 ... which I'm excited about because we spend so much time looking at each other on these screens. So that'll be fun. 0:15:21.271 --> 0:15:21.272 Yes. Absolutely. 0:15:21.272 --> 0:15:30.420 And some new stuff from Peloton coming as well. 0:15:31.230 --> 0:15:31.950 Oh my gosh. 0:15:33.150 --> 0:15:33.151 Do you know about this? 0:15:33.151 --> 0:15:33.330 I do. 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:34.920 New classes with you guys. 0:15:35.460 --> 0:15:38.520 I'm very, very excited for this. I was part of the filming 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:41.400 of the first one I think that will be dropped 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:44.760 and we cannot wait to share that with the world. 0:15:45.780 --> 0:15:48.990 I get so many great comments from Peloton members about 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:52.260 the new video and the footage and the things we 0:15:52.260 --> 0:15:56.340 do on Peloton for runners. People love it. You're a 0:15:56.340 --> 0:15:59.010 big part of that, Becs. And so we're going to continue to 0:15:59.010 --> 0:16:02.370 expand what has been an awesome partnership with New York 0:16:02.370 --> 0:16:05.280 Road Runners and Peloton. So we're excited about that. 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:05.550 Absolutely. 0:16:05.970 --> 0:16:09.720 So those are some highlights. And, Becs, we got so many 0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:10.590 great questions. 0:16:10.590 --> 0:16:10.740 We did. 0:16:10.740 --> 0:16:12.360 So I'm going to put you in the seat of the 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:14.609 interviewer here and you can fire off some of the 0:16:14.610 --> 0:16:18.060 questions that our members and our listeners asked of me, and 0:16:18.060 --> 0:16:19.170 we'll go through some of those. 0:16:19.260 --> 0:16:23.790 Absolutely. So as Rob said, we put it out there, we 0:16:23.790 --> 0:16:28.560 got all of your inputs, and we were inundated with 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.830 the amount of questions that you had for Rob, for 0:16:31.830 --> 0:16:37.140 New York Road Runners as a general organization. So we've 0:16:37.140 --> 0:16:40.380 sifted through them and we could do multiple podcasts getting 0:16:40.380 --> 0:16:45.300 these questions out, but we've put together a handful here. 0:16:45.390 --> 0:16:49.140 So Rob is in the hot seat, the CEO of 0:16:49.350 --> 0:16:52.860 New York Road Runners is ready to answer some questions. 0:16:52.860 --> 0:16:52.979 Oh boy. 0:16:52.980 --> 0:16:56.940 Here we go. We're going to kick off with a very 0:16:56.940 --> 0:17:03.390 popular theme and that was capacity and number of races. 0:17:03.390 --> 0:17:05.609 So capacity being how many people can run each race 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.160 and number of races being how many races of held 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:11.670 throughout the year. So the first question comes from William D. 0:17:11.670 --> 0:17:16.350 S. and he says, " Why are you not allowing more 0:17:16.350 --> 0:17:21.359 runners at sold- out races, especially the NYC Marathon?" 0:17:22.170 --> 0:17:26.280 All right, so the first thing that people should know about 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.220 how many runners are allowed in our races, Becs, is that 0:17:29.550 --> 0:17:32.580 we have an agreement with the City of New York. 0:17:32.580 --> 0:17:35.970 Depending on the race, it's either with the City or 0:17:36.030 --> 0:17:38.369 with the Parks Department. All of our races that take 0:17:38.369 --> 0:17:42.030 place in parks like Central Park or Prospect Park or 0:17:42.030 --> 0:17:45.540 Flushing Meadows, we have an agreement how many runners can 0:17:45.540 --> 0:17:48.420 be in that race. So we have a limit to 0:17:48.420 --> 0:17:50.699 each race in terms of how many we can have. 0:17:51.150 --> 0:17:53.220 The Parks care about that because they want to make 0:17:53.220 --> 0:17:56.609 sure that the park isn't overcrowded and that they have 0:17:56.609 --> 0:17:58.800 time to clean up and let others use the parks. 0:17:59.130 --> 0:18:01.560 So each race has what we call a cap and 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:04.350 that's what we're allowed to have. Now if we have 0:18:04.350 --> 0:18:07.920 a cap of say 5, 000 runners for a race 0:18:08.130 --> 0:18:11.850 in Central Park, we have an estimate, we kind of 0:18:11.850 --> 0:18:15.000 know how many people are likely to show up at 0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:17.130 a race. We don't know exactly, but we know for 0:18:17.130 --> 0:18:20.190 any given race there's typically a no- show rate. We 0:18:20.190 --> 0:18:22.290 do a great job, we have a team at Runners 0:18:22.290 --> 0:18:25.320 that does a great job figuring out how many people to 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:29.190 let in to races. So we are focused on getting 0:18:29.190 --> 0:18:32.220 as many people in to every race as we can, 0:18:32.730 --> 0:18:35.160 but there's only so much we can do. We can't 0:18:35.250 --> 0:18:38.369 overfill. We can't go way above our numbers because that 0:18:38.580 --> 0:18:41.430 is not what's in our agreement with the city. And 0:18:41.430 --> 0:18:44.400 so, yeah, we wish we could let everyone into every 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:46.800 race, but that's just not the way it is, and 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:51.030 so we're doing our best to accommodate the incredible demand 0:18:51.030 --> 0:18:53.130 that exists for our races right now. 0:18:54.359 --> 0:18:58.379 Wonderful answer. Well done. First one, whew. Wipe that sweat 0:18:58.380 --> 0:18:59.070 from your brow. 0:18:59.970 --> 0:19:02.010 It's the number one question I get so I'm so 0:19:02.010 --> 0:19:03.060 used to answering it. 0:19:03.060 --> 0:19:03.720 Exactly. 0:19:03.720 --> 0:19:05.790 And I get it. It's what we call a good 0:19:05.790 --> 0:19:08.369 problem to have because so many people are passionate about 0:19:08.369 --> 0:19:10.770 running, but of course we want everyone running, so we'll 0:19:10.770 --> 0:19:11.910 talk more about that as we go. 0:19:12.240 --> 0:19:16.320 Exactly. And I think, Willie, as you will find, there are 0:19:16.320 --> 0:19:19.050 a lot of races, not a lot of marathons, but 0:19:19.050 --> 0:19:24.000 that's what makes it so unique. And so, as Rob 0:19:24.270 --> 0:19:27.000 will talk about, there are other things we can do to help people 0:19:27.000 --> 0:19:27.151 get in. 0:19:27.151 --> 0:19:30.270 And by the way, the Marathon, as I've just mentioned, all these races 0:19:30.270 --> 0:19:31.109 had a record number of finishes. 0:19:31.109 --> 0:19:31.200 They did. 0:19:31.710 --> 0:19:34.770 The big ones, Marathon, the Half, Brooklyn, so we did 0:19:34.770 --> 0:19:37.470 let in more people, right, and we actually have seen 0:19:37.470 --> 0:19:39.960 the number of finishers go up in these races, but 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:42.300