WEBVTT - Everything You Need to Know about the United Airlines NYC Half - 2026 0:00:00.540 --> 0:00:03.000 This is Becs' and Ted's excellent adventure. We're going to 0:00:03.000 --> 0:00:06.000 go through and run this race together. Shall we talk 0:00:06.000 --> 0:00:10.890 about race day, and specifically one small modification that we've 0:00:10.890 --> 0:00:12.360 made to the start? 0:00:13.650 --> 0:00:17.460 Welcome to Set the Pace, the official podcast of New York Road 0:00:17.460 --> 0:00:22.020 Runners presented by Peloton. I'm your host, Becs Gentry, and 0:00:22.020 --> 0:00:25.560 my New York co- host, Rob Simmelkjaer, is off this 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:28.950 week. Filling in for him, I am honored to be 0:00:28.950 --> 0:00:33.240 joined by New York Road Runners' chief event production officer 0:00:33.450 --> 0:00:37.050 and race director, Mr. Ted Metellus. Hello, Ted. 0:00:37.559 --> 0:00:39.598 Becs, how are you? Listeners, how are you? 0:00:40.379 --> 0:00:40.650 Good. It's so good to see you. 0:00:40.650 --> 0:00:40.651 I know. It's been awhile. 0:00:40.651 --> 0:00:44.940 I feel like we go through seasons of seeing each other all the 0:00:44.940 --> 0:00:47.790 time, and then it gets cold and I disappear. 0:00:49.110 --> 0:00:52.260 I think everyone is hibernating. And if they're not hibernating, 0:00:52.260 --> 0:00:54.750 they are bundled up a lot as they're out there 0:00:54.750 --> 0:00:55.290 on a run. 0:00:55.530 --> 0:00:58.529 Oh, my gosh, that's me. With my glasses on, hat 0:00:58.530 --> 0:01:02.010 on, gloves on, snooed up to my nose. I'm in 0:01:02.010 --> 0:01:05.819 disguise in the runs. But mostly on my tread, let's 0:01:05.819 --> 0:01:10.380 be quite honest about that. Ted, it has been one 0:01:10.380 --> 0:01:13.200 heck of a season for New York Road Runners. There 0:01:13.590 --> 0:01:17.790 has been a lot of interruptions, which we'll talk about 0:01:17.790 --> 0:01:22.319 shortly. But first and foremost, I want to hear about 0:01:22.410 --> 0:01:27.690 your most recent trip to the running, I call it 0:01:27.690 --> 0:01:30.209 paradise. Some people might call it the mecca. I don't 0:01:30.209 --> 0:01:32.550 know. What would you call it? You're the one who's 0:01:32.550 --> 0:01:34.890 just gotten back from the most incredible trip. 0:01:35.130 --> 0:01:39.660 Yes. Yeah. Becs, you're talking about the team's trip to Kenya, 0:01:40.470 --> 0:01:42.539 where we spent a little bit of time in Nairobi, 0:01:43.290 --> 0:01:49.140 Eldoret, and Iten. And it was an incredible trip. The team's done 0:01:49.170 --> 0:01:52.080 a phenomenal job of storytelling through our various channels. I 0:01:52.110 --> 0:01:54.390 highly recommend folks to go on and take a look 0:01:54.390 --> 0:01:57.210 at our various platforms. For those who I have a 0:01:57.390 --> 0:02:00.420 personal and professional relationship with, I posted something on LinkedIn 0:02:00.420 --> 0:02:03.240 as well to talk about the experience. But it was 0:02:03.450 --> 0:02:07.020 amazing. That's one short word to describe being able to 0:02:07.020 --> 0:02:11.580 go to the place that has produced the most champions 0:02:11.580 --> 0:02:16.889 of the TCS New York City Marathon. I said this 0:02:17.190 --> 0:02:21.270 while we were there, these runners are not just leading 0:02:21.330 --> 0:02:24.330 our races, but they're leading their communities, they're leading their 0:02:24.330 --> 0:02:27.150 country. And they're front facing and some of the warmest, 0:02:27.180 --> 0:02:30.690 kindest people in the world. We only interact with our 0:02:30.690 --> 0:02:33.780 runners on the elite side very quickly. They're in, they're 0:02:33.780 --> 0:02:36.540 out. They're there on business. And we went and spent 0:02:36.540 --> 0:02:39.780 quality time with them in their homes, and they were 0:02:39.780 --> 0:02:42.930 beyond excited about it. But it wasn't just about meeting 0:02:42.930 --> 0:02:45.120 and connecting with some of our champions, we also spent 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:48.570 some quality time with our charity partners, Shoes for Africa, 0:02:48.570 --> 0:02:51.480 and saw their facility there. They have a beautiful Children's 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.690 Hospital that we spent some time with some of the 0:02:54.690 --> 0:02:57.930 patients, the young people there, family, friends, and the staff, 0:02:58.260 --> 0:03:01.290 as well as the team that's working so hard in the 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:06.840 Tirop's Angels program where they're working to raise awareness and 0:03:06.900 --> 0:03:11.760 end gender- based violence for women, children, and the like. 0:03:12.570 --> 0:03:14.669 It was a powerful, powerful trip to be there. I 0:03:14.669 --> 0:03:17.160 think my only regret is that I did not get a chance 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:18.929 to lace up the kicks and go for a run. 0:03:18.929 --> 0:03:25.260 You didn't. I would've been so intimidated to even try and 0:03:25.260 --> 0:03:27.810 step out at my fastest pace is probably their most 0:03:27.810 --> 0:03:31.560 easy pace. But I know you guys... I was messaging 0:03:31.560 --> 0:03:36.540 with Sam on your team. Well, he posted a video 0:03:36.540 --> 0:03:39.600 of some of the men just running together. And I 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:43.530 just said to him, " What a privilege to be able 0:03:43.530 --> 0:03:49.200 to witness that for real." To see that motion, that 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:54.900 camaraderie, that unity. And they just look so in sync 0:03:54.900 --> 0:03:58.410 and perfect. And it's a training run. How? 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:02.190 Yeah. Yeah. And it's poetry and emotion is basically what 0:04:02.190 --> 0:04:05.310 it was to watch that. We had the opportunity to see 0:04:05.340 --> 0:04:10.500 Viola Lagat and Sharon Lokedi run together, and it was 0:04:10.500 --> 0:04:13.260 beautiful. It was conversational pace, like you and I are 0:04:13.260 --> 0:04:16.380 chatting right now. They're moving at a sub six, sub 0:04:16.380 --> 0:04:17.490 five minute mile. 0:04:18.330 --> 0:04:18.421 Oh, my gosh. 0:04:18.421 --> 0:04:23.550 But it was truly an incredible experience. It reminded me a 0:04:23.550 --> 0:04:26.730 lot of my family's home and family's country in Haiti. 0:04:27.510 --> 0:04:30.900 Was a simpler space, but people take such pride in 0:04:30.900 --> 0:04:35.850 their home, vibrant colors, vibrant sounds, so much welcoming, so 0:04:35.850 --> 0:04:38.220 much arm opening. And it opened up our eyes to 0:04:38.220 --> 0:04:43.140 see how much our impact as an organization is globally. 0:04:43.919 --> 0:04:46.560 Amazing. And we want more of that and we want 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:49.680 more people to know about it, and more people to partake in 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:54.180 it. As Ted said, if you are interested in finding 0:04:54.480 --> 0:04:57.150 out really what happened, check out on the socials, on 0:04:57.150 --> 0:04:59.850 Ted's and on New York Road Runners. And from there, you'll 0:04:59.850 --> 0:05:01.830 probably go down a rabbit hole of everybody who works 0:05:01.860 --> 0:05:04.260 a New York Road Runners and then be on their Instagrams, 0:05:04.260 --> 0:05:07.440 which I was all the trip. Well, thank you for 0:05:07.440 --> 0:05:10.710 sharing that. And honestly, it is super cool to see 0:05:10.710 --> 0:05:14.880 how the elite runners live their lives. They live, eat, 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:19.770 breathe, running. And they do it together in such a 0:05:19.890 --> 0:05:22.740 beautiful way in each of the communities that you mentioned 0:05:22.740 --> 0:05:27.270 you went to. And it's just to see what work the 0:05:27.270 --> 0:05:32.700 charities do to support other up and coming runners as 0:05:32.700 --> 0:05:36.900 well as protection for, as you say, the gender violence, 0:05:36.900 --> 0:05:41.520 is just such a brilliant give back to a world 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:43.560 that really needs a lot of love right now. 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:43.650 Yes. 0:05:44.339 --> 0:05:46.440 Thank you to everybody who supports through New York Road 0:05:46.440 --> 0:05:48.990 Runners. You're doing a great job, that's for sure. 0:05:49.350 --> 0:05:52.080 Absolutely. Well, thank you so much. We're representing the community 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:52.800 near and far. 0:05:53.370 --> 0:05:56.820 All right. Listen, now let's take you out of that 0:05:56.910 --> 0:06:03.360 sunshine and dry, warm weather, and bring you back down 0:06:03.420 --> 0:06:08.250 to home here in New York City. As I mentioned, 0:06:08.550 --> 0:06:12.960 Road Runners has had quite a winter over the past 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.779 few weeks. I think everybody listening knows that the East 0:06:15.779 --> 0:06:20.729 Coast has been inundated with pretty rough winter weather. We've 0:06:20.730 --> 0:06:24.180 had blizzards, we've had bomb cyclones. We've had, I don't know what 0:06:24.180 --> 0:06:27.870 other snow. Was it snow thunder we had? I don't know. 0:06:28.680 --> 0:06:31.800 I don't know. Lions, tigers, bears. Oh my. It all 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:33.780 came from the sky. It was something else. 0:06:33.780 --> 0:06:36.089 It all came from the sky. And it came and it rained down 0:06:36.089 --> 0:06:38.670 on us and it snowed us in, snowed us out, 0:06:38.670 --> 0:06:42.570 however you want to call it. It's been a complete 0:06:42.570 --> 0:06:48.210 360 change though this past weekend. Because previously race cancellations 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:51.390 had, for the safety of not just the runners, but 0:06:51.390 --> 0:06:53.640 the volunteers and the race setup people who have to be there 0:06:54.180 --> 0:06:57.089 in freezing cold temperatures that is just not right for 0:06:57.089 --> 0:07:00.779 anyone to be out in. This weekend, it's been a 0:07:00.779 --> 0:07:07.050 turnaround. And there were not one, but two races that went off 0:07:07.050 --> 0:07:10.290 here in New York City. Tell us about this amazing feat. 0:07:10.620 --> 0:07:14.550 Yeah. Let's take two steps backwards. Yes, three canceled events 0:07:14.550 --> 0:07:16.680 back to back to back. The last time we had this 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:21.750 many cancellations was 2020 during COVID. In my 27 plus years 0:07:21.750 --> 0:07:25.110 of event production, to have experienced something like this was 0:07:25.950 --> 0:07:29.430 unprecedented, to say the least. And again, we were following in 0:07:29.430 --> 0:07:32.400 line with what was going on citywide. We worked in 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:35.489 partnership with the mayor's office, special events, parks departments, and 0:07:35.490 --> 0:07:38.970 the various agencies. And when they put notifications out about 0:07:38.970 --> 0:07:41.040 it being unsafe for people to be outside, we have 0:07:41.040 --> 0:07:44.220 to adhere to that. Yes, the safety of our participants, 0:07:44.220 --> 0:07:47.010 our volunteers, our staff, our partners, the people at large 0:07:47.190 --> 0:07:49.230 was front of mind with the decisions that were made 0:07:49.230 --> 0:07:53.820 to cancel those events. We were very, very fortunate to 0:07:53.820 --> 0:07:57.000 work with Prospect Park Alliance and the team there to 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:59.730 be able to squeeze in a little 5K two weeks 0:07:59.730 --> 0:08:03.720 ago. We had a race at Prospect Park. We had about 1, 600 athletes 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:06.990 that showed up and ran, which was really cool. And, 0:08:07.530 --> 0:08:09.930 well, unfortunately I wasn't there because I was in Kenya. 0:08:10.230 --> 0:08:13.290 I told the team, " Please be prepared for a unique 0:08:13.290 --> 0:08:16.860 level of energy at this event, because people are going to be so 0:08:16.860 --> 0:08:19.200 happy to be with one another again and see one 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:20.820 another again, and engage with one another again." 0:08:20.820 --> 0:08:21.030 Of course. 0:08:21.450 --> 0:08:23.250 Not that it's been months and months and months like 0:08:23.250 --> 0:08:25.860 it was for COVID, but it had been long enough that 0:08:25.860 --> 0:08:28.410 many athletes hadn't seen each other since the Joe K 10K. 0:08:28.410 --> 0:08:30.180 Wow. Yeah. 0:08:30.930 --> 0:08:33.030 Yes, we ended up having the cancellations. We were able 0:08:33.030 --> 0:08:34.620 to get a race off the ground last week, and 0:08:34.620 --> 0:08:37.500 then this weekend we had double event weekends. We had 0:08:37.500 --> 0:08:39.809 three back- to- back 5K events. 0:08:39.958 --> 0:08:40.170 Oh, my gosh. 0:08:40.710 --> 0:08:44.070 This weekend was awesome, where we had the Al Gordon 0:08:44.429 --> 0:08:46.859 5K. First time it was a 5K distance. In the 0:08:46.860 --> 0:08:49.020 past, it was a four mile. In the past, even longer 0:08:49.020 --> 0:08:52.380 than that, it was a five miler. Honoring the great Al 0:08:52.380 --> 0:08:55.200 Gordon, who's a longtime runner and supporter of Road Runners. Passed 0:08:55.200 --> 0:08:59.579 away at the age 107 years old. Took onto running late in 0:08:59.580 --> 0:09:02.939 his life. He was a strider before striders was striding. He was out there doing 0:09:05.490 --> 0:09:08.280 the good work. We were there to be able to host that 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:12.600 event, which was great energy. And the park was beautiful. 0:09:12.750 --> 0:09:16.230 The drives were clear. The park lands themselves were completely 0:09:16.230 --> 0:09:19.170 covered in snow. And watching that sunrise was magnificent. 0:09:19.170 --> 0:09:19.440 I'm sure. 0:09:19.470 --> 0:09:22.440 And again, great energy. And then it followed the next 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:27.390 day with the Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K. 0:09:27.390 --> 0:09:32.460 That's a race that we've been producing for over 25 0:09:32.460 --> 0:09:36.360 years in this community. And it's a very, very technical 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:38.040 course. There's some ups and downs. I don't know if 0:09:38.040 --> 0:09:38.821 you've ever run this race. 0:09:38.821 --> 0:09:38.822 I haven't. No. 0:09:38.822 --> 0:09:38.823 Oh, you got to get it on your calendar. 0:09:38.823 --> 0:09:39.093 I know. 0:09:42.660 --> 0:09:44.760 I live in the Heights. It's my neighborhood. I run 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:47.280 through many of those streets there. It's a beautiful, beautiful 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:49.020 event when you think about some of the sights and 0:09:49.020 --> 0:09:54.689 sounds in that community. Overlooks to the George Washington Bridge. 0:09:54.840 --> 0:09:58.740 You run past the highest natural point in Manhattan. You 0:09:58.740 --> 0:10:02.579 run into beautiful Fort Tryon Park, the Cloisters, and then you 0:10:02.580 --> 0:10:05.640 make your way back down to finish on Fort Washington 0:10:05.700 --> 0:10:08.520 next to J. Hood Park. But that race was amazing. 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:11.640 We had some special guest runners that I think we 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:15.420 were chatting about earlier that participated. And back- to- back 0:10:15.420 --> 0:10:19.770 winners as well, which was pretty amazing. Steph Bruce made 0:10:19.770 --> 0:10:23.370 her way out and ran the Al Gordon race on 0:10:23.370 --> 0:10:27.209 Saturday. She won our women's field. We gave her a 0:10:27.210 --> 0:10:29.040 great little shout out at the start of the race. 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:32.820 She posted some great photos there. She finished in 16: 45. 0:10:32.820 --> 0:10:33.300 Amazing. 0:10:33.510 --> 0:10:36.150 Our non- binary winner for the Al Gordon Race was 0:10:36.150 --> 0:10:37.410 Nicholas Dill with 18:31. 0:10:37.411 --> 0:10:37.412 Brilliant. 0:10:37.412 --> 0:10:44.490 And then our men's winner was Issame El Jazouli who finished in 14: 0:10:44.820 --> 0:10:48.600 57, a member of the United Mexican Runners of New York. 0:10:49.290 --> 0:10:52.470 And then you might hear Issame's name again because he 0:10:52.470 --> 0:10:54.990 came back. He's like, " Not only am I going to 0:10:54.990 --> 0:10:57.240 conquer Brooklyn, I'm going to take it uptown." 0:10:57.270 --> 0:10:57.630 Right. 0:10:57.630 --> 0:11:01.350 He won the Washington Highest Race at 14: 46 with a 0:11:01.350 --> 0:11:04.949 faster pace on a more challenging course. We also want 0:11:04.950 --> 0:11:06.690 to give a shout- out to Zachary Harris from Front 0:11:06.690 --> 0:11:10.890 Runners, who won our non- binary at 19:17. And Roberta 0:11:10.890 --> 0:11:14.699 Groner crushed it out there at 16: 46 with Central Park Track Club. 0:11:15.300 --> 0:11:19.110 Wow. Those are some astonishing times. It really does show 0:11:19.110 --> 0:11:22.800 that people were ready to get back on the roads 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:23.309 and run. 0:11:23.309 --> 0:11:23.881 Yes. 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:28.110 And, yeah, huge congratulations to Issame for getting both of those 0:11:28.110 --> 0:11:32.939 wins with a 10- second time difference on... The Al Gordon 0:11:33.179 --> 0:11:35.400 route wasn't flat necessarily. 0:11:37.110 --> 0:11:37.560 No. Prospect Park is not flat. We'll be talking about that in a moment. 0:11:37.560 --> 0:11:44.340 Exactly. There is a pretty gnarly hill. And then, as you said, Washington 0:11:44.340 --> 0:11:50.670 Heights was not at all easy and cruisey. That is 0:11:50.670 --> 0:11:55.770 pretty impressive. I'd say he's got a darn good 5K 0:11:55.770 --> 0:11:56.579 time there. All right. 0:11:56.579 --> 0:11:58.320 Yeah, it's impressive. And listen, they don't call it the 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:00.240 Heights for nothing, so you're definitely going to do some 0:12:00.240 --> 0:12:02.910 climbing. But that's super fast. I'd be remiss if I 0:12:02.910 --> 0:12:07.170 didn't say that both races, we took the time out. 0:12:07.170 --> 0:12:08.820 I got the time out to actually start both of 0:12:08.820 --> 0:12:11.459 the events. And I took the time out to honor 0:12:11.460 --> 0:12:16.500 Jeff Galloway. Jeff Galloway, a true pioneer in running. I think 0:12:16.530 --> 0:12:19.740 I would call him the very, very first running influencer. 0:12:19.830 --> 0:12:21.630 I would. Yeah, absolutely agree with that. 0:12:21.690 --> 0:12:27.270 He was a Olympian who transformed running and really opened 0:12:27.270 --> 0:12:29.910 it up to the general public. If that sounds somewhat 0:12:29.910 --> 0:12:34.080 familiar, as far as transforming runners, similar to what we 0:12:34.080 --> 0:12:36.000 do at New York Road Runners with the transformative power 0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:39.569 of running. He opened it up with this Galloway Method, 0:12:39.570 --> 0:12:40.651 which is a run/ walk method. 0:12:40.651 --> 0:12:41.040 Exactly. 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.850 And many people who were not introduced to this said, " 0:12:44.940 --> 0:12:48.330 I can never run because I cannot run consistently for," 0:12:48.330 --> 0:12:51.660 name that distance. And then the Galloway Method came into play 0:12:51.660 --> 0:12:54.120 and people were able to run/ walk. Where a lot 0:12:54.120 --> 0:12:56.069 of folks do that method even still to this day. 0:12:56.550 --> 0:12:56.849 Exactly. 0:12:56.850 --> 0:12:59.309 They walk at an aid station, they have their set 0:12:59.309 --> 0:13:02.069 times, and they are able to continue moving at a 0:13:02.070 --> 0:13:07.410 solid pace and finish strong. Shouts out to you, Jeff 0:13:07.410 --> 0:13:09.720 Galloway, thank you so much for your tremendous work and 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:12.270 contributions to the sport of running and the community you're 0:13:12.300 --> 0:13:14.699 running, and growing the sport for the general public. 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:18.840 Absolutely. Concur. And big love to all the Galloway family 0:13:19.590 --> 0:13:23.429 who are working to continue his amazing legacy. And I'm 0:13:23.429 --> 0:13:27.690 sure there'll be a lot of Magic Mile celebrations in 0:13:27.690 --> 0:13:30.510 his life. His Magic Mile was his way of getting 0:13:30.510 --> 0:13:33.750 people to mark how to find your training paces when 0:13:33.750 --> 0:13:35.910 you feel comfortable to do it. Which I always love, because 0:13:36.390 --> 0:13:38.400 it makes it not sound so scary when it's a 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:43.170 Magic Mile, another time trial or whatever it was. Thank 0:13:43.170 --> 0:13:45.420 you for saying that, Ted. Yeah, we lost one of 0:13:45.420 --> 0:13:48.360 the greats in the running world, but his legacy and 0:13:49.230 --> 0:13:51.390 his method will for sure live on forever. 0:13:52.410 --> 0:13:54.209 Absolutely. Every mile, every step. 0:13:54.630 --> 0:14:00.120 Yeah. Peloton's most advanced tread yet is here. The new 0:14:00.120 --> 0:14:04.050 Peloton cross- training series, Tread Plus, powered by Peloton IQ. 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.860 Designed for runners who want top tier performance, it features 0:14:07.860 --> 0:14:11.429 premium hardware that makes every run and workout more efficient, 0:14:11.429 --> 0:14:16.740 effective, and motivating. And it accelerates your personal growth mile 0:14:16.740 --> 0:14:21.150 after mile. The rubberized slap belt cushions every single step 0:14:21.210 --> 0:14:25.229 and creates an energizing running space for each stride. And 0:14:25.380 --> 0:14:28.740 with strength workouts, you can stack right into your routine. 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:32.640 You'll build lower body muscle to support stronger runs. With 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:36.900 auto incline adjusting automatically to match instructor queues, your intensity 0:14:36.900 --> 0:14:39.660 stays exactly where it needs to be, so you can 0:14:39.660 --> 0:14:44.010 stay in the zone and focus on your workout. Experience 0:14:44.010 --> 0:14:49.140 our most advanced tread yet at onepeloton. com. Peloton, the 0:14:49.140 --> 0:14:52.380 official digital fitness partner of New York Road Runners. All 0:14:52.380 --> 0:14:59.190 right. Let's work it up to the big one. We've 0:14:59.190 --> 0:15:03.420 got a pretty... All races are huge. All races are important. 0:15:03.810 --> 0:15:06.990 But there are a certain few on the New York 0:15:06.990 --> 0:15:12.150 Road Runners' calendar that really are standout big production events. 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:16.440 And we have one coming up on the horizon, Ted. 0:15:17.550 --> 0:15:19.380 Go for it. What are we talking about? 0:15:19.380 --> 0:15:25.440 We are talking about the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon, 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:29.460 one of the largest half marathons in North America. Back again 0:15:29.460 --> 0:15:32.610 on March 15th, we're excited to have over close to 30, 0:15:32.610 --> 0:15:36.540 000 athletes. As I've mentioned before, and we'll continue to 0:15:36.540 --> 0:15:39.870 say, this is the springtime equivalent of the marathon. 0:15:40.890 --> 0:15:41.010 Oh, yes. 0:15:41.010 --> 0:15:43.530 We have pro athletes, we have broadcasts, we have international 0:15:43.530 --> 0:15:47.040 athletes, we have a huge charity team, and the masses 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:49.170 that'll be out there running as well. It's going to be 0:15:49.170 --> 0:15:49.561 a great day. 0:15:49.561 --> 0:15:49.891 Exactly. 0:15:50.190 --> 0:15:52.950 And the cherry on top, and just the cutest cherry 0:15:52.950 --> 0:15:55.620 on top, is our youth that will be running out 0:15:55.620 --> 0:15:58.470 there as part of the Times Square Kids Run. You'll 0:15:58.470 --> 0:16:01.350 be running past our little people, inspiring them as they 0:16:01.350 --> 0:16:02.880 inspire you to the finish line. 0:16:03.090 --> 0:16:07.740 Oh, my gosh. The United Airlines NYC half is happening 0:16:07.740 --> 0:16:12.570 here in New York next Sunday, March 15th, 2026. And 0:16:12.570 --> 0:16:15.570 we are going to have thousands of runners from all 0:16:15.570 --> 0:16:20.640 over the world journeying from Prospect Park to Central Park, 0:16:20.820 --> 0:16:24.300 crossing over the Brooklyn Bridge, running down the FDR. As Ted 0:16:24.300 --> 0:16:28.440 said, through Times Square, as they travel 13. 1 miles 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:32.520 towards the finish line. The famous finish line at Tavern 0:16:32.790 --> 0:16:37.710 on the Green. This is the country's largest half marathon, right? 0:16:37.710 --> 0:16:37.860 Correct. 0:16:39.570 --> 0:16:42.660 And it is second to the TCS New York City 0:16:42.660 --> 0:16:46.050 Marathon. The New York Road Runners team spends months planning 0:16:46.110 --> 0:16:50.040 every inch of every single runner's journey, from the expo 0:16:50.190 --> 0:16:54.690 to the start line, to the family reunion. What Ted 0:16:54.690 --> 0:16:58.410 is here today to talk about mainly is basically every 0:16:58.410 --> 0:17:02.880 single thing. You need to know, you may want to know, 0:17:03.030 --> 0:17:06.060 that your best friends may want to know. Your parents 0:17:06.060 --> 0:17:08.490 who might be trying to watch from somewhere else may 0:17:08.490 --> 0:17:11.400 want to know. It is going to tick every box of 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:13.800 the need to, want to know list for the 2026 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:16.170 United Airlines NYC half. 0:17:16.170 --> 0:17:16.171 Yes. 0:17:16.171 --> 0:17:18.750 Okay? Are you ready to dive in? 0:17:19.020 --> 0:17:24.540 I am. It's ready, steady, go here. It's really cool to be able to be a part 0:17:24.540 --> 0:17:27.330 of the podcast and share these stories about what the 0:17:27.330 --> 0:17:31.290 runners, what the spectators, what the volunteers, what the community 0:17:31.290 --> 0:17:34.260 at large is going to be expecting on March 15th. 0:17:34.770 --> 0:17:37.350 Bright and early on Sunday morning as we have participants 0:17:37.350 --> 0:17:39.300 from literally all over the world and all over our 0:17:39.300 --> 0:17:42.660 communities come out to venture into Brooklyn to take on 0:17:42.660 --> 0:17:46.140 this beautiful and iconic event. It's one of the two 0:17:46.230 --> 0:17:48.869 larger half marathons in North America that New York Road 0:17:48.869 --> 0:17:51.600 Runners is blessed to be able to produce. This and 0:17:51.600 --> 0:17:54.840 the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon in May. Where do we 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:57.240 begin, Becs? Should we start from the start and work our 0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:57.421 way down? 0:17:57.421 --> 0:17:57.811 Yes. Let's do that. 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:00.990 The participant journey, as we like to say here. 0:18:00.990 --> 0:18:05.189 Yeah. Let's start at the start. Let's talk about how 0:18:05.190 --> 0:18:08.879 the race has grown and evolved over the years, and 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.540 how it has become one of the most premier half 0:18:12.540 --> 0:18:14.910 marathons in the whole of the United States. 0:18:15.210 --> 0:18:18.540 Well, I had the pleasure of chatting with Tom Kelly. 0:18:18.540 --> 0:18:20.790 Tom has been with the organization for close to 35 0:18:20.790 --> 0:18:23.400 years. He's our head of timing and competition management. And 0:18:23.400 --> 0:18:24.960 I was asking Tom, I was like, " Tom, give me 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:27.030 the scoop on this event. Many of us have run 0:18:27.030 --> 0:18:30.330 it, worked it, volunteered at it, participated and engaged in it in 0:18:30.330 --> 0:18:33.000 some capacity. Give us a quick bit of fun facts 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:35.190 about the event." This would be the 21st running of 0:18:35.190 --> 0:18:39.690 this event in this capacity. 2006 was the first time 0:18:39.690 --> 0:18:43.050 that we had this in the park, out the park, 0:18:43.170 --> 0:18:46.530 downtown finish event with the United Airlines New York City 0:18:46.530 --> 0:18:52.109 Half Marathon. The event has had so many different iterations 0:18:52.109 --> 0:18:56.280 over the years between just races inside the park, to a 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:59.310 race that exited the park, to a race that finished downtown 0:18:59.460 --> 0:19:03.570 in Lower Manhattan to help revitalize that community there. And 0:19:03.570 --> 0:19:07.740 now, in 2026, we'll be back again to run this 0:19:07.740 --> 0:19:13.080 incredible event. And we made a couple of changes for folks to be 0:19:13.080 --> 0:19:13.800 prepared for. 0:19:14.340 --> 0:19:16.590 Oh, I love it when Ted says that. There's a 0:19:16.590 --> 0:19:19.830 couple of changes. You just know that if people haven't 0:19:19.830 --> 0:19:22.379 heard about this, immediately they have just stopped what they're 0:19:22.380 --> 0:19:23.369 doing. If they're running. 0:19:23.550 --> 0:19:23.730 That's it. Exactly. 0:19:24.330 --> 0:19:26.580 I hear you runners. I hear you. You have just slowed 0:19:26.580 --> 0:19:29.670 your pace down because you're like, " Yeah, you what now? 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:31.080 What are we talking about?" 0:19:32.010 --> 0:19:32.070 Yeah. 0:19:32.490 --> 0:19:34.560 Before we get there, let's just talk about the change 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:37.470 that you mentioned before. I think it was historically so 0:19:37.470 --> 0:19:40.681 celebrated around the time of running down the West Side Highway. 0:19:40.681 --> 0:19:40.682 Correct. 0:19:40.682 --> 0:19:46.109 It was one of the only races that had that iconic 0:19:46.109 --> 0:19:50.609 New York City route into it. And then from then 0:19:50.609 --> 0:19:54.060 it got switched over almost, not to the other side 0:19:54.060 --> 0:19:59.220 of the island, but halfway across. And now people don't 0:19:59.220 --> 0:20:03.659 love change, but the icon status of it running through 0:20:03.660 --> 0:20:07.260 Times Square just was amplified so (inaudible) much more. 0:20:07.530 --> 0:20:09.719 People are like, " Oh, no, we've lost the West Side 0:20:09.720 --> 0:20:12.810 Highway." But you get to run through Times Square. Super, 0:20:12.810 --> 0:20:17.430 super cool. That's the change that were before. Are we looking 0:20:17.430 --> 0:20:21.600 at something as dramatic or just are we doing minor changes here? 0:20:21.630 --> 0:20:25.530 Minor changes. Minor changes. I think the big surprise that 0:20:25.530 --> 0:20:28.170 came out of last year's event was when we did 0:20:28.170 --> 0:20:31.050 not run over the Manhattan Bridge and we ran over 0:20:31.050 --> 0:20:35.670 the Brooklyn Bridge, and it was a welcomed surprise. I know you said 0:20:35.670 --> 0:20:38.941 folks don't like change, but change is like Thanos, it's inevitable. 0:20:38.941 --> 0:20:38.942 Exactly. 0:20:38.942 --> 0:20:38.943 Change is going to happen, so you have to- 0:20:38.943 --> 0:20:38.944 It's how we grow. 0:20:38.944 --> 0:20:50.070 ... be able to learn. Exactly. You have to learn and adapt and adjust to change. And at times you have to welcome change. And we had a very welcomed change with us 0:20:50.070 --> 0:20:52.320 running over the Brooklyn Bridge. 0:20:52.320 --> 0:20:54.900 Which was kind of not shocking in a bad way. 0:20:54.900 --> 0:20:58.199 I don't mean that rudely, but it was shocking because 0:20:58.200 --> 0:21:03.030 the weather was terrible last year. It was foggy. And so, 0:21:03.750 --> 0:21:08.280 you couldn't really even see the incredible views. It didn't 0:21:08.280 --> 0:21:10.800 matter what bridge you were on in many ways, because 0:21:11.100 --> 0:21:15.990 the weather was just a detriment to the beauty. I 0:21:15.990 --> 0:21:19.560 love that the feedback was so positive, even though people... It 0:21:20.190 --> 0:21:22.770 might have been their first time running over a New 0:21:22.770 --> 0:21:23.908 York bridge and they're like, ooh. 0:21:24.898 --> 0:21:29.760 Yeah. And we're the only event that has been permitted to run 0:21:29.760 --> 0:21:32.010 over the Brooklyn Bridge, which add that component to it. 0:21:32.010 --> 0:21:32.280 So huge. 0:21:32.280 --> 0:21:36.900 And on race day last year, I didn't think it was terrible, it 0:21:36.930 --> 0:21:39.510 was eerily beautiful. 0:21:39.840 --> 0:21:40.439