Alana Levy: I love the Brooklyn Half course, and I'm obsessed with
Alana Levy: this race. This will be my eighth time running it.
Alana Levy: And what's cool about it is how many different ways
Alana Levy: I have run this race. And I think at this point
Alana Levy: I feel ready to talk about it and talk about
Alana Levy: the best parts and the best strategies around it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Thank you. Thank you very much and welcome everybody to
Rob Simmelkjaer: Set the Pace, the official podcast of New York Road
Rob Simmelkjaer: Runners, presented by Peloton. I'm Rob Simmelkjaer, the CEO of
Rob Simmelkjaer: New York Road Runners and co- host of Set the
Rob Simmelkjaer: Pace. And with me to my left, my amazing co-
Rob Simmelkjaer: host from Peloton, can we give it up for Becs Gentry.
Becs Gentry: Hello.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hello, Becs.
Becs Gentry: Hi.
Rob Simmelkjaer: How are you?
Becs Gentry: Good. Good to see you.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It's great to see you. It's been a while since
Rob Simmelkjaer: I've seen Becs because Becs husband, partner, Austin, went off and
Rob Simmelkjaer: ran the London Marathon-
Becs Gentry: He did.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Not long ago and you all took a little European
Rob Simmelkjaer: vacation after that, which sounded lovely. How was it?
Becs Gentry: It was amazing. And you're welcome, I brought the sun
Becs Gentry: back with me. It just took me to arrive at
Becs Gentry: a New York Road Runners event for it to come
Becs Gentry: out. But no, it was fantastic. It was so good to
Becs Gentry: see everybody crushing London. What a hot day, might be
Becs Gentry: a little bit like tomorrow. Wait, what day is it?
Becs Gentry: I have no idea what day it is. Whenever the race is.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Today is Thursday. The race is Saturday. Don't worry.
Becs Gentry: The race is Saturday.
Rob Simmelkjaer: We'll figure it out.
Becs Gentry: I've got this. I'm still on a beach. But no, it
Becs Gentry: was such a wonderful race. Congrats to anyone who ran
Becs Gentry: London Marathon out there as well. Great, great event.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well, for those of you who are listening out there,
Rob Simmelkjaer: you might hear some crowd noise. That's because we are
Rob Simmelkjaer: live at the RBC Brooklyn Half pre- party presented by
Rob Simmelkjaer: New Balance. And it's a thrill to be here-
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: At Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pier number two. And, yes, it's
Rob Simmelkjaer: Thursday. We're here-
Becs Gentry: Thursday. There you go.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Speaking, recording this on Thursday. A much nicer day than we
Rob Simmelkjaer: had yesterday. The sun has come out, it's a beautiful
Rob Simmelkjaer: day all of a sudden as we watch runners streaming in
Rob Simmelkjaer: to pick up their race bibs for the RBC Brooklyn
Rob Simmelkjaer: Half coming up on Saturday. We could not be more
Rob Simmelkjaer: excited. Becs, the sun came out so suddenly-
Becs Gentry: So suddenly. I'm sweating.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And we've got this spectacular view of New York Harbor,
Rob Simmelkjaer: Lower Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty is right in front
Rob Simmelkjaer: of us.
Becs Gentry: Which you haven't been able to see all day because it's been foggy.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Not for the last two days.
Becs Gentry: No.
Rob Simmelkjaer: But it all opened up. It's gorgeous. And so much
Rob Simmelkjaer: so that we needed some last- minute sunglasses.
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So I want to thank our friends at Knockaround Sunglasses
Rob Simmelkjaer: for giving us some last- second shades. Anybody out there who-
Becs Gentry: They're fabulous.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Suddenly finds themselves blinded by the sun, go get yourselves
Rob Simmelkjaer: some Knockaround shades. They are fantastic.
Becs Gentry: They're so good. They're chic too. I think we all look pretty good.
Rob Simmelkjaer: All right.
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well, Becs, we're so excited. This by the way, this
Rob Simmelkjaer: party, this pre- party is just the first party of
Rob Simmelkjaer: the weekend.
Becs Gentry: I know.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Because there'll be another party on Saturday, of course. That is
Rob Simmelkjaer: the RBC Brooklyn Half, 13. 1 miles to Coney Island.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And then after that we're going to have another party,
Rob Simmelkjaer: the epic RBC Brooklyn Half After- Party at Maimonides Ballpark.
Rob Simmelkjaer: There will be live music, entertainment, and another live recording
Rob Simmelkjaer: of Set the Pace. And Becs, I know you're not
Rob Simmelkjaer: going to be with me, so I'll be solo-
Becs Gentry: I know.
Rob Simmelkjaer: For this one, which I'm sad about. But we're going to have
Rob Simmelkjaer: an amazing guest.
Becs Gentry: I have to do my real job.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yes, you got to go teach people at Peloton.
Becs Gentry: I do. I do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That is what you get paid to do. We understand. But we're going
Rob Simmelkjaer: to have an amazing guest at the after party on
Rob Simmelkjaer: Saturday. Dancing with the Stars, Alan Bersten-
Becs Gentry: Wow.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Will be our guest. Don't miss that. And I can tell
Rob Simmelkjaer: you one thing that won't happen... I'm sad you won't
Rob Simmelkjaer: be there because I was hoping Alan would have someone
Rob Simmelkjaer: to dance with at that show. And I can tell
Rob Simmelkjaer: you one thing, it will not be me. I will
Rob Simmelkjaer: not be dancing.
Becs Gentry: I'm a runner. We move in one plane of motion.
Becs Gentry: I do not dance well. Austin is embarrassed when I start to dance.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I think Alan Bersten could teach you a couple of moves.
Becs Gentry: I'd take it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And there's no way he could teach me anything. So
Rob Simmelkjaer: anyway, you can look forward to that. That'll be another
Rob Simmelkjaer: special episode of Set the Pace, and we can't wait.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Try the Peloton app for free and access classes for
Rob Simmelkjaer: every type of runner, whether you're training for your first
Rob Simmelkjaer: race or you're a seasoned pro. From outdoor runs and
Rob Simmelkjaer: intervals to strength, yoga, and stretching, you'll find a perfect
Rob Simmelkjaer: fit for every part of your routine. Whether it's long
Rob Simmelkjaer: run day or you just need a quick five- minute
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Rob Simmelkjaer: partner of New York Road Runners. Our event schedule at
Rob Simmelkjaer: the RBC Brooklyn Half pre- party presented by New Balance
Rob Simmelkjaer: is packed. So to keep things moving, we're going to
Rob Simmelkjaer: have a super speedy show today, a quick show that
Rob Simmelkjaer: celebrates the stars of the RBC Brooklyn Half, our local
Rob Simmelkjaer: elite runners. This is a race, Becs, that does not
Rob Simmelkjaer: have a professional field. Instead, we pay tribute and highlight
Rob Simmelkjaer: some of the fastest runners here in our New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: City club scene.
Becs Gentry: Yep.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And we've got one of those runners here with us today.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, we do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: As well as the woman who makes it all happen,
Rob Simmelkjaer: booking those guests. First I want to introduce New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: Road Runners own Dorian Kail, our Director of Professional Athletes.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, Dorian.
Rob Simmelkjaer: She's got one of the coolest jobs in running. She
Rob Simmelkjaer: recruits pro athletes to our big races like the Marathon,
Rob Simmelkjaer: the United Airlines NYC Half. And for the RBC Brooklyn
Rob Simmelkjaer: Half, she recruits our incredible local field of elite runners.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And one of those runners with us today is we
Rob Simmelkjaer: call them sub- elite athletes. We're going to talk about
Rob Simmelkjaer: that because I feel it's kind of like-
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: A little insulting. Sub- elite.
Becs Gentry: Sub-elite. So elite.
Rob Simmelkjaer: These runners are pretty elite. But Alana Levy is here
Rob Simmelkjaer: and she's one of the fastest amateur women in New
Rob Simmelkjaer: York City.
Becs Gentry: Oh, yeah.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Alana ran at Cornell where she received All East Honors
Rob Simmelkjaer: at the ECACs. She has personal bests of, get this, 4:
Rob Simmelkjaer: 42 in the mile, 16:29 in the 5K, and 2:40. 33 in
Rob Simmelkjaer: the marathon. All those records were set within the last
Rob Simmelkjaer: 18 months. And she was the first woman, New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: City resident, to finish the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon
Rob Simmelkjaer: with a time of 2: 42. 01. And Alana is
Rob Simmelkjaer: a true Brooklyn runner because she's been running with the
Rob Simmelkjaer: Brooklyn Track Club since 2018. Outside of running, by the
Rob Simmelkjaer: way, Alana, your resume is ridiculous. She has an MBA
Rob Simmelkjaer: from NYU Stern School of Business, an MPH from the
Rob Simmelkjaer: University of Edinburgh, and she's the director of product management
Rob Simmelkjaer: at Pearl Health, which is a healthcare technology startup. Hello, Dorian
Rob Simmelkjaer: and Alana, welcome to the show.
Becs Gentry: Hi.
Alana Levy: Wow.
Becs Gentry: Wow.
Alana Levy: Hello.
Becs Gentry: I did not know you went to Edinburgh.
Alana Levy: I did.
Becs Gentry: As in Scotland.
Alana Levy: I love it there.
Becs Gentry: Yes.
Alana Levy: It was the most beautiful city, beautiful place.
Becs Gentry: Isn't it stunning?
Alana Levy: Yes.
Becs Gentry: Oh my gosh. Can you do a Scottish accent?
Alana Levy: Not on this podcast. Not right now.
Becs Gentry: Oh, no.
Dorian Kail: That was great.
Becs Gentry: There we go.
Dorian Kail: Wait, wait, wait. It's Alana's birthday.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yes.
Becs Gentry: Everyone, it's Alana's singing.
Dorian Kail: So wait, can we sing happy birthday?
Rob Simmelkjaer: We will be getting to a little happy birthday singing.
Becs Gentry: Yeah, we will.
Rob Simmelkjaer: We're going to finish with that. We're definitely going to wish her-
Alana Levy: All right. Okay.
Becs Gentry: We have to make sure she's out of here-
Rob Simmelkjaer: A happy birthday.
Becs Gentry: For her dinner reservation.
Alana Levy: I'll have to dread it the entire time.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's right. We want to hold that over your head
Rob Simmelkjaer: for the entire podcast. All right, Dorian, I want to
Rob Simmelkjaer: start with you and your incredibly fun job of recruiting
Rob Simmelkjaer: these amazing athletes to our races. But let's talk about
Rob Simmelkjaer: the field for the RBC Brooklyn Half for a second.
Rob Simmelkjaer: How does one get to be a, what we call
Rob Simmelkjaer: seeded runner, one of the folks who get to start
Rob Simmelkjaer: right in front at the RBC Brooklyn Half running with the
Rob Simmelkjaer: very best runners we have in New York City?
Dorian Kail: So Alana is part of our Seeded Athlete Program, and
Dorian Kail: this is an elevated experience for the fastest athletes in
Dorian Kail: the area. It's pretty cool because they get to start,
Dorian Kail: they kind of have a VIP start at the Brooklyn
Dorian Kail: Botanical Gardens. They get indoor bathrooms by the way, indoor
Dorian Kail: bathrooms. That's key for your VIP start, right?
Rob Simmelkjaer: Fancy, fancy.
Dorian Kail: They get bananas, they get a little breakfast, they get
Dorian Kail: to warm up, and then we put them right on
Dorian Kail: the start line. When they are on the start line,
Dorian Kail: we, our team, our great team takes their bags right
Dorian Kail: to the finish line. So literally they cross the finish
Dorian Kail: line and they get their bags right away. It's truly
Dorian Kail: a VIP experience for these amazing athletes. And what's really
Dorian Kail: cool about all of these athletes is that many of
Dorian Kail: them are the fastest in the area. And this year's
Dorian Kail: group represents 13 local running clubs and we're really proud
Dorian Kail: of that. And Alana is part of the Brooklyn Track
Dorian Kail: Club, so give it up for the Brooklyn Track Club.
Becs Gentry: Amazing.
Dorian Kail: Yeah. And this year we had the defending champion in
Dorian Kail: the men's division, Ryan Cutter from the Brooklyn Track Club,
Dorian Kail: and he happens to be running for the first time
Dorian Kail: with our New York Road Runners Team for Climate, which
Dorian Kail: is really cool. And we're very, very proud of that.
Becs Gentry: Yay.
Rob Simmelkjaer: We love that.
Becs Gentry: Absolutely.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So for those who don't know, Team for Climate is a
Rob Simmelkjaer: new thing at Road Runners that helps raise funds to
Rob Simmelkjaer: help us offset or actually inset, which is prevent the
Rob Simmelkjaer: carbon emissions from all the things we do and all
Rob Simmelkjaer: the runners flying to the marathon and other races. So
Rob Simmelkjaer: thank you to him and everybody else who's running for
Rob Simmelkjaer: Team for Climate.
Becs Gentry: Absolutely.
Dorian Kail: And what I love is that last year Ryan ran
Dorian Kail: a 1:04. 08, that is a 4. 54 pace. So
Dorian Kail: these people are fast, they're really fast.
Becs Gentry: That's moving.
Dorian Kail: I know.
Becs Gentry: And it's not, I mean, we've got this on another podcast episode. The course
Becs Gentry: is not easy. Okay.
Dorian Kail: Yeah.
Becs Gentry: Alana, you have run this race before. It's not a
Becs Gentry: new one for you. And so what do you love?
Becs Gentry: What is your favorite part? Because I feel like this
Becs Gentry: race has got chapters to it. It could be three
Becs Gentry: races. What's your favorite part?
Alana Levy: I love the Brooklyn Half course, and I'm obsessed with
Alana Levy: this race. This will be my eighth time running it.
Alana Levy: And what's cool about it is how many different ways
Alana Levy: I have run this race. And I think at this point
Alana Levy: I feel ready to talk about it and talk about
Alana Levy: the best parts and the best strategies around it. But
Alana Levy: I think my favorite part is leaving Prospect Park, you
Alana Levy: hit the downhill, you've done all of the hills, the majority
Alana Levy: of the work, and then you just hit cruise control
Alana Levy: and you go through all of these crowds and you
Alana Levy: lock in.
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Alana Levy: And that's probably like a moment when you flip the
Alana Levy: switch and it's like, now is my time.
Becs Gentry: I would agree and I feel like it's the coolest
Becs Gentry: thing as a human to be running on a on-
Becs Gentry: ramp or an off- ramp onto a, as you call
Becs Gentry: them, highways, freeways, whatever. I don't know what this one
Becs Gentry: is, a motorway to us Brits, but it's cool because
Becs Gentry: you're like, I didn't do this in the car, but
Becs Gentry: today I get to do it as a human machine.
Becs Gentry: It's pretty funky.
Alana Levy: No, it's so special because I think all of the biggest
Alana Levy: New York Road Runner races have this where you're on
Alana Levy: these massive roads and these on- ramps that you're never
Alana Levy: on before. So you have it on the FDR. In
Alana Levy: the NYC Half, you're running over the bridges, in the
Alana Levy: New York City Marathon, of course you're all over the
Alana Levy: place and whenever you're running on these empty streets, it is
Alana Levy: a really surreal experience.
Becs Gentry: It is.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Dorian, how does someone get to be Alana Levy and
Rob Simmelkjaer: get this experience of running in this competitive elite field?
Dorian Kail: Well, Alana's nice, but she's also really fast. Alana I
Dorian Kail: think last year came in fourth and ran a 115.
Dorian Kail: So women have to run at least a 118, non-
Dorian Kail: binary athletes have to run 118 and men have to
Dorian Kail: run a 108 to qualify for this group. So they're fast.
Becs Gentry: That is so speedy. Alana, what did it feel like the
Becs Gentry: first time you qualified for it?
Alana Levy: It felt amazing. Again, what's cool about this is that
Alana Levy: I didn't just kind of start running and then here
Alana Levy: I was. I very much worked my way into this.
Alana Levy: So the first time I ran this in 2012, I
Alana Levy: ran a 132 and then each year I kind of
Alana Levy: set these new goals for myself and kept chopping off
Alana Levy: time and getting faster and faster. So then it was,
Alana Levy: what's the goal? Let's get to corral A, let's get
Alana Levy: to corral double A, and then finally we got to
Alana Levy: this and you have your own private little start and
Alana Levy: it's really fun and you get to know all of the people around with
Alana Levy: all of the local clubs. So you get to run together
Alana Levy: and it really feels like a community out there, which
Alana Levy: is amazing.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's pretty incredible, the journey that you took, Alana, from
Rob Simmelkjaer: 132, a great time down to where you are now
Rob Simmelkjaer: in this group. You also, by the way, were in
Rob Simmelkjaer: the pro field at the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon
Rob Simmelkjaer: lining up with the Helen Obiris and the Sharon Lokedis
Rob Simmelkjaer: of the world as well. So I mean, how do
Rob Simmelkjaer: you reflect on where you are now as a runner? We
Rob Simmelkjaer: read your resume at the start of the show and
Rob Simmelkjaer: it's a great running resume in college and you've obviously
Rob Simmelkjaer: got talent, but what has it taken to go from
Rob Simmelkjaer: a talented college runner to someone who really is now
Rob Simmelkjaer: showing up at some big time starting lines?
Alana Levy: Yeah, it's amazing to be on the start line with
Alana Levy: some of those women. It's really, really special to be
Alana Levy: at least just part of that group, knowing that they're
Alana Levy: obviously so incredible and very inspiring for everyone. After college,
Alana Levy: I kind of took a break from running, not fully,
Alana Levy: just competitively, and I kind of was just running on
Alana Levy: my own a little bit. I was running in these
Alana Levy: races, but I didn't have as high expectations for myself.
Alana Levy: But then when I joined Brooklyn Track Club, I started
Alana Levy: racing a lot more and then I ended up getting
Alana Levy: a private coach during the pandemic and just kept running
Alana Levy: more and more. So now I've been seeing all of
Alana Levy: that effort kind of turn into much better race results,
Alana Levy: which has been really, really cool to see how when
Alana Levy: you put in that time and when you put in that
Alana Levy: effort every day, it really ends up turning into these
Alana Levy: better performances. So running 70, 80 miles a week, just every
Alana Levy: single week, just staying really, really consistent is what's been
Alana Levy: doing it for me. And I don't think this is what
Alana Levy: I ever saw for myself. I don't know if 10
Alana Levy: years ago I would've said I would be here, but
Alana Levy: I'm so excited that I am here. It's really amazing.
Becs Gentry: Wow. And that's it. Persistence pays off. It really does.
Dorian Kail: It's almost more impressive with this group because they all
Dorian Kail: have full- time jobs.
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Dorian Kail: Right. They're working really hard. They have to train. I
Dorian Kail: mean, what's your schedule like?
Alana Levy: Wow. It's busy. No, I typically run in the mornings
Alana Levy: and then I work all day and I often double.
Alana Levy: So I usually double two or three times a week
Alana Levy: either with a run or some sort of a swim
Alana Levy: and I'll do a little bit of a lift or
Alana Levy: some core exercises and then yeah, cook dinner and go
Alana Levy: to bed.
Becs Gentry: And do it again. Rinse and repeat. That's it. Well, talking
Becs Gentry: of rinse and repeat and doing it with full- time
Becs Gentry: jobs and getting it done, that is for the local, the
Becs Gentry: everyday runner as well. Dorian, let's talk about that field
Becs Gentry: this year. How big is the local competitive field each year?
Dorian Kail: So this year it always hovers around 40. We're at 36.
Becs Gentry: Okay.
Dorian Kail: And some people get their niggles and they pull out,
Dorian Kail: but it's pretty much even split. And we're really excited.
Dorian Kail: Actually, the non- binary athlete in this seeded athlete field
Dorian Kail: has the record here in the non- binary division.
Becs Gentry: Amazing.
Dorian Kail: So we're really happy about that. 1:12:55 Galo Vasquez. We're really
Dorian Kail: excited to see what they can do-
Becs Gentry: Woo. Wow.
Dorian Kail: On Saturday, but we have a great field. And on
Dorian Kail: the women's side, I know Alana didn't want to hear
Dorian Kail: this because...
Alana Levy: Tough for me.
Dorian Kail: Yeah. We have the defending champion from last year, Kim
Dorian Kail: Conley, who was a two- time Olympian in the 5,
Dorian Kail: 000. She ran really well last year and she's back
Dorian Kail: to defend her title. So we're really psyched about that.
Becs Gentry: Oh my gosh. Competition from the get-go.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Alana, what are you thinking going into the race on
Rob Simmelkjaer: Saturday? You finished just off the podium last year, fourth
Rob Simmelkjaer: place. Do you have a strategy or do you want
Rob Simmelkjaer: to do things differently than you've done in this race in
Rob Simmelkjaer: the past? Go to the lead, stay close to the
Rob Simmelkjaer: lead, what's your plan?
Alana Levy: My plan for races like this, for long races is
Alana Levy: really just to run your own race. I'm not thinking too
Alana Levy: much about who else is out there. If there's a
Alana Levy: pack, that's always amazing to try to stay with. But
Alana Levy: for the most part, I just kind of want to
Alana Levy: hit consistent splits, see where I'm at, see where I'm
Alana Levy: feeling at about halfway and then hopefully pick it up
Alana Levy: a little bit for the second half. I think this is
Alana Levy: a great course to negative split and then you can
Alana Levy: start picking people off. It's a long race.
Becs Gentry: Oh yeah, definitely. If you start counting the alphabet. Oh,
Becs Gentry: I hate that on the streets.
Dorian Kail: Oh wait, wait, that's right, that's right. Do you do that?
Becs Gentry: Do you do it?
Alana Levy: I do not.
Becs Gentry: Now she's going to cut. She's going to be like
Becs Gentry: Becs, ugh.
Alana Levy: So the one good thing about running on Ocean Parkway
Alana Levy: where I never run is I actually have no idea
Alana Levy: where I am.
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Alana Levy: So I'm not thinking about the...
Becs Gentry: No, that's very true and in a good way, stick to
Becs Gentry: that. Okay. Dorian, what is your best advice for people
Becs Gentry: to get noticed by your team if they're out there
Becs Gentry: thinking I want to be in that group?
Dorian Kail: Well, if you want those special bathrooms and those bananas-
Becs Gentry: We all do.
Dorian Kail: You have to work at it. You have to work
Dorian Kail: on your speed and you have to work on your,
Dorian Kail: like what Alana was saying, you have to put the
Dorian Kail: work in. It is fast. I mean, those people are
Dorian Kail: running really fast and they're running a lot of the
Dorian Kail: races. Right, Alana? I mean your team, Brooklyn Track Club,
Dorian Kail: you run a lot of our races. I think it's
Dorian Kail: putting in the training, it's putting in the good nutrition,
Dorian Kail: it's doing what we all aspire to do. If it's
Dorian Kail: joining our group training runs and working on your speed
Dorian Kail: because you need that qualifying time.
Becs Gentry: Yeah. Yeah, very true.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Dorian, can you talk about the role that the clubs play? I
Rob Simmelkjaer: mean, Alana's talking about her club, Brooklyn Track Club, but
Rob Simmelkjaer: the clubs play a huge role in developing this local
Rob Simmelkjaer: scene and I mean, there isn't another city in the
Rob Simmelkjaer: country that I know of, maybe not the world that
Rob Simmelkjaer: has a local running scene like New York and the
Rob Simmelkjaer: clubs are a huge part of that. And I think
Rob Simmelkjaer: most of the folks who are towing the line with
Rob Simmelkjaer: Alana and the other sub- elite athletes are members of one
Rob Simmelkjaer: of these clubs.
Dorian Kail: Yeah. Many of our front, the top runners are from
Dorian Kail: these run clubs and I don't know all of the training
Dorian Kail: that they put in together, but I suspect they meet
Dorian Kail: up, they train together, they cheer each other on. We
Dorian Kail: have seven competing in the seeded athlete program from the
Dorian Kail: Brooklyn Track Club. We have several from the Central Park
Dorian Kail: Track Club. I think they work together, they cheer each
Dorian Kail: other on, they support each other and I think that's
Dorian Kail: a big part of it. And in New York we have so
Dorian Kail: many run clubs and I think that's the support. Right.
Dorian Kail: And Alana, you probably can speak to it better than
Dorian Kail: I can, but I believe that that's what it is, right?
Alana Levy: Yeah, absolutely. And one thing I'll say is one of
Alana Levy: the things that got me here were all of the women
Alana Levy: that I was able to look up to who were
Alana Levy: already doing this. So you see somebody and you're running
Alana Levy: with them maybe every so often, or you're just kind
Alana Levy: of looking at their training and you can say, that's
Alana Levy: not too far from where I am right now. I
Alana Levy: think I can do that too. Or I think I can run
Alana Levy: that long, or I think I can try to run
Alana Levy: that fast. And maybe you take the next step towards
Alana Levy: that and then you just kind of continue to make
Alana Levy: your way and you find the people that maybe are
Alana Levy: just a little bit better than you and push you
Alana Levy: to go a little bit further or faster than where
Alana Levy: you are on that day and then suddenly your strides
Alana Levy: ahead of where you were a year or two years
Alana Levy: or three years prior to that. So I'm really lucky
Alana Levy: that I've had women on Brooklyn Track Club, women across
Alana Levy: all of the clubs, that I've been able to say, oh
Alana Levy: wow, you ran that time? Okay. Can I run that time?
Rob Simmelkjaer: Yeah.
Alana Levy: So-
Rob Simmelkjaer: It's a challenge and it's something to strive for and
Rob Simmelkjaer: you can see, right, what work they're putting in, how
Rob Simmelkjaer: they're training and try to emulate some of that. Right?
Alana Levy: Absolutely.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It's very cool.
Becs Gentry: We love that and that's beautiful advice for people to
Becs Gentry: look up to their peers and just to take inspiration
Becs Gentry: from the immediacy around them, soak it in and roll
Becs Gentry: with it. That's so nice. All right, let's talk about
Becs Gentry: not just your schedule, but so I'm going to get
Becs Gentry: this right, I'm going to read this so I get this
Becs Gentry: right. You have both an MBA and an MPH.
Rob Simmelkjaer: MPH is a master's in public health, right?
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Alana Levy: Master's in public health.
Becs Gentry: Master's in public health. And you work at a tech
Becs Gentry: startup. We already discussed that your schedule sounds pretty grueling.
Becs Gentry: What do you think, what can you say that running
Becs Gentry: gives you in your professional field? How does it support
Becs Gentry: you or so on?
Alana Levy: I think the thing that running has done for me
Alana Levy: is one, allowed me to set goals that I'm actually
Alana Levy: kind of scared of and I'm not really sure if
Alana Levy: I can achieve, but really try to continue to chip
Alana Levy: away at them. So I'm able to see that in
Alana Levy: my professional life as well where it's like, okay, this
Alana Levy: is something that seems impossible, but I've been able to
Alana Levy: make that become less impossible over time. So it really
Alana Levy: just is more of the framework of how to think,
Alana Levy: where it's like, I think I can get there and
Alana Levy: I know it's going to take time and I know
Alana Levy: it's going to take work, but I've put in hard
Alana Levy: work before. So it's kind of that mentality.
Becs Gentry: Wow.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I have noticed Becs, everybody that I think the runners over index for success
Rob Simmelkjaer: in various parts of life, right?
Becs Gentry: Agree.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And it's really what you're talking about, Alana, that the
Rob Simmelkjaer: discipline, the framework, the knowledge that what you get out
Rob Simmelkjaer: of something is a function of what you put in.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And seeing those results in running makes you realize, yeah,
Rob Simmelkjaer: you know what? The same thing is going to happen
Rob Simmelkjaer: in life. If I put in those extra hours studying
Rob Simmelkjaer: or those extra hours working or whatever it may be,
Rob Simmelkjaer: you do see the return.
Becs Gentry: Yeah. I agree. And you have plenty of time to
Becs Gentry: think it over while you're doing the miles.
Alana Levy: I mean, honestly, running is a great time to just
Alana Levy: be able to think through whatever problem is eating at
Alana Levy: you, whether it's with work or personal life. It's an
Alana Levy: amazing way to kind of just think over whatever is
Alana Levy: happening in your life.
Dorian Kail: I feel like you can be your most creative when
Dorian Kail: you're running, right?
Alana Levy: 100%.
Becs Gentry: Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Dorian Kail: You think about things that you would never think about when running.
Becs Gentry: I feel like a genius when I'm running and then as soon as I come home,
Becs Gentry: I swear I take off my running kit and I'm
Becs Gentry: like, where did that thought go? Oh my gosh.
Alana Levy: I think what we need to do is tell my
Alana Levy: boss that running counts as work because I am working
Alana Levy: in my head while I run.
Becs Gentry: I like that.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Is it challenging? I mean, there must be times when
Rob Simmelkjaer: jobs just takes you away. You can't get in the
Rob Simmelkjaer: training you want. I mean, we have this conversation also
Rob Simmelkjaer: with a lot of moms or dads who just have
Rob Simmelkjaer: crazy schedules. How tough is it to balance these things?
Alana Levy: No. So one thing that I've done, I used to
Alana Levy: be somebody who ran in the evening and I had
Alana Levy: to change that just because sometimes work can be unpredictable.
Alana Levy: Sometimes days go long, sometimes you're just so tired by
Alana Levy: the end of the day. So I've really forced myself
Alana Levy: to get up and run every single morning because one,
Alana Levy: I'm then way more awake, way more present at work,
Alana Levy: and I'm no longer worrying about, oh, will I get
Alana Levy: this run in? Will I be able to make this
Alana Levy: happen? It's just a given. I'm going to run. And
Alana Levy: then for some reason, if you're traveling for work or
Alana Levy: if you have some big project, you have to kind
Alana Levy: of just take that into consideration and maybe you're running
Alana Levy: really early that morning or maybe you've shifted the workout
Alana Levy: to another day during the week, but if you kind
Alana Levy: of are able to zoom out and just take it
Alana Levy: day by day and know when the hard days are
Alana Levy: going to come and be mentally prepared for it, I
Alana Levy: think that's the best way.
Becs Gentry: I like that. That's a really important message I think
Becs Gentry: to everybody, professional or not with running, be able to
Becs Gentry: zoom out and just put yourself first, don't over index,
Becs Gentry: but know it will get done. But you might have
Becs Gentry: to rejig it and just find it a little bit
Becs Gentry: of a nicer route for you. Love that. Love that.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Dorian, there are probably thousands of runners in this race
Rob Simmelkjaer: who would love to have your job because what's more
Rob Simmelkjaer: fun than recruiting professional runners, great sub- elite athletes like
Rob Simmelkjaer: this to run races. What is the most fun thing about
Rob Simmelkjaer: your job in the pro- athletes division of New York
Rob Simmelkjaer: Road Runners?
Dorian Kail: Wow, that's a loaded question and kind of unfair because
Dorian Kail: you're the boss. I love my job. I love working
Dorian Kail: with all my colleagues who are out here. I love
Dorian Kail: running and when you love running and you can for
Dorian Kail: a living be around runners and races and anything having
Dorian Kail: to do with running is really cool. And I love
Dorian Kail: the athletes. I think my biggest problem with my job
Dorian Kail: is that I love everybody and I want everybody to
Dorian Kail: win. And I become kind of so attached to everybody,
Dorian Kail: but there's only one winner, right? There are only three
Dorian Kail: people on the podium. But I care a lot about
Dorian Kail: the athletes. I care a lot about running and that's
Dorian Kail: why I love what I do.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's why you're good at what you do because they can see
Rob Simmelkjaer: the love and they love you right back, and that's
Rob Simmelkjaer: how we're able to get such an incredible field. You
Rob Simmelkjaer: or your colleague, Sam Grotewold and Christine Burke and that
Rob Simmelkjaer: whole team, you guys do such a great job. Okay.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Can we come up with another name for sub- elite?
Rob Simmelkjaer: I feel like it just seems a little like, okay, you're just a little below elite.
Becs Gentry: Can we call them local elites?
Rob Simmelkjaer: Well, how about-
Dorian Kail: Well, no, no. Wait, wait. So sub- elite is really
Dorian Kail: a term we use at the marathon. We have a sub-
Dorian Kail: elite field, which is after the pros, it's the next
Dorian Kail: one, 50 and 50 of the fastest athletes. Then we do have
Dorian Kail: a local competitive group. For this group at the RBC
Dorian Kail: Brooklyn Half, it's called the Seeded Athlete Program. So let's
Dorian Kail: not, we're not really talking about sub- elites except for
Dorian Kail: the marathon, Rob.
Rob Simmelkjaer: A lot of names. I can't keep track of so many names.
Dorian Kail: I know. There are too many names.
Becs Gentry: Too many names.
Alana Levy: I don't think any word that you're putting next to elite
Alana Levy: is going to make it better. Right. I think once
Alana Levy: you're local, anything, it's kind of you're downgrading it and
Alana Levy: it's okay. We know that we're not the professionals and
Alana Levy: that's fine.
Becs Gentry: Hey, it's less pressure.
Alana Levy: Yeah.
Dorian Kail: That is the beauty of this sport, right? You are
Dorian Kail: running with the best and anybody can do it, right?
Dorian Kail: Anybody can run the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon. You don't
Dorian Kail: have to be an elite athlete or anybody in the Seeded
Dorian Kail: Athlete Program. You can just run.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Speaking of running, I have a funny Alana Levy story-
Alana Levy: I'm scared.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That I like to tell when I think of Alana
Rob Simmelkjaer: Levy. At the marathon this past year when the runners
Rob Simmelkjaer: go off, I jump in a police vehicle to get
Rob Simmelkjaer: to the finish line and Alana has taken off with
Rob Simmelkjaer: this pro field and I'm in the police vehicle. We're
Rob Simmelkjaer: going through Brooklyn and the elite field has, the pros
Rob Simmelkjaer: have spread out a bit by about mile eight. Some
Rob Simmelkjaer: of the leaders have gone off ahead. There are some
Rob Simmelkjaer: that are lagging back, not having a good day, and
Rob Simmelkjaer: I'm following and passing some elite runners. And then I
Rob Simmelkjaer: think it was about mile eight or so where it
Rob Simmelkjaer: gets really quiet, there are not a lot of people
Rob Simmelkjaer: cheering, it's kind of quiet and lonely. And we pull
Rob Simmelkjaer: aside, Alana, Alana Levy's there and she's running well, but
Rob Simmelkjaer: she's falling behind the lead pack, but she's way ahead
Rob Simmelkjaer: of the people who she's passed. And you're literally all
Rob Simmelkjaer: by yourself, like running in the TCS New York City
Rob Simmelkjaer: Marathon with no one within 100 yards of you. And I
Rob Simmelkjaer: pulled up next to you and I said, " Hello." I said, "
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hey, how are you doing? You're looking great. Keep running.
Rob Simmelkjaer: You're doing a great job." Do you remember that?
Alana Levy: I do. I do. I had a personal cheer squad
Alana Levy: for that one moment and then solo.
Dorian Kail: You actually said something while she was running the race?
Rob Simmelkjaer: I did. The police officer let me use the loudspeaker on the
Rob Simmelkjaer: car, and so-
Becs Gentry: I love that.
Rob Simmelkjaer: I was like hyping up the crowd and everything.
Becs Gentry: Yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And when I get to Alana, I'm just like, " Alana,
Rob Simmelkjaer: keep going. You're doing great." And she turns and looks
Rob Simmelkjaer: and smile all by herself. It was a little moment-
Dorian Kail: Only in New York.
Rob Simmelkjaer: We had there in the middle of the marathon.
Alana Levy: That's amazing. And I will actually say, I remember Becs, you
Alana Levy: were there too.
Becs Gentry: I was on the women's elite lead vehicle.
Alana Levy: So I remember seeing you on the first bridge.
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Alana Levy: Yeah. And I gave you a little wave. You gave me a little wave back. Any
Alana Levy: person who wants to cheer me on, I will be
Alana Levy: so excited for it.
Becs Gentry: Yep. We were ready for it.
Rob Simmelkjaer: All right. Before we go, can we sing happy birthday to
Rob Simmelkjaer: the birthday girl?
Dorian Kail: Yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: We got Alana Levy here who came on our podcast
Rob Simmelkjaer: on her birthday.
Becs Gentry: Everyone queuing up.
Rob Simmelkjaer: So everybody can hear me on the count of three, we'll
Rob Simmelkjaer: sing happy birthday to Alana.
Becs Gentry: All of you lot.
Rob Simmelkjaer: One, two, three. Happy birthday to you.
Becs Gentry: Come on everyone.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Happy birthday to you.
Dorian Kail: Happy birthday to you.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Happy birthday dear Alana.
Dorian Kail: Dear Alana. Happy birthday to you.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Happy birthday to you. Yay.
Alana Levy: Thank you. Thank you. That's very kind.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Alana, happy birthday.
Becs Gentry: Yay. Happy birthday.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Thank you for coming on Set the Pace. Great to
Rob Simmelkjaer: have you. Dorian-
Alana Levy: Thank you for having me.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Great to see you.
Dorian Kail: Thank you. This was fun.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Thanks for coming on.
Becs Gentry: Thank you both.
Rob Simmelkjaer: It was a command performance.
Becs Gentry: It was great.
Rob Simmelkjaer: And you were great. Thank you so much. Great to have
Rob Simmelkjaer: you. Good luck on Saturday.
Becs Gentry: Best of luck.
Alana Levy: Thank you. We'll see. We'll see you about the podium. We'll
Alana Levy: see about Kim Conley.
Rob Simmelkjaer: That's right.
Becs Gentry: You got this. You got this.
Rob Simmelkjaer: We will see. Throwing the gauntlet down. I like it.
Becs Gentry: Yeah.
Alana Levy: You heard it here first.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Right from the stage-
Dorian Kail: I won't tell Kim.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Of the pre- party. Becs, great to have you back.
Becs Gentry: Thank you. Great to be back.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Thanks for coming in. Good luck to everybody out there running.
Becs Gentry: Yes.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Let's hear some noise. Who's running out there? Who's ready
Rob Simmelkjaer: to go for Saturday? Good luck. Hope you have a great day.
Rob Simmelkjaer: Hope we get some good weather for you out there
Rob Simmelkjaer: on Saturday. Thanks for coming out and watching this very
Rob Simmelkjaer: special episode of Set the Pace. We'll see you Saturday
Rob Simmelkjaer: at the after party at Maimonides Park. Have a great
Rob Simmelkjaer: race. Enjoy the miles.
Becs Gentry: Woo.
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