Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, welcome to this. Roebock beat me in the
Speaker 1: New York City Half Marathon episode of Amy and DJ. Yes,
Speaker 1: we did it. We made it. We crossed the.
Speaker 2: Finish line right, and I crossed the finish line one
Speaker 2: second faster than you.
Speaker 1: That is a true story. One hour, fifty seven minutes
Speaker 1: and two seconds. That's the time of Samy Robock and
Speaker 1: my time was one second more. Every race we have done,
Speaker 1: we didn't realize this till a moment ago. Every single
Speaker 1: race we have run in together, we have only been
Speaker 1: separated by one second, or our times were exactly the same.
Speaker 1: Isn't no amazing?
Speaker 2: Isn't that beautiful? That's because you willed it to be.
Speaker 2: So it's not just by happenstance or we're just training together,
Speaker 2: so we run at the same speed. You stay by
Speaker 2: my side or usually just a smidge behind me.
Speaker 1: Yes, we do all that training together and then on
Speaker 1: the day of the race, the race is the reward
Speaker 1: from all the work you put in. So that's supposed
Speaker 1: to be the fun time. I wouldn't. I could not
Speaker 1: dream of running a race not side by side with you.
Speaker 2: That's really see we.
Speaker 1: Train really if we train four together then we're going
Speaker 1: to go through it together.
Speaker 2: It is something to experience it with you by my side.
Speaker 2: You know, we can see the same signs, we look
Speaker 2: at the same faces. We can you just you feel
Speaker 2: connected to the person next to you. So I love
Speaker 2: running races by your side. I think I'm gonna have
Speaker 2: to opt out of a couple of them just so
Speaker 2: I can watch you do your personal best. I also
Speaker 2: do feel absolute guilt that you know, you don't push yourself,
Speaker 2: you don't see what your best is because you're next
Speaker 2: to me. But I do appreciate it.
Speaker 1: No, no, no, don't feel guilt. You really you are the
Speaker 1: one that got me into running in the first place,
Speaker 1: and we've all those training runs. People don't we talk
Speaker 1: about running and people might see us make posts about running. Folks.
Speaker 1: This is a lot of getting up at four and
Speaker 1: five in the morning, five days a week, four months
Speaker 1: to go out there and get ready for that race day.
Speaker 1: So there's no way doing all that with you, all
Speaker 1: that pain, and then I'm just gonna buye. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: take off. I'll see it later at the finanh Now, I'll.
Speaker 2: Eventually we'll get to the finish line and we can
Speaker 2: celebrate together. But we did have so much fun. We
Speaker 2: felt like this year's race was the easiest, calm, mist
Speaker 2: most peaceful. We just felt like we were in a
Speaker 2: really good zen space. And then it dawned on us
Speaker 2: perhaps why that was so. Yes, the weather was good,
Speaker 2: we've had other good weather races. This was specific.
Speaker 1: But training we trained just the same as we were
Speaker 1: always well trained.
Speaker 2: Yep.
Speaker 1: But for whatever reason, we were out there kicking it.
Speaker 1: We were having a blast, we were keeping great times.
Speaker 1: We're like, wow, this is amazing, what is going on?
Speaker 1: And then you were the one that kind of pieced
Speaker 1: it together. The last couple of times we've had races together,
Speaker 1: I've been a bit of turmoil.
Speaker 2: Yes, we've had photographers chasing us for all the wrong reasons.
Speaker 2: We actually had to run under aliases. So this was
Speaker 2: the first time we've run a race since we have
Speaker 2: spoken out and taken back our narrative and you've heard
Speaker 2: it on the podcast, and we've started to become ourselves again,
Speaker 2: and so we felt like that for the first time.
Speaker 2: Yes we're running by each other, Yes we're in love,
Speaker 2: and our heads were held up high and our names
Speaker 2: were on the roster, and it felt good.
Speaker 1: Do you remember your alias from last year?
Speaker 2: I was trying to think of it. Yours was really
Speaker 2: Oh man, We'll have to come up with them later
Speaker 2: because they were really good. I took a picture of
Speaker 2: them and it was just so funny. I think you
Speaker 2: were Thomas Hobart. I don't know why. I just remember that.
Speaker 2: Oh my goodness, I can't remember what you were. See.
Speaker 2: I remember your name because it was so not you.
Speaker 2: It was hilarious.
Speaker 1: It was great to your point, And maybe that had
Speaker 1: a lot to do. And of course running is a
Speaker 1: lot has to do with being mental, but a lot
Speaker 1: of what we've been going through recently and being back
Speaker 1: out there and being social, the race was a big
Speaker 1: part of it, and fellowship is a big part of
Speaker 1: I guess what is fueling us and making us feel
Speaker 1: lighter these days?
Speaker 2: That's right, And every time I run a race, I
Speaker 2: am reminded of the importance of all of those connections.
Speaker 1: A lot of people know from uh. I guess the
Speaker 1: end of twenty twenty two we lost touch with a
Speaker 1: lot of people, giving what was going on with us
Speaker 1: at the time in the turmoil, and really close friends
Speaker 1: that we stayed in touch with, maybe via text or
Speaker 1: phone call, we still weren't able to see and last
Speaker 1: night this it's fair to say somebody we've been through
Speaker 1: all kinds of ups and down with over the past
Speaker 1: ten years, and we haven't had a chance to see,
Speaker 1: actually for almost a year and a half, which is unbelievable.
Speaker 1: But we got to sit and see a friend yesterday
Speaker 1: and it was I think I was overwhelmed in an
Speaker 1: emotional way, more so than I even thought I would be.
Speaker 2: It was a reunion, you know, and I think anyone
Speaker 2: who's gone through something abrupt where you don't expect not
Speaker 2: to see someone for a very long period of time,
Speaker 2: that's exactly what happened. And so yes, I want to
Speaker 2: make it clear we were staying in touch text, but
Speaker 2: it's not the same, obviously, it's not the same. So
Speaker 2: when you get to hug that person and catch up
Speaker 2: with that person and see that person and how they're
Speaker 2: doing and share stories about what it's been like, it
Speaker 2: was just it was exactly what we needed. We haven't
Speaker 2: had enough of that, and I think they're starting to
Speaker 2: come now and it's made a huge difference in our
Speaker 2: mental health for sure, because connection is so important, and
Speaker 2: especially I think we oftentimes take for granted the connections
Speaker 2: we have and the access we have to people, and
Speaker 2: then sometimes without realizing it, it stops and there's a loss.
Speaker 2: There's almost a mourning of that, and so you don't
Speaker 2: maybe even realize the impact it's had until yes, you
Speaker 2: have a reunion, and then it's a reminder to make
Speaker 2: the effort to go out to see people face to face.
Speaker 2: I think that's a big problem these days because zoom
Speaker 2: allows you not to do that, or even texting it
Speaker 2: feels like you're in contact, but there's nothing that replaces
Speaker 2: that one on one face to face, getting to hug
Speaker 2: your friend kind of feeling.
Speaker 1: Even face time I think fools us into thinking we're
Speaker 1: spending time with people face to face, but we're not.
Speaker 1: But it was I think this was another where we
Speaker 1: came into this and we were so careful in where
Speaker 1: we were going to meet because for whatever reason, we
Speaker 1: felt like, hey, we don't want you to be seen
Speaker 1: or photographed with us, just in case that might come
Speaker 1: off bad for you and your world.
Speaker 2: Like that was.
Speaker 1: We've said this to some people and it's embarrassing to say,
Speaker 1: and every friend says, are you freaking kidding me? Stop
Speaker 1: with that, but we've been programmed for what we A
Speaker 1: lot of what we endured. We were programmed to think
Speaker 1: that people don't like us, don't love us, don'tant anything
Speaker 1: to do with us. And it was really nice to
Speaker 1: be reconnected with that friend. Like you said, people for
Speaker 1: whatever reason, you don't you forget like you take it
Speaker 1: for granted when you see them every day and you
Speaker 1: lose them sometimes with death or they're moving. But this
Speaker 1: one was in town with us and we lost connection,
Speaker 1: that personal one on one time, and it was good to.
Speaker 2: Have it back. Yeah, reminder to anyone out there, you know, yes,
Speaker 2: calling a friends great, checking in on a friend, but
Speaker 2: meet up, have some coffee, have a drink, do something.
Speaker 2: Just there's got to be that person who you know
Speaker 2: it's been on your mind that you've lost that personal
Speaker 2: touch with. Let this be a reminder to make that
Speaker 2: date and to make that appointment to meet up, because
Speaker 2: it does. Oh my gosh, we're still riding high. I
Speaker 2: think from having had that meeting.
Speaker 1: Now, was that before or after my dad called?
Speaker 2: It was it was right after, but actually your dad's
Speaker 2: called a couple of times, so it's been Sandwich. I
Speaker 2: think you just got off the phone with them.
Speaker 1: Well yesterday it freaked this out because and again another thing,
Speaker 1: parents and anybody out here you could relate to this.
Speaker 1: Your parents, if you still have them, they're still with you. Good, great,
Speaker 1: But how many times do you get a message from
Speaker 1: your parents and you get a certain age, everybody starts
Speaker 1: breaking down a little bit, having some health issues. But
Speaker 1: you start getting more messages from your parents and they're all, hey,
Speaker 1: So I went to the doctor the day you put
Speaker 1: me on this prescription, and then I came home and
Speaker 1: my left side is bothering me a little bit, and
Speaker 1: then I had had some chicken last night and this
Speaker 1: morning my heart just think right like, every mess did
Speaker 1: you get from parents, now, it has to do with
Speaker 1: their health, it's an update on their health.
Speaker 2: Whether yeah, and my mom's going through something right now too,
Speaker 2: you know, we got I got a phone call in
Speaker 2: December and she fell and she is still dealing with
Speaker 2: she had to have surgery and now there's PT. But
Speaker 2: you realize if you don't have your health, you don't
Speaker 2: have anything. And as we watch our parents' age, obviously
Speaker 2: that becomes the center, like the central focus, because there
Speaker 2: is a deterioration of the body and so that is
Speaker 2: what's on their minds, and that is typically what you
Speaker 2: end up talking about.
Speaker 1: We feel bad in that so often we you and
Speaker 1: I have talked about and we've done it playfully, yeah, like,
Speaker 1: oh my goodness. All I did was said hi, and
Speaker 1: then she talked to the next thirty minutes about our health.
Speaker 1: Like it's almost how you feel bad or complaining about
Speaker 1: it and jokingly.
Speaker 2: In some way, but it's, man, it's serious.
Speaker 1: Yesterday was serious. You you've been around planning with my
Speaker 1: dad's around the conversations we have and how he gets
Speaker 1: going and what he's talking about. But yesterday it sobered.
Speaker 1: It really was a sobering reminder of how everybody's getting older.
Speaker 1: And he had he did, he had a cardiologists appointment
Speaker 1: that was coming up the following day. And you said it,
Speaker 1: but I couldn't tell, like, dude, is it serious or
Speaker 1: is it not serious? He's saying, well, I might have
Speaker 1: to go to the murderency room. I'm packing a bag
Speaker 1: in case they don't let me come back home, Like
Speaker 1: what the hell? And then he say, yeah, it's fine,
Speaker 1: no big deal. But you pointed out to me that
Speaker 1: you know what he was actually trying to comfort me,
Speaker 1: and what he was saying.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you could tell he was nervous and he
Speaker 2: wanted you to know that something could happen, but then
Speaker 2: he was trying to make you feel better about it.
Speaker 2: But deep down you could tell he was nervous and
Speaker 2: was concerned. And he made the point He's like, I'm
Speaker 2: seventy six years old when your doctor tells you to
Speaker 2: go to the cardiologist, and that's not a it's always serious, right, Yeah,
Speaker 2: good point, good point, touchet.
Speaker 1: But yeah, well, we talked so much about physical health.
Speaker 1: Mental health is clearly a big part of the discussion
Speaker 1: these days, and we were Look, I've talked, and I've
Speaker 1: talked in some ways just on the surface about what
Speaker 1: I've dealt with with mental health that in twenty fifteen
Speaker 1: diagnosed as moderately severe depression, and I didn't do anything
Speaker 1: about it. I didn't change any of my habits. I
Speaker 1: didn't go on an antidepresent, I didn't go to therapy.
Speaker 1: I didn't do anything for about four plus years and
Speaker 1: just let that fester. And you were witnessed to like
Speaker 1: a four year deterioration of mind and you didn't even
Speaker 1: realize what was going on. But you have talked about
Speaker 1: now in very scary ways, just what you were witnessing
Speaker 1: at the time.
Speaker 2: From me, I was worried about you.
Speaker 1: You are.
Speaker 2: Let me just say this. You don't have a poker
Speaker 2: face when you're upset or you're sad, or you're down
Speaker 2: or whatever. I mean, it's palpable. It's all over. It's
Speaker 2: not just in your face, but it's your it's how
Speaker 2: you carry yourself. Everything changes and shifts, and so yes,
Speaker 2: I saw that shift in you, and it's one of
Speaker 2: those things where you want to help, and I tried,
Speaker 2: but at the end of the day, thank you. But
Speaker 2: but it's it's you. You're the one who has to
Speaker 2: pull yourself up. You're the one who has to figure
Speaker 2: out how to just shift to change, whether it's with
Speaker 2: a prescription, or if it's through a therapist, or it's
Speaker 2: through friends. I mean, there are obviously a lot of
Speaker 2: different avenues. But for four years I didn't realize that
Speaker 2: it went on for that long.
Speaker 1: It did without being addressed. When I when I finally
Speaker 1: started dressing, it was almost too late. You talked, We've
Speaker 1: talked about it before. I used to know how long,
Speaker 1: how far, the how many miles It took to walk
Speaker 1: from downtown to the ABC offices because I spent nights
Speaker 1: literally on the streets of New York. I've spent nights
Speaker 1: sitting and sleeping on a bench in Midtown. I've spent
Speaker 1: nights just walking up and down just because I didn't
Speaker 1: want to be home, because I didn't have it together.
Speaker 1: So we talk about mental health, and you've talked about
Speaker 1: how running has been such a big part of it
Speaker 1: for you because you went through it with antidepressants. We've
Speaker 1: talked about so you don't mind me saying that, But
Speaker 1: during the time when you were dealing with your breast
Speaker 1: cancer diagnosis and treatment that they had you go.
Speaker 2: That direction, right, I couldn't run. Actually then I could
Speaker 2: barely run and a mile would be the most I
Speaker 2: could do, and a lot of days I couldn't do that.
Speaker 2: So I didn't have the outlet that I had always had.
Speaker 2: So for a year my doctors put me on an
Speaker 2: antidepressant because the anxiety, the stress, the pressure, the overthinking,
Speaker 2: the fear, all of that just comes crashing down on you.
Speaker 2: And if you don't have an outlet, if you don't
Speaker 2: have something that you can do and use and lean on. Yes,
Speaker 2: I had to get on antidepressants for a full year
Speaker 2: and they help. They did it. It numbs you a little,
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't. I think that might be the
Speaker 2: comp the complaint a lot of people have who are
Speaker 2: on it, because there are always side effects to any
Speaker 2: drug you take, so that's the downside of it. But
Speaker 2: sometimes that is the only outlet when you're in a
Speaker 2: certain place or space mentally.
Speaker 1: But physical they warn you about physical.
Speaker 2: Well, you can you can, I mean there can in
Speaker 2: some cases. There can be weight gained, there can be
Speaker 2: there's sexual side effects where you just have no libido.
Speaker 2: You you're numb, You don't have you might not have
Speaker 2: the lows, but you also don't get the highs. You
Speaker 2: don't experience a wide range of emotion that you would
Speaker 2: have maybe otherwise. So it prevents the low, but you
Speaker 2: also are numbed down from the high, which isn't something
Speaker 2: that most people would prefer to do.
Speaker 1: So antidepressants, I think it makes sense. People know that
Speaker 1: they just kind of exploded in popularity that's not the
Speaker 1: right word popularity, ish say, but in usage during the pandemic.
Speaker 1: And you talked about running as therapy, and I was,
Speaker 1: I was, I didn't realize this, but it's fascinating that
Speaker 1: the study was done. I think at the end of
Speaker 1: last year the results were put out that they gave
Speaker 1: people that had anxiety disorder depression. One group they gave
Speaker 1: them antidepressant. The other group no antidepressant, just had them
Speaker 1: run run as exercise. Running was their therapy for to
Speaker 1: treat depression. At the end of this the two groups
Speaker 1: had the almost exact same results in terms of how
Speaker 1: it helped their mental health. The symptoms of their mental
Speaker 1: health improved the same in both those groups. One group
Speaker 1: only ran.
Speaker 2: And the side effects from the running were all good
Speaker 2: versus the side effects from a lot of the drugs
Speaker 2: are not good.
Speaker 1: So the conclusion is that arguably running is better for
Speaker 1: your health and treating your depression, your anxiety anxiety disorder
Speaker 1: is a better option for a lot of people than
Speaker 1: to actually take antidepressants.
Speaker 2: And I believe I don't know if it was a
Speaker 2: part of this study, but the cool thing is you
Speaker 2: don't have to be a marathon or or a half
Speaker 2: marathon or or a ten They're saying if you run
Speaker 2: as little as one mile a couple of times a week,
Speaker 2: the effects of that are significant and documentable, so.
Speaker 1: Everyone knows we are obviously big runners. But the New
Speaker 1: York Road Runners you have heard us speak about them
Speaker 1: quite a bit, but they're the organization that's in charge
Speaker 1: of putting these races together here in New York, including
Speaker 1: the United Have Marathon and also the New York City Marathon.
Speaker 1: But a big focus of the CEO now is to
Speaker 1: make running a part of treating mental health, like an
Speaker 1: actual therapy for mental health. And that is fascinating to
Speaker 1: me because the running I do. You got me into
Speaker 1: it and then yeah, it did help me going through
Speaker 1: some very difficult times, but I didn't focus on it
Speaker 1: because of that. But I got all those benefits. Now
Speaker 1: I'm just a runner and I'm loving and I missed day.
Speaker 1: I don't feel good if I don't run. But Rob
Speaker 1: Simulcare is the name I got the right right. I
Speaker 1: had to look over at him and still, because we
Speaker 1: talked and we practiced, and still we got to the moment, Rob,
Speaker 1: and I still was unsure.
Speaker 2: I was hoping that you were going to do it
Speaker 2: because I started to panic. There's a lot of consonants
Speaker 2: in your last name, Rob, and it's very intimidating even
Speaker 2: for those of us who had to say a lot
Speaker 2: of fancy names over the years. Still I was like,
Speaker 2: please let TJ say it. I hope he says it.
Speaker 3: He nailed it. That's true, broadcast professional.
Speaker 1: But ro we were actually we wanted to get to
Speaker 1: you earlier, but we were going back and forth. I
Speaker 1: hope she says it first.
Speaker 2: Oh, he says it.
Speaker 1: But but Rob Simulcare is, yes, the CEO of New
Speaker 1: York road Runners. It's good to have you. Appreciate everything
Speaker 1: your organization has been doing for us over the years
Speaker 1: and so apporting us and our running and helping us
Speaker 1: get the message out. But this was something that I
Speaker 1: think goes beyond just putting on shoes and running and
Speaker 1: having a good time and being a community event. And
Speaker 1: why is it? And I think I said it right.
Speaker 1: You want running to actually be mental health therapy.
Speaker 3: Well, first of all, thank you for having me. It's
Speaker 3: great to be with both of you, and I want
Speaker 3: to throw the thanks back to you because both of
Speaker 3: you have done a lot for New York Roadrunners. You've
Speaker 3: run with us, Amy, You've been a supporter of Team
Speaker 3: for Kids and all of our community programs, our youth programs.
Speaker 3: So it means a lot for us to have you
Speaker 3: guys in our community, and I just want to thank
Speaker 3: you for having me here. TJ to your question. Yeah,
Speaker 3: when I became CEO just over a year ago, one
Speaker 3: of the things I did start talking about a lot
Speaker 3: was the mental health benefits of running. And you know,
Speaker 3: people who run, and you guys are what you just
Speaker 3: said in the intro, I say it a whole lot better,
Speaker 3: right in terms of like the the impact that runners
Speaker 3: know running has on their mental health. And I when
Speaker 3: I ask people why they run, you know, and I
Speaker 3: talk to people to finish line of our races or whatever,
Speaker 3: I'd say, the most frequent answer I get is mental health.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 3: The people will put it in different ways. They'll say
Speaker 3: it's a stress relief, or it clears my mind, or
Speaker 3: you know, it just gives me that moment to kind
Speaker 3: of be, you know, with myself, especially if they just
Speaker 3: kind of run alone, and so various very you know,
Speaker 3: different variations of it, but they're all saying that it's
Speaker 3: the impact that has on their minds that really drives
Speaker 3: them to keep doing it over and over again. And
Speaker 3: so it's a real thing. Some people call it the
Speaker 3: you know, some people call it the so called runners high, right,
Speaker 3: and that that that's something that is a term that's
Speaker 3: thrown around sometimes, you know, for people who run a
Speaker 3: long way and how you feel afterwards, but you don't
Speaker 3: have to run to Amy's point long distances, you know,
Speaker 3: a consistent habit of two three miles a week just
Speaker 3: to get out there. That feeling of you know, getting
Speaker 3: your body moving, getting your heart rate up. It's magical
Speaker 3: for those of us who know it, and so I
Speaker 3: want more people to know that, so that folks who
Speaker 3: are struggling again. It doesn't necessarily mean it's a substitute
Speaker 3: for other forms of mental health care like therapy or
Speaker 3: medication as it's needed, but for a lot of people
Speaker 3: it can make a big difference.
Speaker 1: Will you put this runners high? Will either one of you? Actually?
Speaker 1: Because I hear it all the time, and I've been
Speaker 1: running a long time. I got a couple of marathons
Speaker 1: under my bell. I don't know if I've ever had a.
Speaker 2: Runners really yeah, I would say it's rare, and so
Speaker 2: people are chasing it constantly. I would say I have
Speaker 2: had some runs, I've got the right song on, the
Speaker 2: weather is perfect, I've just hit whatever mile eight and
Speaker 2: I'm thinking to myself, I'm a badass, and I just
Speaker 2: feel like I could take on the world and I
Speaker 2: feel powerful and it's almost it is you for it.
Speaker 2: And I'm singing and I'm making a fool of myself
Speaker 2: as I'm running around along the West Side Highway, probably
Speaker 2: singing like let it Go, like from Frozen or something.
Speaker 2: I mean, you've never had that. I've seen you sit
Speaker 2: there and sing. Oh you sing when you run?
Speaker 1: What I thought, is it a physiological something over that
Speaker 1: sounds mental to me? I have plenty of times I
Speaker 1: got the right song on, the weather's just right, feeling myself,
Speaker 1: my shirt off, I'm sweating just right, man, it feels
Speaker 1: like that runs.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I think Amy described it well and what
Speaker 3: I've experienced right, which is for me, it's a feeling
Speaker 3: like I could just run forever, you know. And it
Speaker 3: usually comes when like I've been running a fair amount
Speaker 3: and my body's right and my mind's right, and the
Speaker 3: weather's right, and everything's kind of just working, and I
Speaker 3: just feel like I could just keep going forever. So
Speaker 3: that's what I think of when I think of the
Speaker 3: quote unquote running is rare, but it's rare, okay. I
Speaker 3: think it's somewhat rare. I think the day to day
Speaker 3: benefit of running is not rare, right, I think that's
Speaker 3: what you can get with a consistent habit of running,
Speaker 3: you know, a few times a week. And I personally,
Speaker 3: I don't know what time of day you guys run,
Speaker 3: but I'm all about the mornings, right, Okay, so we're
Speaker 3: all the same. And I have a phrase I use
Speaker 3: actually with people at races. I say, when the morning
Speaker 3: win the day, right, and so much much, so much
Speaker 3: of life, especially if you're going through a rough patch,
Speaker 3: if you're feeling depressed or hopeless or whatever. So much
Speaker 3: of life can be just getting out of bed, right,
Speaker 3: like that decision, that conscious choice to like get up,
Speaker 3: believe that something good can happen to you that day.
Speaker 3: And if you get up and have that run, and
Speaker 3: now check, right, a good thing already happened today, Right,
Speaker 3: I already did something. I accomplished something today. It's like
Speaker 3: it's like a snowball going down the hill, and the
Speaker 3: momentum from that can get you to the next thing,
Speaker 3: and the next thing, and the next thing, the next thing.
Speaker 3: You've had a great day.
Speaker 1: Some people say just simply getting up and making your bed.
Speaker 1: It should always be the first thing you do because
Speaker 1: you accomplished a task. You have seen this. I'm not
Speaker 1: sure how I feel about you, though, and you getting
Speaker 1: up and running. Let me finish. I didn't start that right,
Speaker 1: Let me try again.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure.
Speaker 1: I let's not do this in front of company robot.
Speaker 1: But the I you know, it can adjust my whole
Speaker 1: day and my I get mad sometimes that I didn't
Speaker 1: get the run in. Nothing else can go wrong in
Speaker 1: the day. I'm just mad I didn't get to run it.
Speaker 2: I you did not run one day this week, and
Speaker 2: I thought, uh oh, buckle up for the rest of
Speaker 2: the day because DJ didn't run. That's not a good time, but.
Speaker 1: It is a good once you get into the routine,
Speaker 1: into the habit. Where do you for the folks who
Speaker 1: are listening, who do want to run, who want to
Speaker 1: get it. They love everything you're saying, it's so difficult
Speaker 1: to get them to take that first step. Or I'm
Speaker 1: not a marathon I'm not a big time running all.
Speaker 1: What what is that? You've had some good one liners here,
Speaker 1: So what is the short speech you give people to
Speaker 1: get them started.
Speaker 3: I tell people that if you run a mile, even
Speaker 3: a half a mile to start. Congratulations, you're a runner, right,
Speaker 3: you have gone out and you've made it happen. I
Speaker 3: think it's great to start with other people. You know,
Speaker 3: if you can find a friend or a running group
Speaker 3: that you can join so you're not on your own
Speaker 3: doing it. I think that's an added benefit. You know,
Speaker 3: we have a program here in your called Open Run,
Speaker 3: which is a free running program that's in parks and
Speaker 3: we do it every single weekend, and so we've had
Speaker 3: a lot of people discover running that way showing up
Speaker 3: at a free free run group and just giving it
Speaker 3: a go with some people. And you know, it's intimidating
Speaker 3: for a lot of folks if they haven't done it,
Speaker 3: because they're like, well, I don't do that, and they're
Speaker 3: gonna be fast and they're going to be in great
Speaker 3: shape and I'm not that. Now you go and you
Speaker 3: find your people, you find your tribe, and you just
Speaker 3: do it. And you know, I think runners are overwhelmingly
Speaker 3: like open and supportive and like want to support other
Speaker 3: people getting into the sport. But even by yourself, you know,
Speaker 3: you just go out, find a track, find a good
Speaker 3: block on your neighborhood, and go around once and then
Speaker 3: that turns into twice, and that turns into three times.
Speaker 3: And you don't have to have a half a marathon
Speaker 3: in your sights or a marathon for sure, right. You know,
Speaker 3: maybe you get up to a few miles. Guess what,
Speaker 3: that's a five k right, So it's a progressive thing.
Speaker 3: But you know what, do they say the longest journey
Speaker 3: must start with a single step, right, And it's the
Speaker 3: same thing with running. You just got to get that
Speaker 3: first step.
Speaker 2: I think the hardest part about running for me is
Speaker 2: walking out the door, like making the decision, seriously, making
Speaker 2: the decision to walk and to go outside and to
Speaker 2: start the run. Once I'm going, I'm good. And even
Speaker 2: when I've had tough runs, which I've had some recently,
Speaker 2: when I do finish it. Even I had to stop
Speaker 2: the other day, I think you had a story too,
Speaker 2: and I still finished it. I might have had to
Speaker 2: cobble it together, but I finished it. And I have
Speaker 2: always looked at running as a euphemism for life, because
Speaker 2: especially when things are hard, I know I've had those
Speaker 2: hard runs, but I also know I have hard days.
Speaker 2: But if you finish it, the next one may be better.
Speaker 2: It gives you hope. It gives you purpose, and it
Speaker 2: does give you that feeling of accomplishment which creates this
Speaker 2: positivity even on a negative day, even on a bad run,
Speaker 2: I can still look back and say I learned something
Speaker 2: from that run about myself and what I have in me.
Speaker 3: So I gave a speech at the beginning of the
Speaker 3: TCS New York City Marathon. This year was my first
Speaker 3: time as CEO for that race, and what I said
Speaker 3: to all the runners at the starting line in Staten
Speaker 3: Island was congratulations. And I was like, well, maybe you're
Speaker 3: wondering why I'm saying congratulations to you. You're at the
Speaker 3: starting line. You haven't run the race yet, right, But
Speaker 3: you got here, right. And it's really hard to get
Speaker 3: to the starting line of races, especially marathons. We know
Speaker 3: how hard that is with all the training, But just
Speaker 3: to get to the starting line of a five k
Speaker 3: or to your point, Amy, just to get out the door, right.
Speaker 3: All those people who line up at the starting line
Speaker 3: of a marathon have gotten out the door day in
Speaker 3: and day out, and so that's the accomplishment, right, And
Speaker 3: whatever happens for the twenty six point two miles whatever,
Speaker 3: that's the gravy, but the key was getting to the
Speaker 3: starting line. So you know you say it, it's you
Speaker 3: said it perfectly. It's a metaphor for life. And I
Speaker 3: think the reasons so many runners are successful people in
Speaker 3: various endeavors in life, yourselves included, is because you know,
Speaker 3: when you're running a marathon, that option to quit is
Speaker 3: always right there. It's in front of you. It's so
Speaker 3: easy to just quit. And people who finish they didn't
Speaker 3: take the option. They never took the off rame.
Speaker 2: They thought about it a lot.
Speaker 1: And Brooklyn is hard. You want to stop at all
Speaker 1: those pubs.
Speaker 2: Love you. Oh, there is a stretch there in Brooklyn
Speaker 2: that you just you want to say. You see all
Speaker 2: the red solo cubs. You're like, I think I'm going
Speaker 2: to stop and join their party, but they are partying.
Speaker 1: What is we put this? It feels like I think
Speaker 1: it is the greatest day in New York every year
Speaker 1: is in New York City Marathon. I don't know where
Speaker 1: that comes from, or how it's just over time or what,
Speaker 1: but the city embraces they're not runners, they don't have
Speaker 1: anybody running in it, but the city just gives you
Speaker 1: a big old hug and you feel it almost every
Speaker 1: step of that journey. How special is that day? Do
Speaker 1: you see anything that happens in New York that is
Speaker 1: more special that we all come together in that way
Speaker 1: to root on people.
Speaker 3: No, it's the best day of the year in New York.
Speaker 3: Obviously I'm biased, but I think most people agree, even
Speaker 3: the non runners agree that it's just a special day.
Speaker 3: And I just think it's because you've got folks out
Speaker 3: there cheering on strangers. You know, they're there to support
Speaker 3: people they don't know. Yes, a lot of them have
Speaker 3: a friend running or something like that, but while they're
Speaker 3: waiting for that friend, they are cheering for the strangers.
Speaker 3: They are, you know, putting up the signs. I love
Speaker 3: the signs.
Speaker 2: Signs are great.
Speaker 3: They're so key, you know, to getting runners through this race.
Speaker 3: The funny signs. You need to laugh during a race
Speaker 3: like that.
Speaker 1: Yes, so my favorite. The first race I did, I
Speaker 1: didn't know about the signs, right, And what was the
Speaker 1: one that said don't trust that fart?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's after mile whatever right.
Speaker 1: In the half marathon sign that says I'm only half impressed.
Speaker 1: I didn't like that one. That was offensive to get here,
Speaker 1: But some of the signs they do carry you through.
Speaker 2: Oh without a doubt, and just the time that people
Speaker 2: have taken to make it and to pass things out.
Speaker 2: I mean, normally I wouldn't take a banana from a
Speaker 2: stranger or an orange from a stranger, but I do
Speaker 2: on marathon day.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they just pull it out of the box with
Speaker 1: a dirty hand. Sure sounds like a good idea.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, fuel is fuel at that point, right,
Speaker 2: what does it I'm curious. Fifty thousand runners typically in
Speaker 2: the New York City Marathon.
Speaker 3: Last year, you're fifty fifty one and change.
Speaker 2: Yes, how many people do you have to turn away?
Speaker 3: Well, we have over one hundred thousand who apply for
Speaker 3: the drawing every year. We're actually, as we speak taping
Speaker 3: this podcast today, we're in the middle of sign up
Speaker 3: period actually for the marathon, and so we're already you know,
Speaker 3: well over a one hundred thousand. Don't know where we'll
Speaker 3: end up, but we we get a tremendous amount of interest.
Speaker 3: Of course every year, and there's different ways to get
Speaker 3: into the marathon, but the entry drawing always gets into
Speaker 3: well into the six figures.
Speaker 2: That's incredible. So if you think about the fact, what
Speaker 2: do they say less than one percent of the world's
Speaker 2: population has ever run a marathon, and you have fifty
Speaker 2: thousand people who can't even get into the marathon because
Speaker 2: there's such a demand. That's a pretty remarkable, remarkable thing
Speaker 2: to What do you attribute.
Speaker 3: That, Well, the marathon has been popular for a long time.
Speaker 3: The TCS New York City Marathon in particular is such
Speaker 3: a big part of New York that I think so
Speaker 3: many people have it on their bucket list of something
Speaker 3: to do, So I think that's been a long standing thing.
Speaker 3: I think what's different now, though, amy is all of
Speaker 3: our races sell out. It's not just the marathon. We
Speaker 3: are literally sold out for the five k that's in
Speaker 3: Central Park or the ten k in Queens. All of
Speaker 3: our races sell out, and they sell out very quickly
Speaker 3: as well. And I think that is my theory at least,
Speaker 3: is the pandem right. The pandemic was such a tough
Speaker 3: period for so many people. There wasn't anything else you
Speaker 3: could do but run, right, if you wanted to exercise,
Speaker 3: I mean, you could do sit ups in your bedroom
Speaker 3: or whatever. There was stuff you could do, but like
Speaker 3: running was the choice that so many people, you know,
Speaker 3: found and so people started running during the pandemic and
Speaker 3: now post pandemic. I think a lot of it is
Speaker 3: because of the mental health component of it. The community
Speaker 3: that people have found, maybe in the running club they
Speaker 3: joined or the set of friends they got to run together.
Speaker 3: They've stayed with it, they stayed with the running they
Speaker 3: discovered during the pandemic. And so we're just seeing numbers
Speaker 3: that are through the roof for all of our races.
Speaker 1: And I remember that time during the pandemic, I had
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Bridge to myself morning after morning because I
Speaker 1: run so early, first of all, but there was nobody out.
Speaker 1: And I'm how many times in your life you just
Speaker 1: stumped on the bridge behind my What time was this this?
Speaker 1: I used to run like five six in the morning,
Speaker 1: just when sun was coming up. But now with I say,
Speaker 1: every morning we wake up.
Speaker 2: Oh, the first thing he says to me, is you
Speaker 2: ready to run?
Speaker 1: That's That's not a joke, folks. It doesn't matter what
Speaker 1: time it is, what's happening.
Speaker 2: Not I love you, not good morning, four fifteen? Are
Speaker 2: you ready to run?
Speaker 1: Run?
Speaker 2: And what do I say back?
Speaker 1: I know the answers always know, usually not yet, not yet, yes,
Speaker 1: let me get my coffee. You used to say that
Speaker 1: you don't.
Speaker 2: Do that anything, stop the coffee before the run.
Speaker 1: Okay, what it is? A do you see? You said
Speaker 1: the pandemic kind of helped with some numbers of people running.
Speaker 1: What else happens when you to cause a spike if
Speaker 1: you will and people kind of signing up? Is it?
Speaker 1: It could be a maybe a celebrity, a particular celebrity
Speaker 1: getting a lot of tension running a marathon. Is it?
Speaker 1: I don't know, some renewed focus on health that's in
Speaker 1: the news. What what is it that kind of ends
Speaker 1: up prompting people where you where you still to see
Speaker 1: another wave of people want to.
Speaker 3: I think it is mostly social and friends, right, I think?
Speaker 3: You know, I know a person who got into running
Speaker 3: because her friend said, you know, you had a rough year.
Speaker 3: You need to have a better year at the you know,
Speaker 3: and and so why don't you sign up for New
Speaker 3: York Roadrunners and start running? And you know it changed,
Speaker 3: you know that person's life. I've met people who moved
Speaker 3: to New York, didn't know anyone here and went on
Speaker 3: our website and found a run club and that became
Speaker 3: their set of friends. And maybe they met a boyfriend
Speaker 3: or a girlfriend or whatever in the run club. If
Speaker 3: people find their community through running, and that, to me,
Speaker 3: that's actually the best part of it, is the community
Speaker 3: that you find. And the run club scene has just exploded.
Speaker 3: I mean, we've got all these new clubs that have
Speaker 3: come up and have registered with us on our website,
Speaker 3: and we have a we have a whole club points
Speaker 3: competition throughout the year at road Runners where the clubs
Speaker 3: compete against each other in all the different age categories
Speaker 3: and all this stuff. So that's a huge part of it,
Speaker 3: and I think that's what's really keptic. I think they
Speaker 3: started for the runs and they stayed for the people.
Speaker 2: That's beautiful. And I love running with friends. All the
Speaker 2: marathons I've run, I've run with friends. We challenged ourselves
Speaker 2: and did a double marathon. We did Chicago and then
Speaker 2: New York. You all helped get us into that. But
Speaker 2: just to do it with friends, I can't even imagine
Speaker 2: doing it alone. I know some people do, and that's great,
Speaker 2: but I love the social component of it and to
Speaker 2: share in the experience, to look back and forth, and
Speaker 2: to just be a part of something outside and larger
Speaker 2: than yourself. It really is this. I can't think of
Speaker 2: another thing that a normal, I should say ordinary person
Speaker 2: could do where you'd have thousands of people cheering for you,
Speaker 2: Like unless you're an Olympian or you're a professional football player,
Speaker 2: some sort of professional athlete. The only way you can
Speaker 2: experience just maybe a small amount of what that feels
Speaker 2: like to be cheered on and to push through pain.
Speaker 2: It's running a race, and it could be any race.
Speaker 2: It doesn't have to be a marathon, but that is
Speaker 2: I wanted to like in the moment, and you want
Speaker 2: to share it with the people next to you. But
Speaker 2: this is unique, This is special, and not many people
Speaker 2: get to feel this excitement other than professional athletes, and
Speaker 2: it's remarkable. Why do How did you get started with running?
Speaker 3: I ran cross country and high school. I remember that
Speaker 3: there was a gym class where I think I was
Speaker 3: in seventh grade, and the teacher was like, Okay, I'm
Speaker 3: going to go run the mile. Let's see, let's see
Speaker 3: what you can do. I was really a baseball guy.
Speaker 3: Baseball was my favorite sport from forever and still is
Speaker 3: in a lot of ways. But so baseball was my focus.
Speaker 3: But we went out and ran this mile, and I
Speaker 3: think the first mile I ran was like six to
Speaker 3: Oho one or something like that. It was something in
Speaker 3: that neighborhood, like it was in the low sixes. And
Speaker 3: the gym teacher was like, Okay, you should really be
Speaker 3: on the cross country team. So I was like, okay,
Speaker 3: I didn't even know what cross country was. So they
Speaker 3: got me running across country. I was into it because
Speaker 3: it got me out of gym class, so I didn't
Speaker 3: I didn't have to you know, go hang out, you
Speaker 3: know during during gym class. I could do whatever I
Speaker 3: wanted to hang out in the library or whatever. So
Speaker 3: I started running cross country and I would do that
Speaker 3: in the fall and play baseball in the spring, and I,
Speaker 3: you know, I had kind of a love hate relationship
Speaker 3: with a cross country If anybody out there is ever
Speaker 3: a running cross country, it's intense. You know, You're you're
Speaker 3: running five days a week and you're doing hill repeats
Speaker 3: and you know a lot of intense workouts. So in
Speaker 3: some ways I loved it. In some ways I kind
Speaker 3: of hated it and really wanted to do baseball. So
Speaker 3: I played baseball through high school, you know, went to
Speaker 3: college law school, and I kind of rediscovered running in
Speaker 3: my last year of law school. I was in Boston
Speaker 3: and I went out. It was actually a baseball connection.
Speaker 3: I went out to the Red Sox game on Patriot's
Speaker 3: Day in Massachusetts, which is a state all day. The
Speaker 3: Patriots play an eleven am game, sorry, the Red Sox
Speaker 3: play an eleven am game, and then you walk outside
Speaker 3: and that's the day of the Boston Marathon. And so
Speaker 3: I walked out and saw the finish of the Boston
Speaker 3: Marathon and I was like, I saw these people crossing
Speaker 3: the finish line. I was like, I've got to do this.
Speaker 3: This looks amazing. And so the very next week I
Speaker 3: sent in for an application to the New York City
Speaker 3: Marathon and was lucky enough to get in my first try.
Speaker 3: It was a while ago before you know, it was
Speaker 3: quite as hard to get in maybe as it is now.
Speaker 3: And that's kind of what got me back into it.
Speaker 1: I didn't know that. But what what How did you
Speaker 1: go from? Why do you want to be the head
Speaker 1: of New York road Runners. You're a lawyer, you have
Speaker 1: a like you're Harvard or an excuse me at least
Speaker 1: ivy leave because I have to have a hard lost.
Speaker 3: That's where I was going while going Boston.
Speaker 1: Let me get it right now, But you go from that,
Speaker 1: But you always wanted to be the head of this organization.
Speaker 3: Well, you know, I had a lot of great roles
Speaker 3: in my career. I practiced law for a few years,
Speaker 3: and then I was in your world for a while.
Speaker 3: I mean I was at ESPN and I bit at
Speaker 3: ABC News, and so I did the media thing. And
Speaker 3: I loved sports and loved media, and so I spent
Speaker 3: almost twenty years between ESPN, ABC and NBC Sports in
Speaker 3: that world and got to do some amazing things, both
Speaker 3: in front of the camera and mostly behind the camera.
Speaker 3: But I loved sports and I loved New York, right,
Speaker 3: and so when this opportunity came along, and I'd run
Speaker 3: two marathons, you know, the first one, and then I
Speaker 3: ran another one like sixteen years later, And when I
Speaker 3: got a call about this, and I just said, Wow, Okay,
Speaker 3: it's running, it's New York, it's sports, and not only that,
Speaker 3: but it's also for a purpose. You know, it's got
Speaker 3: a mission. So it's not just and I you know,
Speaker 3: I'd spent my whole career in for profits, so you know,
Speaker 3: it wasn't just money and shareholder value and the stock
Speaker 3: price and all that. It was, Hey, we're actually trying
Speaker 3: to help people through running, you know, we're trying to
Speaker 3: do change lives, and so I couldn't resist that. The
Speaker 3: kind of checked all the boxes for me of some
Speaker 3: thing that I wanted to do, and and right here
Speaker 3: in my hometown. So it's been great.
Speaker 1: Did you you Pauls as well when he said he
Speaker 1: ran a six oh one in high school.
Speaker 2: Yes, I was blown away. I've never run anything in
Speaker 2: with a six in front of it at all.
Speaker 1: If folks are listening, you're not a runner and have
Speaker 1: a handle on this. If a six minute mile is
Speaker 1: elite from a high schooler, that's definitely you must have
Speaker 1: been the national champion that year.
Speaker 3: I mean, you know, I could run a decent clip,
Speaker 3: but I mean you got you got guys out there
Speaker 3: running sub fives left and right. So I mean I
Speaker 3: was fast for my school for sure.
Speaker 1: But I said, you were a high schooler, Hey, go
Speaker 1: run a mile. You just put together a six. Yeah
Speaker 1: it was okay, he knows that's a big deal. That's
Speaker 1: not a small thing. You know.
Speaker 3: What's funny is and by the way, speaking of times,
Speaker 3: I actually brought some of your both of you time,
Speaker 3: I decided to do a little look at some of
Speaker 3: your times. You know, I run about as fast now
Speaker 3: TJ as I did like twenty years ago. Wow, And
Speaker 3: I don't really know. I look at that and I'm like, Okay, Well,
Speaker 3: maybe that's good because I've stayed in shape, or maybe
Speaker 3: it's bad because I should have been a lot faster
Speaker 3: than I wasn't pushing myself hard enough when I was younger.
Speaker 3: But you, guys, I like the times. First of all, Amy,
Speaker 3: you know a great track record of running. You go
Speaker 3: back to twenty seventeen. Do you remember what your first
Speaker 3: race with the roadrunners was?
Speaker 2: No, I don't.
Speaker 3: It was the twenty seventeen Shape Women's Half Marathon. Oh right,
Speaker 3: April thirtyeth twenty seventeen.
Speaker 2: The funny story about that one is I wasn't ever
Speaker 2: intending on running the whole thing. I was doing a
Speaker 2: relay race with Sarah Haynes, and I said, I'll do seven,
Speaker 2: you'll do she'll do said we ran one mile together.
Speaker 2: So I did six miles by myself, and then she
Speaker 2: and I ran six to seven together, and then I
Speaker 2: was going to stop, except for I didn't want to stop,
Speaker 2: so I just kept going. So I'm sure that time
Speaker 2: is awful because I was huffing and puffing and hyperventilating
Speaker 2: when I crossed the finish line because I didn't train.
Speaker 3: Not awful, It was two twenty seven. You're at eleven
Speaker 3: eighteen pace and you're.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was bad, but you don't understand what it
Speaker 2: was like the last three months.
Speaker 3: Now look at you. Now, you you ran the half,
Speaker 3: the twenty twenty three United Airlines NYC half in a
Speaker 3: pace under nine minutes a mile.
Speaker 2: I did was it one fifty four four? So I
Speaker 2: shaved off thirty minutes of a half marathon?
Speaker 3: Really good? I mean you shaved a lot of time
Speaker 3: off over the course of your time running.
Speaker 2: You don't know why because I actually trained. When you
Speaker 2: don't train, it's really hard, and then when you do train,
Speaker 2: it's a lot easier. I learned that the hard way.
Speaker 3: It does make a difference and your marathon times, Amy,
Speaker 3: I mean, you are you are definitely within range of
Speaker 3: running a sub four hour marathon and you are at
Speaker 3: four fourteen. So how big? How big a goal is
Speaker 3: that for you?
Speaker 2: It's been a goal. I've run five marathons now, I guess,
Speaker 2: and I keep wanting to get that sub four and
Speaker 2: we we almost we had it.
Speaker 1: We were it was we had it last. So the
Speaker 1: four to fourteen was the last one, right, yes, okay,
Speaker 1: so if you know, I don't know what we've talked
Speaker 1: about it here, but yes, that was a we were
Speaker 1: on pace to crush a sub four. We were on pace.
Speaker 1: All of a sudden, she wants to stop at every
Speaker 1: water stack.
Speaker 2: I got, I got.
Speaker 1: What's happening here? So I turned back and looked back,
Speaker 1: and she's having the water, but she's slowing down real slow.
Speaker 1: And then twenty two two.
Speaker 2: Sick.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh, and we had to pull over what was
Speaker 1: at least a five plus minute stop for a marathon.
Speaker 2: That's time.
Speaker 1: It was tough.
Speaker 2: And then you can't get your mojo back. You just
Speaker 2: can't get your rhythm back. And I was so frustrated
Speaker 2: because you don't know what's going to happen race day.
Speaker 2: I haven't figured out, still, even after five marathons, how
Speaker 2: to fuel myself without getting sick. It's it's a it's
Speaker 2: a it's a dance. What do you eat before, what
Speaker 2: do you eat during? What do you how much do
Speaker 2: you drink? How and how what's the weather like? Every
Speaker 2: think there's so many variables, but yes, I do want
Speaker 2: to get a sub for that is something I've always wanted.
Speaker 3: If you were on pace that long, it means you
Speaker 3: can do it.
Speaker 2: I know I can't. I know I can't.
Speaker 1: And if I was, I don't know, a little more selfish,
Speaker 1: I would have kept going in.
Speaker 2: I know, Oh you could. You could probably get a
Speaker 2: three thirty. I bet.
Speaker 3: All right, TJ. I'm looking at your times now, and
Speaker 3: they should be exactly with hers. Most of them are,
Speaker 3: but Brooklyn, because you ran Brooklyn exactly the twenty twenty
Speaker 3: two Brooklyn Half, very impressive, one forty six two a
Speaker 3: an eight six per mile pace. So you're talking about
Speaker 3: that about a six minute mile, but that was just
Speaker 3: one mile. You ran thirteen miles, just about eight minutes
Speaker 3: a mile. That's legit, that's impressive. That's impressive.
Speaker 1: I ran that one by myself. I noticed.
Speaker 2: I know, and I've said that the whole time. I
Speaker 2: know that you would be in a much better category.
Speaker 1: To your point about community, there is no way after
Speaker 1: training with her for for a marathon for five plus months,
Speaker 1: training for a half marathon for three plus months, that
Speaker 1: going through all that with her than on race day,
Speaker 1: I not be with her is not enough. It never
Speaker 1: crossed my mind to keep going. I said, it's more
Speaker 1: important for my personal relationship than it than to get
Speaker 1: a PR. It really is. So there was no question,
Speaker 1: and we were crushing that marathon.
Speaker 2: I know we were.
Speaker 1: She started stuff started coming out while we were running.
Speaker 2: I tried, well, that's what happened. I did not want
Speaker 2: to stop, but then my body insisted, yeah, that happens sometime.
Speaker 1: But yeah, it's said we had. You guys have been
Speaker 1: absolutely great, great, great, great to us and Stuart Lieberman
Speaker 1: and your team over the years have been wonderful. And
Speaker 1: we talk about running here a lot because we love
Speaker 1: it and we enjoy such a part of our life,
Speaker 1: but we don't I don't think we do focus enough
Speaker 1: on how much it has meant to us over time
Speaker 1: for our mental health. It really, really really has been
Speaker 1: a life saver for me personally and for I know
Speaker 1: for Robot with robog was the one who recognized something
Speaker 1: in me that was going on and pushed and encouraged
Speaker 1: me to get into running. So it has and you
Speaker 1: all have been a part of that journey. So thank you, really,
Speaker 1: thank you all for all you have done from and.
Speaker 2: For sharing that with the world with and your work
Speaker 2: with children, because when you can get kids to see
Speaker 2: the magic or feel the magic of running and feel
Speaker 2: their own strength, so many people, but children especially feel powerless.
Speaker 2: And when you give them this tool that they can
Speaker 2: utilize and access without a gym, it's free and you
Speaker 2: can run almost anywhere. Talk about why your work with
Speaker 2: team for kids because it's such a beautiful thing. I love,
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, when I see kids running and I
Speaker 2: see them building, it makes me so happy because I
Speaker 2: know the joy that they're going to have with them
Speaker 2: always able to access. I think I pushed my daughters
Speaker 2: too far because I so badly wanted them to run
Speaker 2: with me. They did do the Brooklyn It was the
Speaker 2: Brooklyn five K I did with them. I have the
Speaker 2: cutest pictures of that. They made it. They felt so accomplished.
Speaker 2: But I think maybe because mom wanted them to do
Speaker 2: it so badly, they resisted. But now I've got my
Speaker 2: oldest running sending me pictures of her runs, and she
Speaker 2: still won't let me follow her on Strava, but because
Speaker 2: she knows I'll get obsessive about it. But I start
Speaker 2: to see it comes back to them, even if because
Speaker 2: it is a thing where mentally you can resist it,
Speaker 2: like why am I doing this? This is hard and
Speaker 2: as a kid, it's hard to explain to a kid
Speaker 2: why you would keep doing it. But I do love
Speaker 2: that there's a foundation and what you're creating for them,
Speaker 2: and then yes, they can always come back to it.
Speaker 2: I know TJ's trying to do the same thing with
Speaker 2: Sabine right now, well, trying not.
Speaker 1: To push her, but she's on. She's eleven, She's joined
Speaker 1: her track team for the fifth graders and got her.
Speaker 1: She is the most beautifully outfitted fifth grader you will
Speaker 1: ever see. I even have her coordinated New Balance shoes,
Speaker 1: new Balance socks, new Balance bag, new Balance hoodiewali sut.
Speaker 1: She walks in like she's about to run a six
Speaker 1: minute mile. You know what, I love it's brand. But
Speaker 1: if she's wearing shoes that actually New Balance provided gifted
Speaker 1: to her, that end up being gifted to my daughter.
Speaker 1: So New Balance, we are using the shoes, so thank you.
Speaker 1: But it is it's you don't want to push them
Speaker 1: too far, but to see them getting into it, and
Speaker 1: it isn't that event you talk about in time Square.
Speaker 1: I'm trying to get her to do that as well.
Speaker 1: She's uh, she's not there yet. But it's just we
Speaker 1: we love it so much and it's just meant so
Speaker 1: much to us, and you all have meant so much
Speaker 1: to us, and we we we can't let you get
Speaker 1: out of here without asking because it's been in the
Speaker 1: news lately, just what happened with the young lady, the
Speaker 1: college student in Georgia, the runner there Lake and Riley.
Speaker 1: But what what do you all certainly your heart's break,
Speaker 1: much as you all love running and support runners, but
Speaker 1: what is your issue maybe sometimes with the conversation that's
Speaker 1: had around safety when it comes to running, and what
Speaker 1: do you all recommend to anyone but women in particular
Speaker 1: when it comes to running.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that was really a heartbreaking story. It was hard
Speaker 3: for me to read that about a young woman who
Speaker 3: was you know, attacked and harmed that way, you know,
Speaker 3: doing the thing that we are talking about doing and running. Unfortunately,
Speaker 3: it happens too often, you know. I actually, you know,
Speaker 3: posted something on my Instagram about that, and I had
Speaker 3: a number of women reach out to me and say,
Speaker 3: you know, I've had issues you know, in different places
Speaker 3: in New York City or wherever it might be. You know,
Speaker 3: it simply should not be a thing that a woman
Speaker 3: has to worry about her safety being harmed or harassed
Speaker 3: to go out for a run. It just shouldn't be.
Speaker 3: And it's it's frankly on everybody to make that stop.
Speaker 3: You know, it's on It's on men, women, everybody to
Speaker 3: be allies to people who are running and make sure
Speaker 3: that we're keeping each other safe out there. You know.
Speaker 3: As far as advice, I mean, we have put out
Speaker 3: you know, some you know, some things over the years
Speaker 3: about runner safety. You know, personally, I think the number
Speaker 3: one thing that you can do is run with other people.
Speaker 3: You know, we talked about that, and running in groups
Speaker 3: has so many benefits. Safety is one of them. There's
Speaker 3: no question about it. And so it's just people are
Speaker 3: safer in groups, there's no question about it. There are
Speaker 3: there are things that runners can can purchase and buy
Speaker 3: to you know, pepper spray on wristbands or things like
Speaker 3: that for self defense. You know, some people might choose
Speaker 3: to do that, some people might might not want to
Speaker 3: do that, but you know, I just think being around
Speaker 3: as many other people as you can be when you're running,
Speaker 3: and it's it's easy to say that in Manhattan. It's
Speaker 3: harder to say that, you know, maybe in you know,
Speaker 3: more rural areas. So I don't you know, I'm not
Speaker 3: here to say don't run by yourself, but you know,
Speaker 3: since safety is an issue for runners and especially women,
Speaker 3: I think it's always great to have even if it's
Speaker 3: just one running buddy.
Speaker 2: Oh, you can even have someone bike next to you.
Speaker 2: I've done that before too as well. And I know
Speaker 2: one of the things about running with folks and getting
Speaker 2: the excitement to share with other people are those races
Speaker 2: that you were talking about. And I just would encourage
Speaker 2: anyone who's even considering starting running or starting back to
Speaker 2: running to sign up for a race, because now you're
Speaker 2: on the hook. Like now you've got a goal. And
Speaker 2: even if you think you might not want to, you
Speaker 2: know you have to because you've you know, you've done that.
Speaker 2: I think I've done that to myself. You're you know,
Speaker 2: playing a mental game with yourself, like I want to
Speaker 2: keep going, I want to make this work. If I
Speaker 2: sign up for this race, now I have to train.
Speaker 2: Now I have to run. So I love that whole component.
Speaker 2: I love that you all have so many different opportunities
Speaker 2: for all types of runners. And and I just think
Speaker 2: wherever you live, check your local running organization, because there's
Speaker 2: a way to do it, and there's a way to
Speaker 2: kind of force yourself to be on the hook that
Speaker 2: race day.
Speaker 3: Sign up for that race, and then you know, it's
Speaker 3: even better, tell three people that you signed up for
Speaker 3: the race, right, put it on social media, exactly, put
Speaker 3: it out there in the world, right, don't keep it
Speaker 3: a secret to yourself. So now you've got people going to,
Speaker 3: you know, ask me, oh, yeah, how's the training for
Speaker 3: that race going? How'd that race go? Right? You got
Speaker 3: the accountability as well.
Speaker 2: I love that Rob civil Care nailed it. I get it.
Speaker 3: It's so much easier than it looks. It is.
Speaker 2: It is it is. Thank you so much for coming
Speaker 2: and again to echo what TJ said, thank you for
Speaker 2: all that you all have done for us to support
Speaker 2: us as runners. We tend to be a little bit
Speaker 2: of procrastinators. So when sometimes the races are are no
Speaker 2: longer available, y'all sneak us in anyway, So we are
Speaker 2: very appreciate. Sometimes we just crashed races. We've done that
Speaker 2: before too.
Speaker 1: Are you telling people this stuff? We sound like we're
Speaker 1: getting no folks, we signed up on time, we made
Speaker 1: the deadline. We're not getting any special privileges.
Speaker 2: You're just not talking. We'd like to and in a
Speaker 2: perfect world I would have been better about it. But no,
Speaker 2: thank you. We do appreciate it.
Speaker 3: There's not much we can do for you, guys to
Speaker 3: help you run thirteen point one miles, so you got
Speaker 3: to do that yourself. There's nothing we can do for you. There.
Speaker 1: Almost quit runn last year because of the because it
Speaker 1: was really cold, cold, it was seventeen degrees. I think, oh,
Speaker 1: I ended that race and I almost I said, I
Speaker 1: want to quit running. That was the worst run, not
Speaker 1: worst race. Well, that was the worst time I ever
Speaker 1: had running in my life.
Speaker 2: That was the day you met rob You probably got
Speaker 2: a really bad I guess it was.
Speaker 1: After the race.
Speaker 2: Is angry like it was.
Speaker 1: Oh you the head of New York Road Runs with
Speaker 1: the with the with the Weaver. Appreciate having you. We're
Speaker 1: going to see you plenty down the road. But thank you.
Speaker 3: We'll see you both at the finish line. Thank you
Speaker 3: very much for having me. I appreciate it.
Speaker 1: But folks, you know where to find us. Of course,
Speaker 1: Roboc and I both on our Instagram accounts, also on
Speaker 1: TikTok and we Also you can find the show at
Speaker 1: Amy and TJ Podcast on Instagram.