Upon reflection, New York was the best place to start this project, and like New Yorkers I ran with (and like I quickly learned), there is no city like New York in terms of running. One man I talked to said prior to living in New York, he had been in Boston and Chicago, and despite their reputations for being running hubs, New York had a far more robust running culture. While this was mildly concerning for the success of my project elsewhere, I found that he was right: I had never seen that many people run in one place before. I initially planned to only interview people in running clubs, but after getting lost in Central Park on my way to meet up with a run club, I decided to see if I would have similar results interviewing solo runners in Central Park. I was surprised by people's willingness to talk to me, and this ended up working quite well, especially since people felt more comfortable talking with me outside of a group setting.
North Brooklyn Runners
I did not plan on running with this club, but I met up with a friend of a friend earlier in the day who regularly runs with North Brooklyn Runners, so I decided to join her on her run. I was grateful that I decided to do so, because she introduced me to some people who she thought would be willing to talk to me.
One woman said she was inspired to run because of her family, and started running when she was young so she could run with her parents. Despite trying other sports in her youth, running was the only sport she actually enjoyed. Unlike other runners I encountered, she did not want to sign up for races out of a desire to compete, she only raced with her friends so she could support them, and did not set time goals. Another woman I talked to had the most interesting running origin story I heard during this project. She grew up in rural Arkansas and watched a movie called Brittany Runs a Marathon in high school. In the movie, Brittany runs with North Brooklyn Runners, which was a perfect coincidence, because in her senior year of high school, she got into and accepted a place at NYU. The marathon she planned on running would have happened in April 2020, but the race got canceled because of the pandemic. She decided to run a marathon anyway, and her friends cheered her on as she ran laps around her neighborhood in Arkansas until she reached 26.2 miles. When she did finally get to run in New York, she met her best friends because of running, and now runs with North Brooklyn Runners, in part because of the movie she watched in high school. She also talked extensively about how running helped her grow out of the mindsets and habits that she developed growing up in the Deep South. She said, that thanks to running and all of the friends she has made through running, she learned how to speak up for herself, say no to people, and become a feminist. She credits these lessons to the consistency and mental strength required for running, and says that running is the primary reason she is happy with the person she has become in her adulthood.
Central Park
My plans with the running club I had scheduled for this day fell through, so I ended up running through Central Park in the morning and talking with runners I encountered on the pathways in the park. Most people I encountered were initially wary of me approaching them, but once we introduced ourselves to each other, I found these conversations felt more comfortable than trying to talk to people in the large group setting of a running club. This also allowed me to interact with a more diverse population since most people I talked with either are not a part of a running club, or previously ran with a club but now do not. However, all the people who have never run with a running club mentioned New York City running culture, and that they could engage with other runners in the area on social media platforms and felt that, even though socialization is not a part of their running habits, that they felt very connected to other runners in New York City.
Many of the people I encountered running alone began running to get in shape or lose weight, but their overall goals and motivations for running have since grown beyond the physical benefits. One woman I talked to said just after she began running, she impulsively decided to sign up for a race, but learned she values the peace that came with her runs in Central Park before work just as much as she likes the exercise. This was a common feeling among all the solo runners I encountered – everyone mentioned the meditative side of running and the overwhelming sense of calm that they feel during and after a run. Along with this sense of calm is the endorphin rush – all of the morning runners mentioned that they liked the feeling of starting their day off with a run and exercising before work.
During another woman’s preparation for a half marathon, she got used to the consistency required for race training and the pursuit of a goal she set for herself, and wanted to continue that after her first half marathon. She runs with friends and coworkers occasionally, and has engaged with New York City running culture on social media, but prefers to run alone.
Dashing Whippets
I really enjoyed running with the Dashing Whippets – it was the perfect mix of competitive and social for me, which a lot of other runners mentioned as well. We started in front of a restaurant in Greenwich Village, which is where they get food and drinks after their runs. I joined them for an easy run, but the club runs speed workouts twice a week and is known for its fast racing team in local races by other New York runners. I spent most of my time talking with a man named Alan, who said he started running after graduating college, but ran by himself for a while. He joined a running club to make friends, but said it took a while to work up the courage to join one where he did not know anyone (I felt this way going to different running clubs every day – it is quite daunting!). Alan tried many different running clubs, but ended up sticking with the Whippets because the people are so friendly, and he said running speed workouts was a lot easier with other people. Our shared love for speed workouts led to a conversation about another part of running that Alan likes that is not as easily accessible in other sports: data. Running is a data-driven sport; if someone is curious, it is relatively easy to see how fast you run for certain lengths of time, create workouts with a specific distance/time ratio for yourself, and predict race outcomes. Alan talked about how he used to spend too much energy focusing on data – which is very easy given its accessibility – but is now trying to focus on achieving his goals without getting lost in the numbers beforehand. He still appreciates the data aspect of running, but, most of all, likes that it is a sport focused on self-improvement. Rather than compete against others to run a certain time or distance, he talked a lot about how running is about bettering yourself, which he says he can use the skills he develops while running in his personal and professional life.
Upper West Side Run Club
The Upper West Side Run Club is a social running club, but everyone I talked to had run long before joining, and about half the people I talked to started running in high school. One person I talked to, a man named John, said he ran in high school and did not continue running in college, but picked it back up a few years ago when his wife was training for a marathon, so they could spend more time together. After his wife’s marathon, he decided to keep running and will run the New York City Marathon in November. He does not race often, and mainly wanted to run the NYC marathon because it is known for being a fun marathon. While I did not talk to anybody else who planned to run the NYC marathon, many people had run a 10K in Queens the day before, and other runners showed up at the Upper West Side Run Club cheer area to support each other.
Overall
I really liked running in New York; out of all the cities I went to, it had the strongest, most obvious, and most diverse running culture. It was the perfect city to start this project in because of the volume of runners and running clubs relative to London and Chicago.