Back to Running: Run Club Edition

It’s been a while since I first published this site earlier this year. You probably haven’t been wondering what I’ve been up to since moving into NYC, but I’m going to tell you anyway since this is my blog. Feel free to leave at any point. 😄

A lot has happened in the last five months - I’ll list a few off the top of my head:

• First job @ MongoDB (a big one! Lots of fun and lessons learned)
• Florida (Golf, Coup, and too many oysters 🤮)
• Lots of korean BBQ (trying out new restaurants with the family)

I’ll write about some of my above experiences in another post – in this one, I want to share my journey back to running and the people I’ve met along the way.

What’s to do in the big city?

College is over. Not living at home in NJ anymore. Evenings and weekends are completely free now. What’s a new grad supposed to do with all this time? To put this into perspective (for my numbers geeks): there’s 168 hours in a week. Take away 40 hours for work, and assume I get 8 hours of sleep a night. I’m still left with 72 hours. That’s a ton of time to kill by going to the gym, working on side projects, or whatever. It was time to find a new hobby. A new obsession that would help me navigate life post-grad and in the city.

Spectating Philly

Every November, Philly hosts a marathon weekend, taking runners through the landmarks, neighborhoods, and waterfronts of the historic city. Participants can choose to run either the 8k, half (13.1 mi), or full (26.2 mi) marathon. My close friend Vishaal and I had no plans to run. A half marathon? No thanks. Our friend Na, on the other hand, had no fear and breezed through her first half. You can see it for yourself in the picture below; if it weren’t for the heat sheet, you probably couldn’t tell that she just ran a whopping 13.1 miles.

Vishaal and I (spectators) with our friend Na after the Philly Half

Vishaal and I struggled (a bit) trying to find Na on the course or at the finish. And while we didn’t quite catch her until after the race, we did catch all of the energy and hype around the race. Friends and family were flying all around the Philly Museum of Art; organizers were blasting music through the speakers; posters and signs were held up high in an attempt to locate friends. It was an incredible atmosphere, and I think it was that morning when I started to catch the running bug. Why? Within 2 weeks, I found myself shopping for running shoes, determined to get back into the sport since my last HS race back in 2019.

Impulse Half Registration

A couple of weeks go by and the new year rolls around. Total mileage on my new shoes: 0. As much as I wanted to get back into running, that first step felt just out of reach. I’m the type of person that needs to work towards a goal. It could be anything, but there has to be something to keep me in check. At this point, I’ve already moved into NYC and heard from those around me about NYRR races selling out quickly. This sounded like the perfect idea: if we paid the entry fee, then we’d be forced to run the race (we both knew that dropping out was out of the question). So I called up Vishaal (who, by the way, is on the other side of the world at the time – it was winter break for him) and got him on board. Unfortunately, the only race open at that point was the Staten Island Half. Neither of us had run in years, and have never run for anywhere near 13.1 miles. Still, we needed that extra bit of motivation – so, we entered our personal info, paid the entry fee, and hit the submit button. No more backing out!

I regretted that decision on the very same day. Having not run or done any significant form of cardio for about 4 years, I thought it’d be a good idea to start on the treadmill for a light 1-2 miles. Let me be clear: those miles were anything but light. If being out of shape wasn’t enough of a challenge, the constant reminder on the treadmill display that the distance covered was barely increasing added to my frustration. I was basically sprinting the entire time (same face and form as middle school me in the picture below) – which would be cool if it were the last 100m of a race, but not so much on a treadmill in a local gym. After that, my body refused to get back on that machine unless there was some natural disaster going on outside. So now what?

Left: Middle school Jeff gunning it, probably. Middle + Right: Dreadmill shenanigans

Community++

Luckily for me, I live in NYC, home to hundreds of run clubs and thousands of runners of all skill levels. Step outside on any day (especially the weekends) and I’m sure you’ll bump into some run club/group. For me, the next step was to find out which ones I wanted to join. Fortunately for me again, I work at MongoDB, and one of my recruiters (Sammy Attia) is an avid runner and run club enthusiast, racking up 60+ miles per week. I asked her for advice on joining a run club, and she was more than happy to share her thoughts about clubs that would be a good fit. She herself is a captain and pace lead for two run clubs: Midnight Runners and Endorphins. At the end, I made a completely random and unbiased decision to attend exactly these two clubs.

Midnight Runners 🖤

Midnight Runners (MR) is a global, volunteer-based running community aimed at making running a fun and social workout. With events every Wednesday at 7pm in Central Park, MR adds its own twist to running via its signature “bootcamp run”. These runs feature lively music and exercise stops about every 3/4 miles, giving the legs a bit of a breather while runners work on other body-weight strengthening exercises. And the best part: every run ends at a bar for attendees to catch a drink and chat with others.

My first run was on February 21st. It was quite a chilly day, and the pitch black winter sky didn’t seem too welcoming. Still, I got changed into my running clothes and headed from the office straight to the starting point. To be frank, I was a bit nervous – based on my prior activities, I wasn’t sure if I could complete the 10k run, and I certainly didn’t want to hold the group back. I decided to give it a shot anyway, and I’m glad I did.

Immediately after dropping my bags off at the starting point, I met a bunch of other runners, all excited to chat and get to know one another. Captains went around making sure participants checked-in on their app (10 check-ins and you get a free MR shirt!) while others got a head start on dynamic warmups. A few minutes later, the captains synced up their speakers, put on the first song of the night, and were off to races (not really a race, but the idiom was too good not to put here).

First MR Run (Feb 21) - wearing a white hoodie in the middle-right side

Remember when I said that 1-2 miles felt dreadful not too long ago? To my surprise, the 10K with MR didn’t feel anywhere as draining. We started piling on miles, and I didn’t feel like I had to drag my legs every step of the way. The music, energy, and excitement of running with almost a hundred other people on a brisk winter evening in Central Park seemed to put away any sort of fatigue.

Left: MR Bootcamp Run at nightfall. Right: MR NYC’s 6th Birthday Party Run (ft. Captain Jon and my MR shirt). Shots by Captain @rebeccamarks !

Since then, I’ve added MR to my weekly rotation. Every Wednesday evening at 7pm, I, along with hundreds of others, do a loop around Central Park (but not Harlem Hill, no thanks), taking in the scenery and music the entire way through. As the weather gets better and the sun sets later, the MR crowd grows. Every week, I see new runners join the club (as well as familiar faces that have been with the org for years). To think I was in the same spot not long ago, looking for a group to run with and have a good time, is a crazy feeling. If you’re ever in the city during the week, definitely join us for a run on Wednesday evening at 7pm (all skill levels welcome) - the more the merrier!

Endorphins ⚡💙

After a fantastic experience with MR, I knew I had to run with another group on the other days of the week. As per Sammy’s other suggestion, Endorphins was next on the list for me.

If you attend any Endorphins run (they have events in cities across the country), you’ll know that the mission of Endorphins is to spread positivity and happiness through movement and exercise. The city leads start every run with that statement, setting the tone for a social and uplifting experience. No matter where you are in the country, every Endorphins city starts the week with a Monday morning run. Up to a hundred people gather (in NYC) for this Monday run, gearing up for the week ahead with some miles and friends. Later in the week, Endorphins NYC hosts Wednesday evening speed workouts in Central Park, Thursday morning runs in Prospect Park, (occasionally) Thursday afternoon Happy Hour runs, and the signature Saturday morning long runs throughout the NYC boroughs.

I love running with this club. Don’t get me wrong: waking up on Monday mornings can be a struggle (especially during the cold winter mornings when the sun hasn’t come up) and catching the 2/3 train to Grand Army Plaza on Thursday mornings isn’t ideal (haven’t quite reached the stage of running to every starting location yet). That being said, I’ve always finished an Endorphins run feeling excited and ready to tackle on the rest of the day (my legs sometimes say otherwise though).

Shoutout to the Endorphins 8:30 min/mi crew

Saturday long runs are exciting since the route changes on a weekly basis. Sometimes, we tackle the BMW bridges into/out of Brooklyn. Other times, we’ll stick within Manhattan and jog along the WSH, ending with a loop around Central Park. We’ve even done a route through 3 of NYC’s boroughs: from Manhattan into Brooklyn, then into Queens, and ending back in Manhattan (fun fact: this was actually the route of my first run with the group!). Variety, in my opinion, is so crucial to keeping up with the pace of the sport – and Endorphins does a great job at mixing things up, all while keeping the same lively energy.

Just a couple of long-run routes

Even more, Endorphins constantly has cool events or news going on. Recently, in celebration of Global Running Day, the club (in all cities around the country) got together in the morning for a jog along WSH, ending with free coffee at a local cafe. Oh, and free New Balance x Endorphins shirts! In a couple of weeks, Endorphins is headed to Citi Field for a Mets game, and Endorphins members will have on field access. There’s so much happening all the time (I need to read the weekly announcements carefully so I don’t end up with FOMO) – can’t wait for what’s to come as the fall racing season approaches.

Takeaways

At the end of the day, I’m just glad to be running again – I really missed the energy of the sport and people in the community. Attending MR and Endorphins runs are some of my highlights of each week, and I look forward to many, many more runs with them. If you’re thinking about getting into running, I encourage you to try out a local run club regardless of your skill level / base – it’ll make the transition much easier, smoother, and more enjoyable. And hey, you might even become a big run club fan as well 🤷.

That’s all for now! I’ll be back with updates on the other parts of my life “soon” (could be another 5 months to be honest).

One more thing: shameless plug for my Strava in case you’re curious about where I’m at 😁

Honorable Mention: JP Morgan Corporate Challenge

JP Morgan Corporate Challenge with MongoDB

JPMorgan hosts an annual 3.5 mile race in the back half of Central Park for companies to take part in. It was a fun social event with coworkers, but if you’re planning on actually racing, lower your expectations. With 25,000+ participants spread out across two days, you’ll find yourself weaving through runners, joggers, and walkers for at least the first 1-1.5 miles (and then you’re at Harlem Hill).