Hello hellooo. I don’t know about but you, but I’ve been thoroughly enjoying strolling through my neighborhood and peeping all the Halloween decorations. My favorite so far is a brownstone with giant octopus tentacles coming out of the windows.
Onto MARATHON WEEK NEWS. This Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the NYC Marathon’s five-borough course. (Before 1976, runners just did laps and laps around Central Park. My personal nightmare.) New York Road Runners is expecting more than 60,000 runners to take on the 26.2-mile course through the city.
I’ll be among them, starting at the leisurely hour of 11:30 am (Bib number 68109 if you feel like yelling at me along the route!) I’ve been dealing with some serious shin splints despite my measly running volume, and I can feel the tickle of a lil cold coming on, so I’m going to need all the infectious energy I can get on race day.
This week: We’re going all in on marathon madness. From pop-ups and parties to free recovery treatments, vintage running gear, and a truly ridiculous number of shakeout runs, here’s everything worth checking out this week. You don’t have to be running to join the fun.
on the radar: this week’s fitness and wellness events
We’re going to do this a bit differently this week because pretty much any and every fitness-related event in the city this week is centered around the marathon.
We’ll start with a few standalone events here, but in the next section we’ll dive into all the week-long brand activations and public events.
Tuesday October 27: The NYC Danceathon (Williamsburg Bridge), 7PM, $10
Okay, a run/danceathon on the Williamsburg Bridge. This is exactly the kind of chaotic energy I love about NYC marathon week. And it's happening on TUESDAY, before most of the week's festivities even get started. There will be prizes for best dance fit, dancer of the day, and dance group choreo, so bring your A game. It’s hosted by Forte and Soft Bar (the NA Carl Radke bar), so RSVP to find out when they drop the starting location.
Thursday October 29th: MAD R.A.D. Reckless 10K (Williamsburg), 7PM, $30
This 10K race (powered by performance shoe brand R.A.D and Mad Radio) is for anyone feeling FOMO that they’re not running NYC. You can still join in on the fun! Once you reach the finish line, the party will be going late into the night. Check in is at 7 PM, and the gun goes off at 8.
Friday October 30th: The Very Spooky and Scary Multimedia Night at Brooklyn Bouldering Project (Gowanus), 6PM, $15 for non-members in costume, free for members
Halloween shouldn’t get overlooked this year just because the marathon is also this weekend, and Brooklyn Bouldering Project is putting on a cute and fun event! There will be a climbing competition, crafts, trivia, and screen (scream) printing. Tickets are fairly cheap even if you’re not a member (but only if you’re in costume, which you should be.)
marathon week activations and pop-ups
Okay, this is the meat of this week’s newsletter. There are approximately one million things happening in NYC this week, and we’ve spent far too much time digging through Instagram posts, event pages, and my inbox to find the good ones. Many of the pop-ups are brands having a temporary IRL space and just trying to get customers in the door via a shakeout run and a “place to hang out with other runners.” Boooring. But some brands/communities are actually doing things differently.
Rather than give you an exhaustive list of everything happening, here's what I'd go to if I had unlimited time this week. If you’re looking for even more shakeout runs, browse this page.
Southbound 400 Photo Exhibit
Southbound 400—the organization behind the awesome stage race that runs from Canada to NYC—is hosting 4x400: A photo exhibit and four days of programming for the community. It’s open daily from Wednesday through Saturday at 292 Broome St from 11 am to 6 pm. Here’s what to expect/sign up for:
Wednesday: Opening party with beer, wine, light bites, sounds, and of course, photos. 530 pm to 10 pm.
Thursday: MMMMindful run meditation in partnership with Usal, the outdoorsy collective that puts on fun events. 630 am to 9 am.
Friday: A block party! Beer, food, sounds. 4 pm to 9 pm.
Saturday: GRWSB, hosted by the women of southbound. Ugh. Lovely. Tooth gems, rally massage, a DJ. 11 am to 3 pm.
Therabody & New Balance Pop-Ups
New Balance (a NYC marathon sponsor and who I’m running the race with!!) is teaming up with Therabody (you know, the brand behind massage guns, compression boots, and my fav LED face mask) for some fun moments this week:
Tuesday: New Balance, Garmin, & Therabody are hosting a pre-shakeout run and party at Paragon Sports. Stay after for the food, drink, and product raffles/demos. RSVP required. 6 pm.
Go get your hair done for free at the Race Ready pop-up at the New Balance Run House. Stop by from 9 am to 4 pm on Friday or 9 am to 12 pm on Saturday for hair styling, clothing embroidery, coffee/snacks, and use of massage guns, etc. No RSVP required but hair styling is by appt.
Sunday: Runners in need of a little TLC after the marathon, stop by 1 Hotel Central Park for some post-race recovery via Therabody products and a mobility coach until 6 pm. (The coach leaves at 5, though.)
Therabody is also providing free pedicab rides from either the Expo (10 am - 6 pm on Saturday) or near Columbus Circle on race day (12 pm to 6 pm). I may have to tell my parents about this one.
Minor Planet: Center for Beginners
Wow, there’s a lot happening at this pop-up from independent running brand Minor Planet and Mike Kratzer, much of it unexpected and related to breathwork, meditation, and sound. It’s worth browsing the IG post/schedule but here are some standouts:
A launch party for the collab between Routine Pleasure x Running Energy on Wednesday at 6 pm.
Breathwork with live ambient music, followed by a 5k shakeout on Thursday evening. RSVP here.
Qigong in the park on Saturday at 12 pm. RSVP required, but the link is not live yet so you’ll have to keep an eye on the IG page for it.
Notes Running Pop-Up
Related to Minor Planet’s pop-up above, running apparel and poetry brand Notes Running is hosting five events this week starting, well, this past weekend. The IG post is pretty vague (the exploration is part of the fun!), but they are hosting some cool and running-complementary events that aren’t all centered around more mileage.
A Wednesday 8 AM meditation and mobility session with my gal Alice Baquie. You may remember her from our Q&A series. Follow the IG for more info?
830 am on Thursday: A Note To The Runners with Maurten and Rubber n Road. Run, coffee, poetry, snacks. (466 W 51st st)
Friday at 6 pm: Breathwork, poetry, and a bridge to bridge sunset run with Minor Planet. (138 Eldridge st)
Club Celsius
If you don’t know me, I am (unfortunately) an energy drink GIRL. So I’m happy to see Club Celsius as a Williamsburg hub this marathon week. (Yes I will be stopping by and I hope they have cola flavor.) A few events you should know and RSVP to:
A Friday sunset shakeout run with a mobile DJ (Sidequest) and Corbin from Love Island. Can I get a kisssssss?
After the run, there’s a singles mixer in partnership with live dating/comedy show Updating. (You’ve probably seen it on your feed.)
Stop by on race day for a DJ, giveaways, and cheer flag making.
Hoka Fly Station
Hoka always puts on a good pop-up, and it’s worth keeping an eye on their Fly Station in Williamsburg. It’ll be running from 1 pm to 8 pm on Friday, and 930 am to 4 pm on Saturday. The daily schedule breakdown is still incoming, but you can expect shakeout runs, refreshments, customization opportunities, and rotating DJs.
Miler Running Pop Up
Cool kid brand Miler Running will have a pop up from Thursday through Saturday from 12 pm to 7 pm in LES. A couple events that seem worth attending:
“Grid City”, a run series that explores the design/architecture/planning of New York. Cool to learn about things while you run! This one on Tuesday at 7 am will be 5 miles all about the buses and ferries of NYC.
An NYC Marathon memorabilia vintage sale curated by Sportswhere. Friday at 12 pm. Very cool!
The launch party of Athletics Archive—a journal designed for runners to keep track of a training program. Friday at 7 pm. RSVP on Luma.
rabbit Clubhouse
Running apparel brand rabbit has a clubhouse in Tribeca that will be open from Thursday through Monday. You can stop by for free coffee/Tailwind hydration during open hours, a charm bar on Friday, or an organized event (you gotta register on the website above for the following):
A 5k run/pizza with the Michael J Fox Foundation on Thursday at 5 pm.
A bagel shakeout run on Friday at 9 am.
A session on creativity in running hosted by Raz of Running Sucks on Friday at 4 pm. (Or, if you can’t make that, there’s a welcome reception right afterward.)
bonus events:
This is waitlisted, but: Two of my running pals and badass runners Tommie and Berto are opening up a candy shop so you can fill up a bag of Bubs, get an aura reading, and other race day goodies. Friday at 3 pm.
Park Slope, spreading the love to you: A live podcast recording of Long Run Labs and run at Fleet Feet’s store at 4 pm on Friday.
Meet Hellen Obiri (she won NYC last year) at the Shoks Community Hub on Friday at 2 pm.
My friend and stellar photographer Dave Hashim (along with two other photographers) is hosting a panel discussion on the art of race-day photography. Thanks Saucony! Saturday at 1 pm.
a few fun spots to cheer from:
You can cheer anywhere along the course, but run clubs often host fun cheer zones. Here are a few. Or head down to Eavesdrop in Greenpoint for Bandit’s cheer zone.
post-marathon parties
Barefoot shoe brand vivobarefoot is hosting a community celebration starting at 4:30 pm (way before I’ll be finished up) in Harlem. There will be food and drinks.
Hybrid community VTLZR is hosting an afterparty at Manhattan sports bar Legends, running from 1 pm to 6 pm (for the speedy bois only.) Entry is free but drinks not included.
If you want to be surrounded by people actually dancing instead of talking about race times, Coach J of Goldfinger Track Club is hosting an afterparty at Moondog HiFi Bar in East Williamsburg/Bushwick. Lots of dancing, an inclusive space, non-runners encouraged, and drinks are affordable. Free with RSVP.
Celsius is big on the Love Island game (they had snake wrangler Rob on a brand trip last year and I unfortunately could not attend), but Bryce Alakai is DJing their after-marathon party. We all know the reason to attend would be to see Trinity. RSVP here, but attendance is first-come, first-served so arrive early.
The official NYRR Afterparty—Victory Lap—is at Terminal 5 from 7 pm to 11 pm. Tickets are $35 and includes one drink. Wouldn’t be my top choice tbh, but to each their own.
Almost Friday Run Club is hosting an after party at their pop-up space on Bleecker Street from 6 pm til midnight. Music and drinks.
See you next Monday.
🫡 I hope to see you somewhere around somehow