your weekly nyc fitness and wellness guide: june 8 - 14
A sauna rave, calisthenics park workout, and recap of the first rundown nyc event (ahhhh!)
It’s been a beautiful and exhausting week in NYC. If your workouts feel harder as you adjust to the heat, you’re not alone.
I just got back from a day of watching my friends crush their Hyrox doubles in the 85-degree weather, and last night we dropped by a Hyrox x Tech Week afterparty hosted by Fitt Insider, AIIR Agency, and Wellworthy. As a thunderstorm rolled across Manhattan outside the Soho Grand, the founder of a supplement company, who seemed disinterested in discussing supplements at all, told me about how he is a regular at his neighborhood bar in Greenpoint, and a gal from from an event platform dished on how her dating life improved when she moved from NYC to Texas. There was probably some networking happening too, but I was relieved that people were interested in connecting on a human level rather than optimization one. The terrace eventually opened, and the branded ice luge got put to good use.
Between the warm temps, Global Running Day, and Hyrox events, it seems the city’s fitness scene really came alive these past two weeks. So we’ve got a lot to cover.
This week: A sauna rave, calisthenics park workout, and recap of the first rundown nyc event (ahhhh!)
on the radar: this week’s fitness and wellness events
Tuesday June 9: Outsiders Park Workout with Lu from Marcus Garvey Park (Chelsea), 7PM, $10
Call it a recession indicator but calisthenics parks are cool (Daniel-Yaw Miller did an incredible writeup how these crews are the new run clubs for his sportsverse newsletter), and maybe we’ll write more on this trend in NYC specifically in the near future. I don’t know about you but I would feel quite intimidated to show up to one of these outdoor parks without having some go-to moves, so go learn them from one of the best at the affordable community class.
Tuesday June 9: Pura x Calm Immersive Scent Experience Pop-Up (High Line), 12PM, free
Walk over to the west side for a little mid-day reset. Home fragrance brand Pura and meditation and sleep app Calm partnered to create a three-room experience, each with a unique scent and sound pairing to “help you rest, reset, and refocus.” In classic NYC wellness brand activation style, they brought on a reality TV star appearance (Summer House's Carl Radke) to make people feel like they attract the It crowd.
Friday June 12: Daybreaker NYC Heatwave Sauna Rave (Flatiron), 9PM - 12AM, $84
Daybreaker’s iconic sauna rave is back—to some, dancing and sweating in a sauna sounds magical and to others it sounds like hell. Either way, you can’t deny that they’re bringing some much-needed energy to NYC’s often stiff and stuffy wellness scene. If anyone goes, please send us an email, we’d love to post your take.
Friday June 12: Bklyn Mile Registration Launch Party (Williamsburg), 630PM, free
The BKLYN MILE is an annual road race hosted by Hoka (the perfect opportunity to try to PR your mile), and this year its on August 2nd. Registration opens on friday, so Brooklyn Running Co is throwing a party—or maybe more like a 3-mile community run with refreshments. Seems like a stretch to throw a party for a registration day launch, but we never need an excuse to gather.
Friday June 12: The Exhale a Somatic Dance Party for Your Nervous System (Williamsburg), 745PM - 930PM, $30
Dancing is one of the most playful, freeing forms of movement, and this somatic dance party hosted at 305 Fitness by Eman Faris with a live DJ set from Manny Mohamed looks like it will be a good time.
Saturday June 13: The Fly Off Course Open (Governors Island), 9AM - 5PM, free
A full day of disc golf over on Governors Island, this open tournament is free to casual players (you can borrow a disc so literally just show up). If you want to play competitively, you’ll have to pay up. But it’s open to beginners and the ferry is only $5 and it runs every 30 minutes.
Saturday June 13: Gorp Girls McCarren Park Picnic (Williamsburg), 12PM, free
Meet some fellow granola baddies on a sweet Saturday in the park. Gorp Girls brought on Parks Project, a certified B Corp brand that creates gear with national park iconography while trying to educate and save our public lands (a lofty and necessary goal during this administration especially.)
Saturday June 13: Latina Baddie Run Club + Cafecito (Long Island City), 9AM, free
Join LA-based the Lila Society for one of the most pace-inclusive runs we’ve seen. The 5k pace is 12 to 14 minute miles, and there’s also a walking pace for a shorter route.
Sunday June 14: Usal Hike to Swim (Catskills), 9AM - 7PM, $15
We’ve talked about Usal before because they’re bringing rad outdoor community + events to NYC, and this week they’re hosting a 3.5-mile hike in the Catskills, followed by a group hang and swim at the dreamy Otter Falls. Leaves at 8:45 AM from McCarren Park and it’ll be a full full day, so bring a packed lunch + plenty of snacks and water.
Sunday June 14: Usal x Cul De Sac Run Sweat Sound (Alphabet City), 10AM - 6PM, $25
Maybe you don’t want to commit to a full day upstate, but you can still move with the Usal crew. They partnered with Cul De Sac, New York’s first outdoor community sauna (in a public garden). The event is just what it sounds like: a short run, sauna sessions, cold plunges, and music. The three miles are led by ultrarunner and life and mindset coach Aingeru Zorita, co-founder of Southbound 400 which we covered a couple of weeks ago. Solid.
we think you should know…
We hosted our first ever event and official Rundown NYC launch party this week—a yoga class taught by Maddie at a gorgeous UES studio, The Pearl, with sunlight pouring through oversized windows and pink velvet couches tucked into cozy side rooms.
Together with women-owned adjustable weights brand Lifting the Mood, we filled up the nearly 40-person room with a really special group of NYC media members, creators, fitness professionals, friends, and Rundown subscribers. For a first event, we genuinely had no idea what to expect.
After class wrapped, people gathered in small circles around the studio, pulled strangers into conversations, compared favorite run clubs and workout classes, and traded IG handles to continue the conversations the next day.
Big thanks to Kelly & Laura from Lifting the Mood, Lauren from The Pearl, and all the brands who sent our attendees home with goodies or provided NA drinks for the event. The support when we're only a month in has been kind of surreal. Keep your eyes out for future events — we promise we'll have a bigger one soon. ♡
happenings around town
When a giant thunderstorm swept across Manhattan this weekend, Hyrox had to cancel a few evening waves (Pro Doubles Women’s & Men’s). A lot of athletes were understandably pissed—many had flown in for the race. Some are arguing it should move indoors, but the classic convention center format is one of the biggest drawbacks of the race series. TBD on what steps Hyrox will take to reimburse (they say they’ll send athletes emails directly,) but if you were supposed to compete, forward us that email.
Starting on Sunday is A Week for the World: an annual event where a team of passionate folks run a marathon every day for a week in support of climate justice and community action. You can join them for the full 26.2 or show up for a section, walk, ride, or roll alongside. Run starts at 6AM, keynote speakers start at 11:30.
If you didn’t catch it above, Cul de Sac is a wellness pop-up in NYC that is bringing sauna culture + sounds to public parks, running multiple events a week. Right now they’re in La Plaza Cultural Community Garden as they search for permanent spot.
World Cup opening day is this Thursday, and plenty of bars are hosting opening day celebrations/watch parties—including free at the adidas Home of Soccer at Brooklyn Bridge Park, outside of the Intrepid Museum on Pier 86, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, and at the fan zone at the Bronx Terminal Market (tickets required for some.)
The Jacob Riis Bathhouse, the historic Art Deco building right near Rockaway beach which has sat boarded up since 1972, is set to reopen on the 4th of July. It will have some public spaces, but a good portion of it will be with private Rockaway Ocean Club with a restaurant, co-working lounge, and pool. Memberships start at $1,000 annually for Rockaway locals and a hefty chunk more other New Yorkers. They will be hosting a summer lineup of music called Rockaway Sounds, but the schedule hasn’t dropped yet.
That’s all for this week. If you make it to any of these events, we want to hear about it. Let us know in the comments. And if you come across something worth featuring, send it our way or drop it in the community chat!
PR and brands, our inboxes are always open for news and events we need to know. New studios: We’d love to come join a class and write about it.
Know someone who'd be into this? Forward it to them.
See you next Monday.