December Runner(s) of the Month: NBR Women's Masters Team
As runners, we’re all painfully aware of how 2020 has decimated our normal lineup of group runs, derailed training with friends, and left us with innumerable cancelled races; however we haven’t let that deter us. On the weekend of October 15-17th, a group of 12 NBR Masters Women ran the virtual 2020 Armory Marathon Relay. In two teams of six, racers completed legs of 4.3 mi each, many on our home turf, McCarren Park track. Fellow NBR teammates turned up to cheer, support, and offer be-masked and socially distant encouragement. Below, read the racers’ accounts of their experiences and what running the virtual race meant to them.
Sue Walsh
When did you join NBR? May 2011 (next year will be my ten year anniversary I guess!)
Why did you sign up? I signed up to feel like we’re a team, but running safely. I miss the team vibes, a lot.
Tell us about your experience: It was great! I ran on the last day of the 3 day race window and left too late (had to be back for my baby, Maria). Changed my plan and ran 2x2 mile, averaging around a 7:15 pace. Natalie (Gleed) cheered me on in the darkness of a fall morning. After having a baby, running has become even more important to me, but I now also have strict time windows to get out the door and return. You realize you have 50 minutes to warm up/race/recover and swoop home to be a parent so you have to make the most of that time. And we definitely did!
Your takeaway: Love for the Masters women. Masters running is so great - a new chapter. I think people are running for so many different reasons, there's a different energy and it feels more pure in some way. (Is that wisdom? I don't know.) And it is great to have so many wonderful women on the team who can support each other through this year.
Jen Herr
When did you join NBR? I joined NBR in 2013
Why did you sign up? Sarah Trigg and Natalie Gleed sent a message out to the NBR Masters Women listserv wanting to put a squad together. I was so happy to join in and return to competition with the team of wonderful and strong women.
Tell us about your experience: It was great - I kicked the relay off at 5:00AM on a Tuesday morning, and got my neighbor NBR runners Darnell Murrell and Erica Dean to pace me at McCarren Track. Sarah, Natalie, Caroline and Alena all arrived at the track a little later to cheer on my finish and I got to cheer them on as they started their own legs. We all got together to cheer on the final racer Liz Shea on Saturday morning at McCarren Track, along with some other spectators and supporters. It felt like the first real NBR team experience of 2020.
Your takeaway: A genuine sense of community, competition and accomplishment in this crazy pandemic year. It was also great bonding amongst such a wonderful group of women - we got together again (outdoors, masked and appropriately distanced) to celebrate our win after the results were posted, and some of us also watched election night results come in together.
Liz Shea
When did you join NBR? I joined NBR in the summer of 2017.
Why did you sign up? With most races being cancelled due to COVID, I was finding it difficult to get motivated to train. When Natalie (Gleed) sent out an email to the masters ladies group asking if anyone would be interested in doing this relay I immediately said "Yes!"
Tell us about your experience: Becca Ades graciously agreed to pace me. I was so thankful for her. It was my first time running with a pacer and it was extremely effective. She really pushed and guided me through the process, keeping me to the goal pace I set for myself and I ended up exceeding my expectations. Most of the others had already completed their race portion together earlier, so going last I figured I'd be grinding it out mostly alone. Imagine my surprise when a whole group came out to support me even though I was the only person left to run. I was so touched.
Your takeaway: The thing that makes me love this running community is how much we show up for each other and celebrate each other's successes. The masters contingent are not only incredible athletes, they are successful in life and their careers, some even raising young children. Aging as a woman is historically seen in our society as this negative thing, so I feel so fortunate to have this positive peer group that exemplifies embracing where you are in life and proving that older does not mean slower.
Alena Alasheeva
When did you join NBR? 2017
Why did you sign up? It was all Natalie’s fault. I just turned 40 and she asked me if I wanted to join NBR masters list and participate in the relay. My default answer is usually yes. One of the best decisions of 2020.
Tell us about your experience: It’s a party at the track. Ladies, running in circles and cheering for each other. Never thought it would be so much fun.
Your takeaway: I’m hearing we’re getting a medal and forever glory of being #1, let’s not delve into semantics.
Natalie Gleed
When did you join NBR? At the end of 2015 (well before I was a master!)
Why did you sign up? I thought it would be a great way to show some team spirit, hopefully see some people I hadn't seen in a while and I didn’t have to run anything near a full marathon.
Tell us about your experience: It was excellent! A bunch of us ran (distanced) at the track so we could cheer each other on. I ran faster than I had for a long time, so it definitely was a good motivator.
Your takeaway: I got a medal out of it! One of the NBR teams was the fastest women's team overall, so I think we're keen to see if we can repeat that at the in person event next year.
Sarah Trigg
When did you join NBR? January 2020 just before lockdown! I spotted (now) fellow master Caroline McNeill’s times and thought it would be a good team for me to become a better runner and have some camaraderie.
Why did you sign up? I found the race online while looking for in-person races. The relay seemed like it could be a fun social event for our Masters team. I reached out to Natalie and she thought so too. We thought we might get a couple others. We weren’t expecting 12 to respond! The sheer turnout was pretty exciting.
Tell us about your experience: A group of us raced our legs off at McCarren before dawn (w/social distancing) and got the NBR cowbells going. It was really great to see how many from NBR came out as pacers and to cheer us on. Running laps separately meant we could cheer for each other (unlike a road race). And of course it was fantastic to place so well as a team. We were very close to beating the record for the women’s open 6-person—there’s always 2021.
Your takeaway: Overall what’s exciting is I think our Women’s Masters team is going to continue to do team-spirited events like this. It’s fun knowing your run makes a contribution to a larger whole and a few ran individual PRs for the relay. That’s what it’s all about—a team gets you to improve with less effort because you’re having a blast. I grew up with a fierce team and I’m excited to be part of one again.
Karen Micallef
When did you join NBR? September 2016 to train for my first marathon, NYC.
Why did you sign up? I thought it would be fun to be part of a group effort and it gave me something to look forward to with the lack of races available.
Tell us about your experience: I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation surrounding the build-up to the race. I would totally do it again. The camaraderie was like a salve for COVID.
Your takeaway: The sense of belonging again and being a part of the team.
Caroline Linder-McNeill
When did you join NBR? Officially in the fall of 2019 but I'd done some NBR track workouts in years prior to that.
Why did you sign up? Those ladies masters made me do it! I needed some motivation, which is why I'm part of the group.
Tell us about your experience? It was great to see familiar faces again at the track and hear some people cheer me on as I completed my leg.
Your takeaway: Camaraderie and the motivation to get out of my rut and push myself again.
Ewen Ku
When did you join NBR? 2013
Why did you sign up? The number of my ladies Masters teammates signing up for the relay reminded me what it's like running with NBR. It was more than doing a race; I saw names of people I hadn't seen or spoken to what felt like years. It was an incentive to bond with them again, albeit virtually, digitally. It also gave me a running goal.
Tell us about your experience: It was fun. The group chatting and scheduling, keeping up with everyone's "race day" and then following up their results was a real team experience. Oh the actual running experience? That sucked. Running as fast as you can in a circle at the McCarren track after sitting on your quarantine butt for months took the wind out of me. There's a reason why I avoided Thursday Night Track. But seeing the other Masters Ladies did make it a lot better though, especially Natalie with the cowbell! The day I chose to do my run was super warm for fall--almost hot. The morning was in full sun and felt great.
Your takeaway: I did get what I expected out of it but more! I wasn't sure if we would actually see each other in person but we did manage to arrange a few meetups, socially distanced cheer groups and then a post-race small celebration at Domino Park. And I got some affirmation that I'm not toooootttally out of shape.
Shawn Young
When did you join NBR? In 2012 after lurking on and off almost since the team’s formation in 2009.
Why did you sign up? For the simple reason that it sounded like fun and was an opportunity to actually race with other NBR masters women. The team was technically for ages 40-50, and I was happy and flattered when everyone so enthusiastically urged me to join even though 50 was a long time ago for me and I didn’t think my time would be helpful if we were going for a win.
Tell us about your experience: As the plan came together for us to race separately, but together, on the track, it really became exciting. It was fun to wake up at dawn again, and hurry off to a race with friends and teammates. It was a great experience to have other runners also pushing hard together, each at her own pace and at her own stage of the race since we didn’t all start or finish at exactly the same time.
Your takeaway: It was so satisfying to mask up and hang out outdoors with everyone. It’s something that in a normal year I might take for granted, but in this year was a truly special occasion. And we kicked some butt out there!
Christina Velez
When did you join NBR? In 2010. I’m originally from Brooklyn but I had just moved to Williamsburg and wanted to meet people in the neighborhood.
Why did you sign up? With the whole pandemic, its been a really hard year with no races or group runs. This was a great chance to feel a part of something again.
Tell us about your experience: t was really fun and I was happy to see some fellow teammates, to help cheer me on at the track during my leg of the relay.
Your takeaway: Well, I’m very motivated to get back into race shape since I could barely walk for two days after the relay! Most important, I’m feeling very grateful to be a part of the NBR master women’s team.
