June Runner of the Month: Emanuele Melis

Emanuele joined NBR after moving to NYC just before the pandemic. He was looking for running crews in the neighborhood and saw the group at Thursday Night track. “[I] finally joined a MNER, then a Saturday Bridge run, then a Tempo, then a Narwhals, then all the others (except the 6AM runs :))... Did I say the singlets are also very cool?” Besides running and chatting, Emanuele is one of our Track Meet coordinators who put on a spectacular event in 2022.

What do you do when you're not running?
Probably cooking, or sleeping... or parenting.

How did you initially get into running?
I started running track in middle school, pretty boring and usual circumstances, but changed into field hockey pretty quickly and finally came back to running 20 years later...

What is your favorite race distance?
Anything that can be run in under 60minutes :)

Best running memory?
The first 3k cross country race event in middle school, nothing beats the feeling of a school trip to run through open fields mid-spring. We finished 1st, and I was 3rd overall.

Favorite running route in NYC?
Williamsburg bridge on a Saturday morning is pretty cool, and the west side of Manhattan PierA to Hudson Yards at sunset time

Favorite post-race food?
The thought of a nice home cooked Carbonara is what keeps me going all the way, hmmm pasta, egg and bacon..... (cue Homer Simpson drooling meme..)

Favorite running social media account?
NBR's of course!

What do you think is the worst part about being a runner?
Changing into running clothes and leaving the house, there is like a 10 minutes window in the evening for me to get this done. One second beyond that and you'll find me on the couch!

Best advice to running newbies?
When you feel like giving up mid run, you could either stop or push just another 30 seconds.

Current running goal?
Sub 1:40 half-marathon