March Runner of the Month: Mary Kate Lyons
According to Mary Kate, she was bullied by her then boyfriend/now husband Anthony (Spicy) Zhu in to joining NBR. She was living in Harlem when she first began running, then started hanging out with NBR socially through Anthony. “I think I did the opposite of most folks when it comes to joining NBR in that I attended a lot of the social events first and then started running.” After making some running friends (who are now close friends) through the group, Mary Kate finally joined the listserve and started coming to runs. You can find Mary Kate as one of the Monday Night Easy Run leaders and co-leading our Cheer Squad!
How did you initially get into running?
Running was something that I always tried to get into but felt like I could never find my groove even after doing my first 5K with a friend. My sister and I signed up for the Pelham 10K on a whim and that training is when running started to click for me. After that 10K, I kept running to see what the next distance that I could tackle was, which eventually (and to my own surprise) has led me to marathons.
What is your favorite race distance?
Probably a half marathon? It's the distance that I've done the most races in. I appreciate that the training for a half isn't all consuming to your life. I'm really excited to finally be running the NYC Half in a couple of weeks.
Best running memory?
I'm gonna cheat here and break this into two - a running race memory and a general running memory.
Race memory- Wineglass Half Marathon 2019. It was my first half marathon and the first time that I wore an NBR singlet in a race. I remember getting to Mile 8 or so and thinking to myself I can't believe I'm actually doing this and enjoying it. I still didn't think of myself as a runner and was so proud of myself. Wearing my NBR singlet for the first time and feeling like I was part of the team and something bigger than myself was incredibly special.
General running memory- We got married in Brooklyn in October 2022 and we both hosted a 5K run the morning of so that we could go for a run and spend time with our friends and family. Getting to run around my neighborhood with close NBR friends on this big day helped to calm my nerves and started the day off right.
Favorite running route in NYC?
Central Park loop. When I lived in Harlem, I did the majority of my runs in Central Park and it holds a special place for me. Also Central Park > Prospect Park
What has running taught you or changed about you?
Running has taught me that I'm a lot stronger and tougher than I ever thought I was. During my most recent marathon, I really struggled due to injury and illness and wanted to DNF. I somehow found the grit to push through and finish that race. When something feels hard, I try to remind myself that I've done hard things in running and I can do that in other aspects of my life.
Favorite post-race food?
Some type of sandwich (either a bagel sandwich from Baker's Dozen or hero from Anthony & Sons)
Favorite song to run to make you want to run?
Free by Florence and the Machine
Favorite running social media account?
KellyKRoberts and the BadassLadyGang
What do you think is the worst part about being a runner?
Always talking about running
Best advice to running newbies?
This is mainly from my fellow Party Pace runners- get out there and come to runs. There's a solid number of us and it makes me so happy to see how the Party Pace group continues to grow and grow.
Current running goal?
I'm scared to put this into the universe but I'm training for Grandma's Marathon this June and would love to run a 4:30 which would be HUGE PR for me. Hopefully, I didn't just jinx myself by writing this.
