September Runner of the Month: Jay Schairbaum
Jay joined NBR in the spring of 2019 after moving to New York the previous fall. He was just getting back into running after taking a break from the sport during college and was signed up for the Brooklyn Half having never done one before and no one to train with. Suddenly, Jay found himself speedily running over the Williamsburg Bridge on a Monday night (Nite Owls) and quickly was put in touch with our Local Competitive team. “It was a tight knit training group and we had some great workouts building up to the race. The race itself went great and I was fully sold on being back into running. I’ve been running with the club since.” Jay is an incredible athlete, often scoring points for the club in our NYRR Club Points races. He has also spent an incredible amount of time working with the NBR Board and long time members of the club on our 15th Anniversary initiative, coming to the team very soon!
What do you do when you're not running?
I’m trained as an architect working at a mid sized practice in downtown Brooklyn. Our firm specializes in public-facing and institutional projects like schools, museums, non profits, and parks pavilions. It’s enriching to work on projects with positive community impact and the creative process involving these groups is always a rewarding challenge. I also think there’s a symbiotic relationship between flexing creative muscles and literal muscles, each acting as a foil to the other. Running is a unique way to see a large part of a city quickly. It’s a way to observe and pass through various neighborhoods, see how they are stitched together, and understand how people use public space.
How did you initially get into running?
I joined my school’s cross country team in middle school and competed through high school. All of my friends growing up had older siblings or parents who ran, they just followed suit, and I did the same. I’ve run nearly continuously since, though it’s only been in the last few years that I’ve really grown to love the activity and made it a staple of my daily routine.
What is your favorite race distance?
Probably the half. It’s long enough to play toward endurance strength without becoming too much of a war of attrition. However, I’ve focused on shorter race distances this past year and have taken a liking to the 5k and 10k.
Best running memory?
New York City Marathon 2021. I had moved back to the city a few months prior after being away for grad school and was still getting reacquainted, but kept up with running as I was already committed to an intense training build. This was my first marathon, so I was keeping expectations reasonable but knew I had a good race in me if I felt healthy on the day. It was the first big race the city was able to host after the pandemic and the energy on the course was palpable. Every borough was out showing their most sincere support. Passing through Brooklyn I saw faces of friends I hadn’t seen in years. I made a move crossing the Queensboro Bridge and broke away from a pack I had been with for the first half of the race and realized as long as I kept my cool I could hold the pace to the finish. Equal parts of feeling the crowds, trusting my fitness, and staying focused carried me over the finish line. I was elated, ran a time that exceeded expectations, and celebrated the rest of the day with family. The next day I found out I won the Borough Award by running the fastest time of any Brooklyn resident. It felt like affirmation for moving back here, the whole day capturing the rare spirit of what makes this city special.
Favorite running route in NYC?
Anything that passes through Red Hook. Who doesn’t have a secret soft spot for a neighborhood that doubles as NYC’s briney, seaside fishing town? A close second would be crossing the Manhattan Bridge heading north during a sunrise.
What has running taught you or changed about you?
Running unlocks different things for different people and for me it can mean different things on different days. On most days it's a meditative stress reliever, some days it's a fitness test, and some days it's a social event. It’s taught me a great deal about my health and how to listen to my body both physically and mentally.
Favorite post-race food?
Diner breakfast food. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, chicken & waffles — you get the idea.
Favorite song to run to make you want to run?
Surprisingly, I don’t listen to music or podcasts when I run. Part of it is a safety thing, but I also have never felt the need to. I like to take in my surroundings, let my mind wander, or just chat if I’m with company. I also get a lot of bemusement out of overhearing very brief portions of stranger’s conversations when passing by.
What do you think is the worst part about being a runner?
Truthfully, I feel lucky to be a runner and very lucky to have found the competitive success I have in the last few years. Sure I can complain about the laundry, the injury frequency, or the time commitment when in a big training build, but the bottom line is that I see this all as a gift. The good — the challenge of taking on a goal and conquering it, discovering your limits and capabilities, the comradery of being a part of a supportive community — will always outway the bad.
Best advice to running newbies?
It’s not a chore. I often forget how bad it felt to run for 15 minutes without stopping for the first time, but eventually it became easy, and now it's thoughtless. It’s a slow process going from never running, to running consistently every day, to running a certain distance for the first time. You learn the motion, how your body responds to the activity, and then how to get better and stronger at it. I guess that’s how running goals work. They can feel impossible or at least intimidating until you achieve them, but once you reach them it reconceptualizes the steps it took to get you there and you realize the thing you thought was hard is actually quite easy.
Current running goal?
My running goal is and always will be to simply love it and to have fun. Right now that means racing and competing to be as fast as I can and putting together smart training plans that get me to that point while staying healthy. Part of keeping it fun is trying new formats. I hadn’t raced on a track in years until just last spring and have since done a number of indoor and outdoor track races. My long run needed a shake up this summer, so I took up an offer to go trail running in Hudson Highlands State Park and have since made full vacations around trail running. I was recently asked to join a Hood to Coast relay team, subbing in for someone at the last minute (If you are not familiar, you should really look this race up). Running competitively won’t last forever, but I think the joy I get out of the sport will, and I look forward to seeing how my goals evolve.
