January Runner of the Month: Gaurav Chatterjee

If you’re hitting up a food-based run with North Brooklyn Runners - you better believe you’ll find Gaurav Chatterjee.

Gaurav is the run leader for our beloved Salmon Run and is scooping out the best sweet treat spots with the Ice Cream Social Run. In fact - he’s such a fixture at both runs that he was crowned Cafeteria Monitor at last year’s gala.

But Gaurav is much more than a fast foodie - he’s a fixture in the club who understands why community (and maybe a little bit of peer pressure) is such an important part of reaching your running goals. And that (and his penchant for lox) is why he’s one of our January Runners of the Month.

When did you join NBR and why?
I joined NBR as soon as I moved to NYC in May 2022. I had joined a running club in Washington, D.C., a few months prior, and it quickly became invaluable to have a community like that following the isolation of the pandemic, and I wanted to have something similar in my new neighborhood. Before moving to Brooklyn, I looked up running clubs in the area, and I joined NBR for a Monday Night Easy Run to Transmitter Park as soon as I moved.

In what ways have you been involved with NBR?
I am a run leader for Salmon Run and for Ice Cream Social Run. At the 2023 NBR Gala, I was crowned Cafeteria Monitor due to my high attendance at food runs.

What do you do when you're not running?
I like playing video games, taking photos, learning history, and doing arts and crafts.

How did you initially get into running?
I’ve been running on and off since high school. I ran the 1600m in my senior year of high school. During my sophomore year of college, a couple of friends and I trained for and ran the Pittsburgh Half Marathon, which was my first race outside of a high school track meet. My current streak of running started in 2020, when I was living in suburban Massachusetts and going for outdoor runs was one of the few opportunities to regularly leave the house and get some fresh air during the pandemic.

What is your favorite race distance?
Half marathon. It’s long enough that the course can wind through many significant landmarks and pass through interesting scenery, but short enough that if you don’t get a time you’re satisfied with, you can try again soon.

Best running memory?
I volunteered during the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon at the water station, which was fun but hectic. The afterparty from the race has the best atmosphere.

Favorite running route in NYC?
I really like running Narwhals on Labor Day weekend, which ends at Rockaway Beach. The payoff from that run is great because you can just spend the rest of the day at the beach and then take the ferry back.

What has running taught you or changed about you?
Running has taught me that through peer pressure it’s possible to accomplish more than you think you can. I would have never run a marathon if so many people around me in my community weren’t running them.

Favorite post-race food?
I like a bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll after a long run. I also like sitting at my dining table with a fresh loaf of rye or sourdough bread and a bread knife, and eating buttered toast slice by slice.

Favorite song to run/to make you want to run?
There were at least a couple of races last year where I listened to “Cha Cha Cha” by Käärijä on repeat for the entire race, so now I associate it with running.

What do you think is the worst part about being a runner?
It can be difficult balancing getting mileage in with cross training (and with other hobbies).

Best advice to running newbies?
When I started running (or getting back into it after several months of not running), I would run the same short loop several times a week, and I would have to walk part of the loop. Eventually, I started being able to finish the loop, and then I started finishing the loop faster.

Current running goal?
I am currently signed up for the Austin Half Marathon, the United NYC Half Marathon, and for Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. I would like to PR at one of these half marathons and at Grandma’s.

Any other fun running facts about you?
Every time I try a new running gel, I make an Instagram poll about the gel.