NBR Board of Directors
AMANDA STEIGMAN
President
Joined NBR: 2022
Why I joined: Joined for the long run company (marathon training solo is too much time alone with your thoughts), stayed for the friends.
What I love about NBR: So many things, but number one is the community. NYC feels a lot smaller when you are running in the neighborhood and see fellow friends and teammates also out training! On the flip side, NBR has made my New York bubble less homogeneous, and I am super grateful for the connections that I would have never made otherwise.
Favorite Race Distance: Marathon. I love how runners can completely take over a city for a weekend, you can strike up a conversation with just about anyone, and everyone is in it together, even though we may have taken very different paths to get to the start line. They are learning experiences!
Favorite Race: Broad Street 10 Miler. I know this directly contradicts my answer above, but running in a straight line on a forgiving course (read: net downhill) is a blast. Philly is fun to visit. Get a sandwich at Middle Child.
Best Running Memory: Grandmas Marathon 2024! I ran with some NBR teammates, and we had a really fun squad for the whole weekend. The pre-race pasta dinner is a ton of fun (we even got to meet Olympian Dakotah Lindwurm) and it fueled me to a BQ. Jumping into Lake Superior the next day was also super fun and great for ‘thon legs recovery.
Fun Fact: I once ran a half marathon with my shoes untied!
HARRISON GRINNAN
Team Captain
Joined NBR: 2021
Why I joined: I started running a little bit before the pandemic then it turned out it was the only thing to do for two years and I got really into it. I live a quarter mile from the famous bins that don't exist, so it wasn't a big leap to join the club once being around other people felt safe again. Running with the club has helped me set my goals higher than I ever would have expected when I ran alone, plus I've met a whole lot of friends!
What I love about NBR: Because it's a free running club and not a climbing gym, you can meet all kinds of people here! I also really enjoy when run leaders have a little too much fun with the emails they send out.
Favorite Race Distance: I've had races I felt went really well from the mile to the full marathon. I did not enjoy running the 800.
Favorite Race: My first race as a serious runner was the Bronx Ten Miler in 2021 and I beat my goal time by two full minutes. Since then I've been setting more accurate, harder goals, but every time I reach the last part of a race ahead of my goal pace it feels amazing. I love being able to settle in and just pick people off instead of racing a clock.
Best Running Memory: Running to the beach with LC and Narwhals is amazing every year. The route is simple (run down bedford, left at the ocean, right at the bridge, left at the beach), the views are great, we've had great luck with the weather, and the first two times I did it I got a wonderful sabich from a cafe in the rockaways. Last time we went, the sabich was off the menu and I ended up getting a kimchi grilled cheese from a different place that could only be described as a crime against kimchi, cheese, and sliced bread.
Fun Fact: I have never run on a treadmill!
Tara Merigan
Team Captain
Joined NBR: Around March 2022 (though I was definitely lurking in the Google Group for a while before showing up)
Why I joined: Running alone was getting boring! I was relatively new to the city, and I thought it’d be a good way to meet people in the neighbourhood and stay motivated.
What I love about NBR: The welcoming vibe, focus on competition and communiton, the friendships I’ve made, and always having people to commiserate about training/racing/lack of toenails with.
Favorite Race Distance: Half marathon - long enough to settle in and enjoy it (somewhat) but less brutal than the full. I’m also working on my 5K at the moment (though that’s a bit of a love/hate relationship)
Favorite Race: Brooklyn Half - in our backyard, fun vibes, and the boardwalk finish is iconic. Something about a post-race beer and hotdog…. I’m also really excited for the Brooklyn Mile! Perfect summer race and unbeatable energy.
Best Running Memory: Negative-splitting NYCM and feeling strong the whole way (rare but magical when it happens)
Fun Fact: I broke my neck in two places while bike riding on April Fools’ Day
Kostas Tsigaridis
Board Member
Joined: I think 2013.
Why I joined: I was new in the neighborhood and also to running, and wanted to meet others like me. Little I knew how many friends I'd make along the way, and how much I'd get into racing!
What I love about NBR: The people. Being a regular to runs brought me closer to other regulars, and also made me eager to help and answer questions to newcomers. I later became a run leader and even a board member, but it is the day-by-day interaction with everyone that I value the most. Running with company, especially long distances, beats any music playlist.
Favorite Race Distance: Half marathon. I want to like the marathon, but it is just too painful to train for it and run it.
Favorite Race: The one that so many people hate, the NYRR Brooklyn Half! My favorite running environment is a straight line with no end in sight, just you and the landscape that slowly changes and the horizon in the distance. Imagine running on a dirt road around crop fields, for miles and miles, going from point A to point B. This is Ocean Parkway for me!
Best Running Memory: Certainly finishing the NYC marathon, but which one? It is hard to choose between my first time, full of that "I made it!" feeling, or my third time, when I was proudly crossing that finish line with exactly zero steps of walking in the previous 26.2 miles.
Fun Fact: I am a data junkie. Running stats, plots, records of whatever random achievement, strava local legends, you name it, I consume them all. If you want to engage in a long chat with me, ask me about numbers. That's my drug.
Miki O.
Board Member
Why I joined: To train and volunteer with fellow local runners
What I love about NBR: People! :)
Favorite Race Distance: Long - half marathon (except for the NYC Marathon) | Short - one mile (only when my teammates count my laps)
Favorite Race: NYC Marathon (Mile 12 Water Table <3)
Best Running Memory: I have two worth sharing. One from Wednesday Night Road Run (WNRR) I lead as a Party Pace run leader, and the other from a marathon last year:
WNRR Juneteenth run in 2024 - After a long pause from running, I was finally able to run. It was pain-free and made me feel somewhat hopeful for the upcoming summer marathon in Paris. It was a memorable humid night in Brooklyn.
Paris Olympic Marathon Pour Tous - While being offline due to a technical glitch, I saw the most beautiful double rainbows over the Seine River. It was an unexpected gift on the day before the race following the shakeout run with Tracksmith. I still remember how stunningly beautiful they were and how mesmerized I was. It was one of those unreal but real moments in life.
