Set the Pace

This week, Rob is joined by New York Road Runners Chief Marketing and Digital Officer Juliette Morris for a special Town Hall edition of Set the Pace where they talk about what’s happening across the entire organization. Rob addresses some of the most common questions and concerns raised by the running community, from race access and registration demand to new processing fees and the growing popularity of the 9+1 program. He breaks down the realities behind park permits, race capacity limits, and fairness for participants, while sharing steps NYRR is taking to create more opportunities for runners at every level. The conversation also highlights the organization’s nearly $1 billion annual economic impact on New York City and what that means for local communities. Later in the episode New York Road Runners Co-Head of Marketing Strategy Emily Casey joins the show to unveil, alongside Juliette, NYRR’s new “Believe in Every Step” brand identity and logo, exploring the thinking behind the rebrand and what it represents for the future.

Note - for clarity, in addition to advance registration access to the non-drawing Five-Borough Series races, all members will also now have advance registration access to the following 2026 races:
NYRR Mindful 5K
NYRR Grete’s Great Gallop 10K
New Balance 5th Avenue Mile


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Check out this special episode of Set the Pace taped live at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square. Hosts Rob and Becs sit down with Olympian and Peloton instructor Alex Karwoski, who represented the U.S. in the men’s eight at the Rio Games and later served as an alternate for Tokyo. Since his last appearance on the show in August 2024, Alex has completed the TCS New York City Marathon twice, added strong performances at the 2025 Fred Lebow Half Marathon and the United Airlines NYC Half, and this weekend will toe the line once more at the Fred Lebow Half Marathon in Central Park. Off the course, Alex is also navigating the joys of being a new dad.

Rob and Becs also welcome Cathy Wysin, PT, DPT, from Hospital for Special Surgery. An avid runner who’s completed multiple marathons, Cathy brings a passion for sports medicine and orthopedic injury rehabilitation. She shares expert tips for tackling the hills of the Fred Lebow Half Marathon course.

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SUPPORT: Support the Set the Pace podcast! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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Jeremie Kasmarcak, head of Team for Kids (TFK) at New York Road Runners, joins Set the Pace to share a behind-the-scenes perspective on TFK, a charity program that’s become a training ground for runners of all ages, paces, and experience levels. Jeremie has led Team for Kids for nearly a decade, guiding it into one of the most impactful and in-demand charity running programs in the world. Since its founding in 2002, TFK runners have raised over $120 million to support NYRR’s free youth and community running programs, which provide kids the coping tools that extend beyond physical fitness. Jeremie also talks about how to become part of this passionate and welcoming community that builds lifelong friendships, and what it’s like to train and run with TFK.

Watch Carolina Gonzalez's TFK TCS New York City Marathon Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf-SFkaECFg
Learn More about Team for Kids: https://organizations.nyrr.org/sites/organization_sites/6a0cbbfd8a19547bc915/pages/team_for_kids

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SUPPORT: Support the Set the Pace podcast! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

DISCLAIMER
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Joining the show this week is Vanessa Peralta-Mitchell, the founder of Game Changers, a program that aims to encourage and support more women of color to become certified run coaches. Launched in 2020, the program was born out of Vanessa’s realization that very few running coaches and experts in the industry looked like her—and her desire to change that.
Since then, the program has guided nationwide across 29 states in addition to Washington, D.C.
A wife, mother of three, and daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants, she credits her mother for being her ultimate inspiration to reach for her dreams and build her own business.
Interested in joining? Applications are now open for this year’s Game Changers cohort. This marks the second year that Game Changers is partnering with New York Road Runners, which includes a coaching apprenticeship with NYRR Group Training in NYC.
Apply to Game Changers NY Cohort here: bit.ly/VCPMGameChangersNYC2026
Sign up for the Game Changers Q&A here: bit.ly/GCNYC26QArsvp
Follow GameChangers: @GameChangersRun
www.vcpm.com/game-changers

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SUPPORT: Support the Set the Pace podcast! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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For our first episode of the year, Rob speaks with ABC sports anchor Sam Ryan, who has helped tell the stories of NYRR races and the running community. A runner herself, Sam has lived those stories too—completing 13 marathons, including four New York City Marathons, and serving as an NYRR Team for Kids ambassador. The last time Sam was on the show, it was just two days before the Boston Marathon. Since then, she’s added Chicago to her marathon list and, this week, ran the NYRR Midnight Run, 10 years after her last New Year’s Eve race. She talks about how focusing on strength training and overall fitness has helped her continue to chase her goals. Also joining the show for the Member Moment is Christina Gibbons, a New York Road Runners member who, four years ago, wasn’t sure she could run a full mile. Since then, she has completed four half marathons. Christina tells Meb how slowing down her pace helped her go the distance.

FOLLOW NYRR: Instagram | Facebook | X | TikTok | YouTube
SUPPORT: Support the Set the Pace podcast! If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

DISCLAIMER

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.