NY Road Runners holds first open run in Bay Ridge

Run, Bay Ridge. Run.

The New York Road Runners (NYRR), a group in existence for around 60 years that has grown from a local running club to become the world’s premier community running organization with a mission to inspire people through running, held the first of its free weekly open runs in Bay Ridge on Saturday, May 12.

The rainy weather put a slight damper on the inaugural free event held at Shore Road Park and 79th Street, but attendees of all ages were in great spirits as they ran (or walked) three miles.

June Johnson, the Parks Committee chairperson at Community Board 10, who helped spread the word about the event, was excited with the turnout.

“It really turned out well,” she said. “We were very nervous because of the weather. I had given information out myself to the neighborhood, schools and senior groups. We just weren’t sure how many people would actually show up.”

Attendees started at 79th Street, heading up to 82nd Street, around the ball fields, down to 69th Street and back to 79th Street, repeating the process three times.

The diversity of the nearly 100 attendees is what really made the event special for Johnson.

“There were two people with dogs which I thought was really funny but they completed the three miles,” she said. “There were older people there, younger people there and it’s something you can go to on your own because everyone was so friendly. Moms brought their babies and walked with carriages. It was great.”

Open run is inclusive of all that want to attend.

“The Open Run postcard has pictures of all the people they were trying to attract,”  Johnson said. “It has moms pushing baby carriages, they have fast runners, seniors, someone in a wheelchair, someone else walking a dog, so this particular activity is not just for the fastest and the best. It’s for all of us.”

From 9 to 10 a.m., attendees participated at their own speed.

Afterwards, attendees mingled with snacks.

“One of their members brought about five big boxes of homemade cakes, muffins and brownies,” Johnson said. “After the run, everyone stayed to eat the goodies and got to talk. It was a really good community feeling.”

For more information on future runs, visit https://bit.ly/2KvQErA.

 

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