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Thank you, New York. Today we're reminded of the power of community and the power of coming together. Athletes, on your mark.
The first woman to finish for the second straight year here in the New York City Marathon is Miki Gorman, a smiling Miki Gorman. And why not? 2: 29:30, the time for good advice.
Look at the emotion of Shalane Flanagan as she comes to the line. Pointing to his chest, pointing to the USA, he so proudly wears across his chest. A great day for Meb Keflezighi.
Hey everybody, and welcome to Set the Pace, the official podcast of New York Road Runners, presented by Peloton. I'm your host and the CEO of New York Road Runners, Rob Simmelkjaer. And if you're getting this episode on the day it drops, then the first thing I want to say is happy Thanksgiving. Hope everybody out there is having a great holiday with friends, with family. I think we
all have a lot to be thankful for. Certainly those of us at New York Road Runners. So much to be thankful for this season. Thankful for great running all year long, great racing, a phenomenal TCS New York City Marathon. And most of all, I can just say as our CEO, we are thankful for all of you, the members of our running community, our members, our runners, everybody out there who's been a part of our community this
year. We thank you. We're thankful for you, and we're thankful that you have been able to engage with us and get something out of what we do this year. The power of running, we always talk about it. Hopefully you have felt some of that power this year. And we're thankful to have been a part of that with you. Also, I'm thankful for my co- host, Becs Gentry. She's not with us today, as she is quite rightly
on vacation. That's right. She is vacationing from completing her incredible feat around the around the world marathon tour last Wednesday, seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. She just did a phenomenal job. It's incredible. I can only imagine the exhaustion she must have felt at the end of that, but also the elation. She'll be back with us next week and I can't wait to talk to Becs about
this adventure, hear all about it. What an incredible accomplishment. So congrats, Becs. We're thankful for you and we're thankful that you came through that amazing adventure safe and sound and did such a great job. So I hope you're having a restful Thanksgiving with your family and friends and all of that. Well, this coming weekend's a quiet weekend for us at New York Road Runners. We're not in the
turkey trot business here. I'm sure many of you are out there running turkey trots here on Thanksgiving Day or maybe over the following weekend. So for those who are doing your turkey trots, good luck. Enjoy. It's such a fun thing to do to get some calories burned off and get your metabolism up for that Thanksgiving feast. So hope everybody has a great turkey trot, whether it's a
race or just to run with friends or family. But Road Runners is quiet this weekend, but we had a really busy and great weekend, the weekend before Thanksgiving, so some early turkey trots we had going. And we had a couple of them. First of all, I had a great time on Sunday, heading back to my old stomping grounds Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx for the New
York Road Runners Cross Country, 5K this past Sunday. It was the first time I'd been to Van Cortlandt since I ran cross- country at Horace Mann School back in the 1980s. Yes, that's right folks. It was the eighties. And man, it was incredible to go back there and it was so much fun to go back there with my daughter, Julia. The two of us took on that 5K course and man, I think that I had somehow blocked out how
incredibly difficult that cross- country course is. You know how they say that these really hard things that we go through, we somehow managed to either forget or think of them more fondly so that we'll be convinced to do them again? Well, that's how I felt running that cross- country course on Sunday. The hills in those woods are so massive.
Somehow I had blocked those out. And Julia was looking at me halfway through this race like, " What are you doing to me right now?" It was such a hard race. It was like three and a half minutes or more off of her 5K PR because it was so challenging. But at the end we had such a great time. And it was such a really old school race. People just went out to the field, lined up a
loose starting line. No timing at the start. You just go and run. And the only timing was at the finish. It really brought me back to the early days of running for me. Of course, the cross- country tradition. And the early days of New York Road Runners, which really started out in the Bronx as a much more low- key running operation than of course we are now. And so it was really fun to experience that and it
was great to see folks up there. We also had over 1, 000 kids running with Rising New York Road Runners. It's one of our biggest youth events of the year, and the buses were lined up and down Broadway. A great turnout of kids from all five boroughs of New York. That was awesome to see as they all got in a run before their Thanksgiving holiday. So congrats to everybody, adults
and kids, who ran in the Bronx on Sunday. It was really a great day. Then, back in Central Park, we also had more than 6, 700 runners completing the annual Race to Deliver 4Miler to Benefit God's Love We Deliver. And it was a great event. It raises money for God's Love We Deliver, a great organization that cooks and delivers medically tailored meals to New Yorkers affected by severe
illness such as heart disease, HIV, cancer, and COPD. This year the organization will work with more than 24, 000 volunteers to deliver more than 5 million meals, all free of charge, to more than 17,000 New Yorkers. And so it's a great race, a great event to benefit a phenomenal cause at the perfect time of year as we get
into the holiday season. So thanks to all the runners who came out to support the run to our Rising New York Road Runners participants and parents and all the volunteers who made a great morning. The winners, by the way in Central Park for the women, it was Lauren Sapone with a time of 24: 28. Non- binary winner was Sean Rankin with a time of 25:44. Sean runs with Dashing Whippets. And for the men it was Jeremy Arthur
with a time of 20 minutes and 45 seconds. Jeremy also runs with Dashing Whippets. So congrats to all the finishers of both of our races this past Sunday. No matter what season of life you're in, Peloton has everything you need to keep your running on track. From challenging classes and training programs to outdoor runs and walks, we've
got you covered whatever your level. Whether you're gearing up for a race or in- between events, unlock your personalized training plans, expert coaching, and a community that supports you every step of the way. Find your push, find your power at onepeloton. com/ race- training. Every November two of New York City's most iconic events take over the streets
of New York City and captivate viewers worldwide. Of course, one of them is the TCS New York City Marathon that we all know about. Well, the other is happening this week, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On this special Thanksgiving episode of Set the Pace, you're used to hearing
about the details behind producing the marathon. But today we're going to take you behind the scenes of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Kathleen Wright. She is the powerhouse production director of that parade and she'll share everything it takes to bring this quintessential New York City tradition to life. And for today's member moment, Meb's going to be here to introduce us to the champion of the first
Every Woman's Marathon, New York Road Runner's member, Khia Kurtenbach. Khia will tell us what it felt like to be the very first woman to cross the finish line where some of her personal heroes, including Kathrine Switzer and Des Linden were waiting to celebrate her. And then for today's Meb Minute, Meb will be here to talk about thankfulness, specifically how thankful we should all be for what running does for us.
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Well, you know if you listen to this show that I always say the TCS New York City Marathon is the best day of the year in New York City. My guest today may be one of the few people in the city who could maybe have an argument against that, at least maybe a tie. Kathleen Wright is the director of production operations and the woman responsible for orchestrating the magic behind the Macy's Thanksgiving Day
Parade. From the floats and the balloons to the clowns and the marching bands, Kathleen's team handles it all, making sure every detail is perfect for millions of spectators, both in person and of course on national television. What began as a volunteer opportunity has turned into a dream job, leading one of the biggest holiday events in the world. And much like the marathon, the parade is complex. It's
a logistical masterpiece that transforms the city streets. Kathleen's here to share with us how she and her team make it all happen year after year on Thanksgiving. Kathleen, it's nice to meet you. How are you doing?
So nice to meet you as well. I'm so excited to talk about this with you. Big fan of the Road Runners and the New York City Marathon. So excited to dive in.
Thank you. And you have a good perspective on these two big New York City events. You've run the marathon a few times, now you are " running," in charge of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. So it's definitely a fun argument, which is a better day, but there's certainly both big days for New York City. Tell me a little bit to start about just the
history of this event. It's been going on ever since I can remember and I imagine well, well before.
Yeah, so the first parade was in 1924. So we are right at that 100- year mark. The parade was canceled for three years during World War Two, so we're
celebrating our 100th parade in a couple of years. But every single year has been just a new, fun experiment of how we can honor the tradition of those 97 parades that have already gone by, how we can make the 98th just as fun, just as exciting, just as inspiring of all of the parades that have come before it.
And Kathleen, I imagine a lot of people, and I thought this for a long time, would just think Macy's is the sponsor of the parade, kind of like TCS is the sponsor of the New York City Marathon, but not necessarily realize that you're a Macy's employee. Your team works for Macy's. You guys stage the event. Macy's is putting this thing on, not just sponsoring it.
That's right. I work for Macy's. I am on the Macy's Studios team and there are 50 of us that work year- round on Macy's events. So that includes not only the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but also the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks and a few other iconic events
like the Flower Show here in New York City. And we are so proud that we are able to continue this tradition and continue working on this iconic event that is so beloved by New Yorkers and Americans across the country.
It really is just a staple of New York and just as Macy's is, so the two really do go together. People ask me this all the time about the Marathon, so I'll ask you regarding the parade. When do you start planning each year for the Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Our team typically starts planning about 18 months in advance. So that's everything from my role of thinking about the logistics of what worked the last parade, what do we update, what do we improve? Who are the new partners that we can bring in? How are we designing the next cool, new float, the next incredible, giant character balloon? So all of that work starts about 18 months in advance.
We're always thinking about the parade in the back of our minds.
Yeah, that's very similar to Marathon. We are currently thinking about the 2026 Marathon on our end. So obviously '25's coming right up, but we've got conversations about '26, so that's about two years in advance for us. '26 is a big
one for us. It's a big anniversary. You guys have a big anniversary as well coming up, so I'm sure the work goes even further out when you've got a big thing to celebrate, like the 100th Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Yeah. So the 100th is coming up in 2026. We already have our eyes on that. So we are right now simultaneously thinking about the parade that's coming up just next week; the 2025 parade, which will be our 99th; and then the 2026, when we'll celebrate 100 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parades.
Wow, that's amazing. Another big thing in 2026 because it's going to be the 50th anniversary of the Five- Borough New York City Marathon in '26, and then just a few weeks later the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. So that's going to be a great month of November in New York in a couple of years. That's pretty exciting.
I completely agree. I have always said that November is my favorite month in New York City for that exact reason. So that'll be a really fun one in 2026.
So I think another similarity between the Marathon and the Thanksgiving Day Parade is how many volunteers it takes to put the event on. We rely on about 10, 000 volunteers to support the runners going from Staten Island to Central Park. And I know, I've been to this parade a few times, I know how many people volunteer. I also know, similar to Marathon, how sought- after some of these
volunteer positions are. Being a clown or holding a float, those are prime assignments for volunteers.
Yes, we have about five volunteers that volunteer with us on Thanksgiving morning. And I think that so much of that tradition of the original Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade back in 1924 carries on with us today in that so many of those volunteers are Macy's colleagues, and their friends,
and family. So we've really kind kept that rooted in the tradition of the Macy's family really continuing on, volunteering their time on a holiday to come together and celebrate Thanksgiving together. And I think that's in part why it is such a coveted spot to be a part of the parade and join and celebrate with us. It really is a wonderful family entertainment event on Thanksgiving morning.
All right. So let's talk about the balloons. And the first thing I want to ask is the process for getting to be a balloon. You've got cultural trends that come and go. Maybe one year the Transformers are really popular and then it's some anime character, but then you've got the standbys, like the ones who seem to always be there. I think Snoopy, right? Is Snoopy kind of
an evergreen balloon? I feel like Snoopy is never going to really go away. I hope not. What is that process of deciding what balloons are going to make the cut every year?
So every year we are always looking at for what is the best in entertainment, what is the most iconic, fun, what's new and fresh, but what is also traditional?
Like that's Snoopy character balloon. And we work very closely with our partners to incorporate those characters and then make sure that we are really matching the essence of those characters to ensure that we are representing that character to exactly what they were designed to look like in their original state. So I think some of the really fun, new balloons this year, there's six new giant balloons in
the parade. We have Minnie Mouse for the first time ever, which is so exciting. We've had a few different iterations of Mickey. So Minnie is now in the parade for the very first time.
I'm amazed that it is Minnie's first appearance. That's amazing that it's her first appearance in the parade. So good for Minnie. Congratulations.
Got it.
Girl power.
Exactly.
Love it.
Exactly. Girl power. We're very excited about that one. And when we started that process, it was so important that we were making sure that Minnie really looked like Minnie. And I think that that's really part of where the art and science of our balloon team design really comes together because it is a science to design these balloons and to make sure that they are aerodynamic and have
enough lift to fly down the parade route. But it also has to look like Minnie. And our designers and our creative teams are so talented and making sure that we are representing Minnie exactly as she should be represented. So it's a really, really interesting process to see that art and science come together to really develop and design those balloons.
What else is new this year? I'm curious.
We also have a new Spider- Man balloon this year. Spider- Man has been in the parade before, but we have a brand new balloon this year in Spider- Man. We have a character Noorah from The Elf on the Shelf series. She's a wintery fox and she's really fun, really pretty. Her tail is painted like the Northern Lights. I think she's going to be a real fan favorite on
the parade route. We have Gabby from Gabby's Dollhouse. Another, I think a really fun character. I think a lot of the kids are going to be so excited about her being in the parade. We have a new Goku balloon this year. Goku has been in the parade for the last few years, so another superhero character that's going to be on the parade route. Really so many fans of Goku that we're so
excited to see. And then we also have a new PAW Patrol character. So Chase has been on the case, on the parade route for several years and now we have Marshall who will be joining us, and-
Marshall's the Dalmatian if I'm not mistaken, right?
Got it. Yes. So a really fun character. We're really excited to see fly On Thanksgiving.
I still know my PAW Patrol characters five or six years after the last of my children was watching that show, so I'm proud of myself on that. But I always liked Marshall so I was partial to Marshall.
Yes, very good
And so, a night that a lot of New Yorkers know about, and people who are every year attendees to the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, know about, but some non- New Yorkers may not know is the night before, which is really in a lot of ways kind of the ticket that so many people want. Where you get to go and watch the balloons get
to be inflated. There's streets I think that are closed on the Upper West Side, near Central Park West, and the inflating of the balloons is a big, big tradition. Can you talk about that night and how long it takes? How many people are involved in that? And how can someone, if they want to check that out, get a chance to see the balloons get blown up?
Yeah. So the balloon inflation event I think is something that makes the Thanksgiving Day parade so special because it is that sneak peek. It's that look behind the curtain. How does this all come together? How do these balloons all get inflated and then make their way down the parade route on Thanksgiving morning. So on the Upper West Side, we inflate all of the balloons in the lineup.
Starting on Wednesday morning. It takes us about eight hours to inflate the entire lineup of balloons. And we have a team of about 150 balloon technicians and inflation team members that are inflating the balloons throughout the day. And that event is open to the public from 1:00 to 6: 00 PM on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving. You can join the line on 72nd Street, starting at noon to get
in line, get your spot. 72nd Street in Columbus is where you'll enter. And then we'll take you around the queue line. You'll see all of the balloons as they're inflated. And then there's also the added bonus of seeing some of our floats in the parade get assembled on Central Park West. So it truly is that behind- the- scenes look at how the parade is made and built that day before.
I love it. I've actually never had a chance to go see that. I've been to the the parade, I've been on the streets. I've had a chance to be in the bleachers with my kids a couple of times as well, but I got to make a plan to get down there and watch that inflation event. That sounds like a lot of fun. Kathleen, there's something called a balloonical that I've been hearing about and I'm trying to understand
what this is. I know self- driving cars are a thing in the world now, but balloonicals these things, they basically don't need holders. Is that right? What is a balloonical?
So a balloonical is part of the magic of Macy's Studios. When we were tasked with trying to find another fun and new creative element that could be a part of our parade, we created balloonicals. And they are self- driving inflatables that make their way down the parade route. So this year you will see a few baby Dino Balloonicals that
accompany the Dino and baby Dino Sinclair balloon. So they will be traveling down the parade route in front of that giant balloon. And then we also have a... If you're familiar with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, there is the Stinky Cheese. So the Stinky Cheese is a balloonical that goes in front of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid balloon. So they're really fun and just cool new elements that you'll see on the parade route.
Are they like drones out there, doing their own thing? Are they tethered?
They're not tethered. So there is actually a person inside of it that kind of controls it with almost like a stick shift that drives almost like a remote control.
Like a little blimp kind of a thing? Wow.
Kind of. But they're on the ground, so they just drive on the ground in front of the balloons.
Fun, fun, fun. I love it. There's so many similarities, Kathleen, really between the Marathon and the Thanksgiving Day Parade. Another of course, is the fact that you're both a live event for people who are there watching in person, as well as a made- for- television event with millions of people around the country watching it live. My daughter is obsessed with getting up to watch it. In fact,
I'll tell you a funny story, Kathleen. And some listeners can probably relate to this. We have an annual kind of a battle in our household about Thanksgiving morning and what to do because I... Of course, this won't surprise you given what I do for a living love a good turkey trot.
Of course.
And so there's a great five- mile turkey trot not far from my house. And so I'm up and out the door and I'm running on Thanksgiving morning, burning some calories, getting ready for that turkey. But my daughters are like, " No, thanks." They want to lie in bed and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. So I know this argument probably plays out across households all around America, especially running
households. But I just want you to know that that's what happens in my house.
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I'm certainly not going up for a jog on Thanksgiving morning, but I feel like I'm running around all morning, making sure that everything... Checking off all of my boxes and making sure that everything is up and running. And I think that you said it,
there's so many similarities between these two events. As someone who's ran the marathon before, I'm always looking at all of those logistics, and all of those things that happen
in the lead up. The busing operation alone of getting so many people from point A to point B. Getting all of our participants from costuming up to the starting line feels to me very similar to when I get off the ferry in Staten Island and get on a bus and get over to the starting line. So there's so many logistical similarities that are so fun for someone who's
in operations and logistics. And I think it's just so great to see that two iconic, amazing events in New York City that are so alike and so special.
How do you balance that in- person experience for the live spectators and the television experience? I know there's that stage right in front of Macy's, which is the main stage, where a lot of the acts will stop and perform. And there's bleachers there. So that seems to be where a lot of the made- for- TV stuff happens. And then obviously you've got cameras all along the route showing their balloons.
Yeah, so I think that one of the great things about the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is that you can experience it in so many different ways. Whether you're standing on the side of Central Park West, or on 6th Avenue, or you're tuning in from home, you're still going to see and feel that excitement of parade morning. You're still going to see those giant balloons, you're still going to hear those
bands playing. There's so many different special effects on our floats this year that I think will really translate, whether you see them live and in person on the streets of New York or if you're tuning in and watching from home. And I think that that is what makes the parade so special is that no matter how you're
watching it, you're going to feel it. You're going to feel like the holiday season is really starting and you're going to love it.
I will give you this, you guys get a lot of spectators, three million spectators and just two and a half miles of New York City Street. That's pretty good. And I'm not surprised. It's obviously such a sought- after thing. And then of course, a huge television audience as
well. So a lot of fun for everybody involved. There's also of course, what you, I'm sure have to do, as well as we do, which is the partnerships that you must have to have with the city of New York, the NYPD, and Department of Transportation, and all those things as well. We couldn't possibly come close to putting the marathon on without the incredible partnership we have with
the city. For you guys, I know it's the same way.
Yes, completely agree. It's such a great partnership working with all of those city agencies, whether it's NYPD, DOT, the Mayor's office. All of them are so involved in helping us coordinate this event and making sure that it's not only safe, but also special and wonderful for everyone watching. And I think that there's so many different elements of our
parade that couldn't happen without their partnership and coordination. And one of the stories that I love to tell about the parade that I think is the thing that you don't realize has to happen in order for the parade
to happen. We work so closely with the Department of Transportation on our route preparation for the parade route because in order to fly our balloons down Central Park West across Central Park South, down 6th Avenue, we have to turn every single traffic light out of the street so that our balloons can fly. And so we work really closely with them. We do several walk- throughs throughout the fall to look and
identify all of those different traffic poles. Which way do they have to swing? How much time is it going to take us on that Wednesday night before the parade morning to do this in the dark of the night? And it's one of those things that I don't think people
necessarily realize has to happen. Of course, a balloon can't fly down the street with anything in its way, but that I think is one of my favorite parts of our coordination with the city.
I noticed that the first time I went to see the parade, standing on 6th Avenue. And I was just looking up 6th Avenue and I was like, " Something looks different." And I realized, " Wait, there are no traffic lights on this entire avenue," and for obvious reasons. It's actually amazing that you can even do that. Who knew that they even swung that way? But that's something that had to happen
just to make this parade possible. What time did the streets close? What time did all the streets close, but the night before the marathon? Sorry, a marathon. See, I can't get out of my head? Before the parade.
So it's a rolling closure based on how quickly we're doing those route preparations. So we start uptown at around midnight on the Wednesday before, so 12: 00 AM Wednesday, we start our route preparation for uptown, so that we can ensure our floats are positioned and our balloons are in position. And then on that overnight of Wednesday evening into parade morning, we roll that street closure down to 34th
Street as we go. So it's a very coordinated effort of making sure that streets are closed so route prep can happen. All to get us ready before our 8: 30 AM step off on Thanksgiving morning.
I love it. What is your day like on Thanksgiving Day? What time do you have to get on site? It's funny, I love asking you these questions because these are all the questions that people ask me about the marathon. Are you there overnight? Do you get to get a few hours sleep before you show up for the parade?
I get a few hours of sleep and everyone always asks like, " Oh, you must be so tired," but you're working off of adrenaline. It's one of my favorite days of the year, of course. And it's just exciting. You can't sleep when you're this excited. So my day typically starts at around 3: 00 AM. I'll start downtown near 34th Street, making sure that our grandstands down near 34th
Street are all installed. We have some marching band rehearsals that take place that early in the morning. I eventually will make my way uptown to the starting line, start seeing our participants start to arrive, maybe rehearse the opening number a few times. And then once the parade begins,
I am everywhere. I'm on a golf cart, I'm kind of up and down the parade route, just making sure that everything is running smoothly, checking in on our volunteers and our operations teams. And when you get home, there's a nice turkey dinner waiting for you, and it's a great day.
Yeah, the timing of it is great because you're wrapped up and ready to get home to have dinner, so it's a beautiful thing. Okay. What about the celebrities this year? I've got to ask this for my daughters. Who are the big stars that we can all look forward to seeing perform in the parade this year?
Yeah, we've got a great list of stars. I think some of my favorites. We have Idina Menzel, who's going to be performing on our new Wondrous World of Wildlife float. That's a float by the Bronx Zoo that is new to this year's parade, and just so stunning. We also have Rachel Platten who will be performing on a new float. She will be on the Rao's Pasta Night float, which I think is a great one. Of course, for
runners too. A little pasta dinner the night before a long run. We love it. We also have Bishop Briggs, who's going to be on Wednesday. Wednesday's Feast, that's another one that is in partnership with Netflix. And who can forget Santa Claus, of course, the biggest celebrity of the day. Kind of closing things out for us at the end of the parade.
Oh, I'm already excited about this. Okay, this sounds great. I'm going to definitely have to watch the replay after I get back from my turkey trot, so I can catch all of that. Because that sounds amazing. All right, so you've run the marathon and you've put on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. So what is the biggest similarity, Kathleen, do you think, between these two events? What do you think they have most in common?
I think that one of the biggest things they have in common is the fandom. You said it at the beginning of this, the New York City Marathon is one of the best days to be a New Yorker, to be outside, to be in New York with millions of other New Yorkers. And I think that that is the same feeling that you see on Thanksgiving morning. People are
just excited to be there. They're excited to be cheering on the people who are in the parade or in the marathon. And there's a sense of community on those days that is truly unmatched, I think anywhere. Not only
in New York, I think anywhere. And I think that the fact that both of these events are in New York, as a New Yorker, maybe I'm biased, but I do think that that is what makes these events so special is that sense of community when you're out on the street just with your friends and family and even strangers, and just being in it together.
Well, I'll tell you, and that sounds right to me. I completely agree. We both like to have good weather. That makes a big difference. Weather makes a huge difference. I know for you guys especially, the key is not to have a lot
of wind. I know that's always a big factor. People are looking a day or two in advance to see if the balloons are going to be able to fly at their maximum height or whether you're going to have to bring them down when the wind is high. So I wish you guys low winds this year, a sunny day. I know that makes a big difference.
Yes, we are keeping our eyes on the weather. I try not to look too far in advance. And we've got all the teams in place to ensure that rain or shine the parade will march on.
Well, I always say that the TCS New York City Marathon is the best day of the year in New York. And the only time anyone ever says, " Ah, but what about?" Is always the Thanksgiving Day parade. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. So maybe we can call it a draw. How's that? Do you want to settle for that?
I like that. I'll settle for that.
The two best days of the year in New York City, the TCS New York City Marathon and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Kathleen, so much fun talking to you about this. I wish you luck with the parade this year. We'll all be watching it live or on television. And thanks for keeping up an amazing tradition. It's not
always easy to keep up these traditions. There's sometimes expense involved and it can be hard, but Macy's has kept going. It's up there with Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and all the special things that make New York over the holidays magical. So thank you so much for what you do and what Macy's does, and we can't wait.
I can't wait either. Thanks so much. It's been so great talking to you.
All right, thank you so much Kathleen for joining us on today's episode, and we hope you have a great Thanksgiving Day Parade. For today's member moment, we're excited to chat with Khia Kurtenbach, who recently made history by winning the inaugural every Woman's Marathon in Savannah, Georgia this past November. Since 2019, Khia has been a familiar face in the New
York Road Runners' community completing an impressive 31 races. Khia works in finance by day, but nights and weekends, it is all about running. From her early days as a swimmer to becoming an NCAA Division III cross- country champion. Very impressive. Khia, here with us today to talk about how running has become such a big part of her life.
Thanks, Rob. Welcome to the (inaudible) , Khia. How are you?
I'm good. It's great to be here and it's great to meet you.
It's pleasure to meet you. Well, congratulations. You have come from a running family. Your mother has been running the Grandma's Marathon since 1980s. Tell us about what it's like growing up with your mother as a marathoner.
Yeah, my mom has been running marathons for decades. I think she started running marathons, like you said, in the eighties. And when I was growing up, it was a family event. Every fall she would run a marathon and my dad would load my sister and I in the car and we would drive from spot to spot along the course of whatever marathon she was running to cheer for her. And I remember always just being so proud of my mom.
And also how much fun it was to cheer her on as she was running marathons. And I was not a runner growing up, but her approach to sport, and wanting to be competitive, and just be an athlete I think really inspired me to do the same. And then when I got into running in college and then after college, it was just supernatural to want to do marathons after seeing how much fun she had doing it over the years.
So much fun she had. But you were also by accident, you were training as a runner. But you transitioned from swimming to running late in your high school career and quickly found success. How did your experience as a swimmer influenced your approach to distance running and what challenge did you face in adapting to the new sport so rapidly?
So when I first started running, it was really difficult because when you're a swimmer you don't hear yourself breathing. And even though I was very cardiovascularly fit, because swimming is also somewhat an endurance sport, it was kind of scary to me when I first started running. I would hear myself breathing hard and that really freaked me out. So at first I actually didn't like running at all. And
I think that's true for a lot of swimmers. Swimmers when they first try running really don't like it because it's kind of a mental adjustment, both hearing yourself breathe and feeling the pounding. But when I was a senior in high school, one of my best friends was on the track team and she was like, " Come do track with me. It will be so fun." And I gave it a shot and went out for the track team.
And after a couple of weeks I was like, " Wow, this sport is so much fun. Where has it been my whole life?" And totally just fell in love with running that first season of track in high school.
Can you give a little perspective of how similar or how different they are? Because people see me as a marathon runner, " You're going to be a great swimmer," and I can't swim save my life. So how has that has been for you?
I think they're actually pretty different. The training is totally different. In swimming, you can swim for hours and hours and hours and not really get hurt. And in running it's so much more important to manage your mileage and ramp up slowly. And the pounding is just a lot harder on your body, so you have to think totally differently about how much you can train, and how to
build up to that. I do think the thing that's similar is the mindset. Both swimmers and runners, you have to have a long- term perspective on your goals. It's not about even necessarily what am I going to accomplish this season or this month, but more you think in months or even years timeframe about your goals and how
you'll step towards them. So I think that's very similar, the mindset and how you think about goal setting, and long- term goals. But the training is actually super different.
That's great to hear. Your journey from a novice runner to NCAA Division III cross- country champion and now successful marathoner is remarkable. How was your perspective on running evolve on early days at the University of Chicago to running five TCS New York City marathons?
Well, when I first started running in college, I was really lucky because I basically knew almost nothing when I first started running in college. And I had a really great coach and teammates who taught me lots of things, and helped take a long- term approach to my starting to run, and think about building up. So I'm really grateful to them that they really developed my running career in college
over a couple of years. And really brought a lot of joy to the sport for me. I had so much fun with college running, it was honestly some of the best highs of my life. But college running also comes with a lot of pressure and intensity. And after college I was almost a little bit ready to be done with running, but then I moved to New York and I just found such an amazing community here, that the
club scene in New York is so much fun. And I met so many great people and they just kind of pulled me into marathon running. So I can really thank the Dashing Whippets, which is the team that I run on in New York, for keeping me in the sport and for really helping me build a lot of excitement towards marathon running.
Well, we are so grateful you didn't give up running. You just won the Every Woman's Marathon with a time of blazing, 2 hours and 26 minutes. What did it feel like to win this race at the inaugural of Every Woman's Marathon?
It was so much fun. It was really, really cool. There was a lot of my personal running heroes at the finish line. Des Linden and Kathrine Switzer in particular. I remember when I was a kid, my mom talked about Kathrine Switzer being someone who inspired her in marathon running. And so it was really cool to meet her at the finish line. And my mom got to meet her at the finish line too, and she cried when she
got to meet her. So that was really, really cool. But honestly, it was just so much fun. I think that Marathon brought a really good vibes. It was very inclusive and it was really oriented around any woman should come and run this marathon and we're here for you
to help you finish it. And so, I just loved the environment of the day and it was so much fun to go out there and run hard and be with a bunch of women accomplishing their goals.
So being student of the sport, seeing your mom run, and meet Kathrine Switzer and to see Des Linden, your hero or your role model, how was that interaction meeting everyone all at once?
It was pretty overwhelming actually, but also really fun. I remember I was in college when Des won the Boston Marathon. And I remember sitting in my chemistry class watching on my phone the marathon while she was winning. So she's someone who's really inspired me over the years and I looked up to her. So it was great to
meet her. And it was really cool to meet everyone at the finish and also just overwhelming and inspired me to want to go run more races.
Well, that chemistry class and inspiration by Des Linden. So now, like a lot of runners, you work on a finance. Do you think there's a connection between the mindset of someone who works in the finance and a long- distance runner?
Well, I think that anyone can bring the lessons that they learn from sport or from running to their careers and their jobs. Things like, I talked before about not just thinking in the short- term, but thinking about your long- term goals, and planning step- by- step, how you're going to achieve and get there to those goals. I think that's definitely something that I've learned from sport and then
been able to apply to my career. I think there's other things that I've learned from athletics like teamwork and how much having a good team around you that supports you and believes in you is also something that you can cultivate in your career and your job that makes everyone better.
Excellent. And sometimes when I was at UCLA, I remember to just learn formulas when I go for distance run. So while you exercise and you studying for something, do you do that occasionally for your business?
I actually think it's nice to be able to have a separation between your career and then your hobbies. I always like to think that you can't always be crushing it in every aspect of your life. Sometimes things are going to go badly for you. It's not always going to be your day. And it's
nice to be able to have multiple things. So if one thing is not going so great for you, then you can have a great day with running or vice versas.
Well, you've been a winner on both sides, on your workforce and then also at Every Woman's Marathon. So congratulations and thank you for being with us.
Thank you. It was great to meet you.
Thank you so much, Khia, for joining us and for being a member of New York Road Runners. Congratulations on the win. We will see you down the road. All right, now it's time for the final part of our show, today's Meb Minutes.
Thanks, Rob. As we spend time to reflect on what we are thankful for, remember to be thankful for running and all it can bring you. Running is a gift and it is important to be thankful for every step you take. Whether it is a tough training day or a race, remember that each run is an opportunity to challenge yourself, grow
stronger, and appreciate your body's ability. Gratitude helps you stay motivated and reminds you why you love the sport, especially when you have come back from injuries. Like for example, I used to say, " I can't believe I'm running without pain," because now you don't take the running ability for granted. Because you are running smoothly and without pain. Whereas before, if you've been injured, it's a dark place to be.
So when you running freely without injury, you got to be thankful.
And that does it for another episode of Set The Pace. I want to thank our guests today, Kathleen Wright, the director of production operations at Macy's, and Khia Kurtenbach, winner of the inaugural Every Woman's Marathon. If you liked this episode, please make sure you go ahead and subscribe, rate, leave a comment for the show wherever you listen so others can find us as well. Happy Thanksgiving everybody. Enjoy
those turkey trots. Enjoy the miles. We'll see you next week.