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Press Release: New York City Marathon: 10/19/23

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

     TCS New York City Marathon: Team Inspire to Feature 26 of the Most 
              Compelling Runner Stories on Sunday, November 5

New York, October 19, 2023 - New York Road Runners (NYRR) has announced 
this year's members of Team Inspire, a group of 26 runners participating in 
the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon with some of the most compelling 
reasons for their runs. This group represents the diversity, width, and 
breadth of the 50,000-runner field that will trek through the five boroughs 
on Sunday, November 5.

With runners from all 50 states and 153 different countries, the TCS New 
York City Marathon is the biggest and boldest marathon in the world. Team 
Inspire consists of runners tackling 26.2 miles for the first time, 
streakers who have yet to miss a first Sunday in November, charity runners 
putting purpose behind their miles, and participants who have overcome 
challenges with the help of running.

Team Inspire members for the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon include:

- Aubrey Barr of Duxbury, Mass. - Diagnosed with a rare cancer as a child 
and given six months to live, Aubrey has overcome great odds and has since 
completed more than 25 TCS New York City Marathons with Fred's Team: she 
has raised over $500,000 for the charity cumulatively.

- Adrienne Bunn of Ocala, Fla. - A high school senior who this month became 
the youngest autistic woman ever to complete an Ironman endurance event 
with her finish in Kona, Hawaii, she will be running her first TCS New York 
City Marathon on behalf of KultureCity, the nation's leading nonprofit on 
sensory accessibility and acceptance for those with invisible disabilities.

- Cal Calamia of San Francisco - A prominent running activist and pioneer 
for the trans and non-binary community, Cal is running their first TCS New 
York City Marathon in the sub-elite field. They have used their platform to 
advocate for diversity and inclusion within the running industry, including 
non-binary divisions at races.

- Jamie Citron of Washington, D.C. - Originally from Highland Park, Ill., 
Jamie's family survived the 2022 Independence Day Parade mass shooting, one 
of the two deadliest shootings in Illinois history. Jamie is participating 
in the marathon as a member of Team Sandy Hook Promise to help his niece 
reassociate running with positivity and reduce her trauma.

- Chris Di Niso of Bay Terrace, Staten Island, N.Y. - A non-binary native 
of Staten Island who has worked for the New York City Department of 
Sanitation for 17 years, Chris is part of the team that ensures the streets 
are clean and clear for the marathon. They discovered NYRR Open Run in 2016 
and have since become one of the longest-tenured Open Run participants and 
have completed four TCS New York City Marathons.

- Margot Fleming of Los Angeles - The daughter of 1973 New York City 
Marathon champion Tom Fleming, Margot is running her first TCS New York 
City Marathon to honor the 50th anniversary of Tom's 1973 victory.

- Justin Grunewald of Boulder, Colo. - Justin's wife, Gabe Grunewald, a 
professional runner, tragically lost her decade-long battle with a rare 
cancer in 2019 at the age of 32. He is now continuing Gabe's legacy by 
running the TCS New York City Marathon for Brave Like Gabe, the foundation 
for cancer research that Gabe created during her illness.

- Roman Kashpur of Khmil'nyk, Ukraine - In 2019, Roman, a Ukrainian 
soldier, lost his leg when stepping on a land mine and was fitted for a 
prosthesis. When war broke out in Ukraine last year, he returned to the 
front lines and helped train new troops, saving the region from 
destruction. Within the span of eight days, Roman will run the Marine Corps 
Marathon and the TCS New York City Marathon for Citizen Foundation, a 
charity which supports wounded Ukrainian servicemen.

- Tania Kinsella and Glorisel Lee of North Shore and Annadale, Staten 
Island, N.Y. - Proud to call Staten Island home, NYPD First Deputy 
Commissioner Tania Kinsella - the first woman of color in the position - 
and Capt. Glorisel Lee, the Commanding officer of the 123rd Precinct on 
Staten Island, will run the marathon together after recently completing the 
NYRR Staten Island Half in their home borough. This will be Tania's fifth 
TCS New York City Marathon and Glorisel's first.

- Mandy Kwan of Marine Park, Brooklyn, N.Y. - Mandy immigrated to Brooklyn 
from Hong Kong when she was 11 years old and has called the borough home 
ever since. In 2015, her parents and their best friends started attending 
NYRR Open Runs in Marine Park. Soon Mandy was inspired to get into running 
herself, now with three generations of runners - her mom, Mandy, and her 
kids - all participating in Open Run together. This year she ran her first 
NYRR race and will be running her first marathon.

- Henry McGowan of Upper East Side, New York, N.Y. - After experiencing his 
own mental health challenges, Henry is running his first TCS New York City 
Marathon on behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), a 
cause that is close to his heart. 

- Robert Moore of Washington Heights, New York, N.Y. - A 72-year-old NYRR 
Open Runner, Robert was diagnosed as borderline diabetic in 2016. When his 
doctor recommended exercise, he worked with NYRR to launch a new Open Run 
site at Inwood Hill Park. With the help of Open Run, he has dramatically 
improved his blood sugar and lost over 50 pounds and will be completing his 
sixth marathon.

- Wan Park of Kew Gardens, Queens, N.Y. - An immigrant from Korea who 
struggled with culture shock and a language barrier, Wan found solace in 
running by joining his high school track team. He's now a math teacher at a 
school in the South Bronx, which is on Mile 19 of the marathon route, and 
integrates running analogies into his math problems for students. Wan is 
one of 50 teachers running the marathon as part of the TCS Teachers 
program.

- Tony Passaro of Great Kills, Staten Island, N.Y. - Tony has been an NYPD 
police officer for nearly 12 years and started running five years ago but 
was sidelined with a serious injury after a freak accident in 2020. Unable 
to run and 75 pounds overweight, he was inspired to begin running again 
after hearing TCS New York City Marathon race director Ted Metellus address 
the crowd at the Blue Line Painting Ceremony last year. He will run the 
marathon with the NYPD Running Club.

- Pankaj Patel of East Meadow, N.Y. - A civil engineer with the New York 
State Department of Transportation for the past 30 years, Pankaj helps 
ensure the roads are safe for the marathon and also runs the roads himself 
as a 16-time TCS New York City Marathon finisher. This year Pankaj's team 
will help repair the Queensboro Bridge so roadway conditions for the 
wheelchair athletes are optimal.

- Gisela Perez of Concourse Village, the Bronx, N.Y. - At 70 years old, 
Gisela coaches and inspires runners and walkers of all ages - from high 
school young women running for the first time to older adults maintaining 
fitness in their 80s through NYRR's Run for the Future and Striders 
programs. Gisela first discovered running in high school and ran her first 
New York City Marathon in 1994. Almost 30 years later Gisela will complete 
her 24th marathon, which will be her 300th NYRR race.

- Brock Polnaszek of Warren, R.I. - From the age of three Brock has 
suffered from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and was told by a doctor that he 
would never run a marathon. His experience as a child inspired him to 
become a doctor. Mobility and movement have been beneficial to controlling 
his RA symptoms and Brock will be running the marathon with the Arthritis 
Foundation.

- Tricia Quartey-Sagaille of Park Slope, Brooklyn, N.Y. - A 42-year-old 
runner, mother, and dentist, she is running the marathon for Black maternal 
health and to honor her son, born last year. Her journey to motherhood was 
difficult and riddled with health complications. Tricia had a real fear of 
dying during childbirth as a Black woman and has dedicated her personal and 
professional life to advocating for Black maternal health.

- Ryan Smith of Bethlehem, Pa. - Ryan is in his 25th year as a United 
States Army soldier and has leaned on running to get him through difficult 
times, including when he's far from family and when his mom passed away 
unexpectedly. He is running the marathon for Release Recovery Foundation, 
which granted his nephew a scholarship to help with his drug 
rehabilitation.

- Rahsaan Thomas and Claire Gelbart of Oakland, Calif. and Prospect 
Heights, Brooklyn, N.Y. - While serving a sentence of 55 years to life at 
San Quentin State Prison, Rahsaan met volunteer Claire Gelbart and the two 
quickly bonded over their shared passions of journalism and running. They 
made a pact that when Rahsaan was released they would celebrate his freedom 
by running the TCS New York City Marathon together. Six years later, that 
dream is coming true and Rahsaan will be running for Empowerment Avenue, a 
nonprofit he founded which supports incarcerated writers and artists.

- Anthony Tucker of Grand Concourse, the Bronx, N.Y. - Growing up in a 
housing project in Harlem, Anthony lacked positive role models, seeing 
himself reflected in the lives of neighborhood drug dealers and hustlers, 
which led to him dropping out of high school. He was eventually inspired by 
a friend to pursue his education and is now an assistant principal at a 
school in the South Bronx. He's running his first marathon with NYRR Team 
for Kids to prove that life's obstacles can be overcome and to support the 
next generation of runners.

- Tiffany Velez of Lawrence, N.J. - As a teen mom growing up in Ridgewood, 
Queens, Tiffany defied the odds and finished her education to become a 
bilingual occupational therapist. She's training for her first marathon 
with Ridgewood Runners.

- Verna Volker of Minneapolis - Verna is a proud mother, runner, member of 
Navajo Nation, and founder of Native Women Running, which she started in 
2018 to share stories of Native women and to give them a platform. The 
organization provides race opportunities and resources for Native women, 
all of whom share a spiritual relationship to running. Eight women, 
including Verna, will represent Native Women Running at the marathon.

- Alice Yu of New Hyde Park, N.Y. - A survivor of 9/11 who walked down 71 
flights of stairs in Tower 2 of the World Trade Center, Alice believes 
she's been given a second chance at life. She's a new runner, having 
started during the pandemic, and since 2020 has increased her race distance 
from 5K to 10K to half marathon to now, her first full marathon in New 
York.

About New York Road Runners (NYRR)

NYRR's mission is to help and inspire people through running. Since 1958, 
New York Road Runners has grown from a local running club to the world's 
premier community running organization. NYRR's commitment to New York 
City's five boroughs features races, virtual races, community events, free 
youth running initiatives and school programs, the NYRR RUNCENTER featuring 
the New Balance Run Hub, and training resources that provide hundreds of 
thousands of people each year with the motivation, know-how, and 
opportunity to Run for Life. NYRR's premier event is the TCS New York City 
Marathon. Held annually on the first Sunday in November, the race features 
a wide population of runners, from the world's top professional athletes to 
a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. To learn 
more, visit www.nyrr.org.
 
                                     ###


 

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