An internationally-recognized skyline, world-renowned museums and tourist attractions such as Times Square and Rockefeller Center are some of the most commonly associated aspects of New York City.
However, for many, running trumps all of these as the city's primary draw.
"Anywhere else you go, you see one or two people running whether you go to the most popular area or not. You go to Central Park, and literally anytime you see tons of people running," said Tyler Deck Shipley, New York University's Head Cross Country Coach. "There's a really, really robust community here of people that just care about running in general."
Of course, the five boroughs become the center of the running universe every fall when the New York City Marathon brings more than 30,000 athletes to town, including many of the sport's stars.
"The day of the New York Marathon, we're training in Central Park and (Kenenisa) Bekele, who is the Michael Jordan of running, just runs by," Deck Shipley revealed. "No one recognizes him, but all the guys on the team are like 'oh my God, there's Bekele.' That doesn't happen anywhere else."
NYC's running allure extends to the track as well. The Millrose Games and its famed Wanamaker Mile take place each year at the Armory in Washington Heights, essentially the Madison Square Garden of running. This esteemed event was born as a result of the ingenuity and resourcefulness of employees at Manhattan's Wanamaker Department Store in the early 20th-century and was held at the actual Madison Square Garden until 2012. It's a New York story through and through.
This rich history has produced an abundant running culture in the City, apparent to members of NYU's cross country team.
"The running culture in New York City, I've never experienced anything like it," said Mubeen Zainul, a senior on the team who also runs track. "The Armory, in high school everybody knew of it. The Millrose Games are held there with all the big names. It's just something you hold high. And then, you go in and you're like, 'wow they have the Hall of Fame here, the track's on the third level, this place is really cool.'"
Grit and a drive to succeed amidst the chaos of the City are defining characteristics of New York culture that are felt whenever someone hits the streets for a run. Just ask Deck Shipley, who moved here in August 2021 to lead NYU's cross country program.
"In New York, you don't have to look far for inspiration in anything," he said. "There's people achieving at the highest level whether it's in the arts, academics, or athletics. In every aspect of life, people in New York are doing something at the highest level. I think it's really cool to walk outside your doors and see that."
The infectious energy of the City brings out the best of the running community, along with the natural relationship-building that lies at the core of the sport.
"I think the best relationships I've had in my life are through running," said Dylan Canales Salazar, a Brooklyn native and freshman member of the NYU cross country team. "I didn't live in the Bronx, Manhattan or Queens, but I got really close with people there because I would compete against them every weekend. People who I would have never met otherwise."
When it comes to physical running environments, New York City belongs in its own category.
"Sometimes I like to just run through Wall Street," said Katherine Cheng, a freshman on NYU's cross country and track & field teams. "You can literally cut in wherever you want, so I like to cut in through Wall Street. You have so much freedom running here."
There's no shortage of routes in the boroughs, from the busy streets of lower Manhattan to the tree-lined trails of Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Traversing these areas provides a more intimate look at the City than any other activity. As David Alm wrote in Running World, "Runners get to experience New York City like no one else."
"Your connection to a place is much more intimate because things move slower when you're running versus biking or driving. You just interact with people on a different level," Deck Shipley mused. "You just see way more of the City. Sometimes you run down a random road that you didn't expect and someone's moving into their apartment or something like that. You just see what life in the city is like in a much different way."
There are plenty of differences to life in NYC from neighborhood to neighborhood and this is even more evident to runners, who often wind through multiple communities on a single run.
"Sometimes we don't realize how far we really go," said Zainul. "If you start on the Lower East Side, go through Midtown, then go up a bit more and you're in Harlem. It's interesting to see how the City changes and how the people change as you go geographically up."
This variance in environment and people is unique to urban areas, especially in New York where parallel neighborhoods can seem like different worlds. This is a far cry from most of the country and exposes NYU runners to a completely different style of training. Take Cheng for example, who grew up in Palo Alto, CA, and competed for Palo Alto High School's cross country and track & field programs.
"Basically all of our practices were at Stanford," she said. "We did a lot of track workouts, so coming here was a big adjustment. One, being in the city, but two, I'd only really done track workouts all of high school."
"Sometimes I run down the Hudson and kind of think to myself about how I got here. It's just insane how you're among adults and living a completely different college experience."
Canales Salazar, on the other hand, was born and raised in Brooklyn and went to Brooklyn Technical High School, which is a stone's throw from NYU's Brooklyn Athletic Facility.
"In middle school, we didn't have an official track team, but there was a science teacher who organized it and we would run around our city block. That would be our practice," he recalled. "Our races wouldn't be on a track, we would be running the New York Road Runner races and stuff like that."
"In high school, we had some good facilities but still didn't have a track. So, on normal days we would run around the streets, over the bridges and really everywhere."
Zainul, who grew up across from a cornfield in upstate New York, says running on open roads back home provides better opportunities for mileage and varied trails, but it can get a bit boring.
It's often said that you never know what you'll see when you step outside in NYC and that's even more apparent when out running. Zainul agrees, and has stumbled upon some interesting scenes on the New York streets.
"Over the summer, it was one of the freshman's first times in the City so we met up with him for a run. It was a really hot day and we saw two people who decided to just strip down and lay against a building because it was cool. It was like, well, that's a good way to introduce you to the City."
The one-of-a-kind environment and unpredictable — yet refreshing — atmosphere of New York City provides quite a backdrop for a unique running experience. But, it's the people who bring it to life.
"Tons of people are interested, which I think is really, really cool and doesn't exist anywhere else," said Deck Shipley. "Portland (Oregon) is supposed to be kind of the mecca of running and you don't even see as many people out there on the trails, which was surprising to me."
As Deck Shipley works to mold the NYU cross country program in his image, he draws a lot from the City itself.
"We get to be stewards of this really cool running culture and people are always checking in and asking about it. That doesn't happen everywhere."
Even still, a common assumption is that big cities aren't conducive to running success due to the lack of trails and open space. However, NYU's men's cross country team secured a NCAA Division III National Championship in 2007.
Deck Shipley noted the past success of the program as evidence of the advantages of running in New York City and specifically at NYU.
"Knowing that NYU has won a National Championship in cross country is inspiring because it shows that it can be done here and we can get there," he said.
"Everything that we have here is conducive to success, we just have to spin that the city allows us to accomplish that and not let it hold us back. Sure, every once in a while we're gonna be caught on the subway and that's the nature of life. Is that gonna stop us from being successful? No. It's just part of being in New York City and what comes with it."
The team takes the subway multiple times a week to Central Park for workouts and utilizes the East River Track as well. Aforementioned Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx provides a more traditional running environment with trails and hills within the five boroughs. They also travel to New Jersey for greater access to classic trails. There's far more variety in the metropolitan area than one might expect and NYU runners take advantage of it all.
Then, during track & field season, the Armory in Washington Heights and Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island provide first-class training facilities. NYU's cross country and track & field programs are also very young, with over 30 underclassmen between the four squads, and the City provides an ideal backdrop to improve in the sport and come together as teammates.
"I've definitely gotten really close with everyone on the team," Cheng, a freshman, said. "We spend so much time together. We have to be super disciplined which has been really good for me. We're all in it together and I think it's pretty clear how much we've grown closer."
New York City can be difficult to take on solo, and having the support system of the team and instant running partners eases the transition. Canales Salazar reflected on helping new teammates find their way around.
"During the first few weeks, we did a nine mile bridge loop over the Williamsburg and back over the Manhattan Bridge and guys got lost. We were back at Palladium (Athletic Facility in Manhattan) and people we're trying to find their way back from Brooklyn. We gave them a call and they made it back."
"Now, they don't get lost. It's not even just knowing the directions, it's knowing the city. We could go explore a new place now, them not being there before and they'll be able to make it back because they've gotten more experience with how it is to run in the City."
The challenges, community and infectious energy of New York fuel the robust running culture, which reflects within NYU student-athletes. As Deck Shipley continues to build his program in the silhouette of the City, his pitch to potential recruits is simple.
"If you want to see how good you can be, get a world-class education in a world-class city, why not be here? It's pretty easy to sell being in Central Park on a daily basis. It's pretty easy to sell going to the Armory. But, I don't think those are the reasons to come to a place. I think it's the people."
