After this weekend’s New York City Marathon, which drew some 55,000 participants from around the world, Bronx runners held their own celebration close to home.
The second annual Bronx Medal Monday was an all-day event at the Bronx Brewery on Nov. 4 for marathon participants, from first-timers to international participants to the hard-core runners who somehow remain conditioned enough to complete multiple marathons per month. Over 300 participants registered for the event, which featured laser medal engraving, massages, portraits, yoga, raffle prizes and of course, beer, food and good cheer among the tight-knit Bronx running community, according to co-founder Headley Duncan.
Tadeu Rosa, 58, completed the marathon and came to the Bronx Medal Monday event. He came to New York all the way from Brazil, where he has participated in two previous marathons.
With a friend serving as translator, the Bronx Times asked Rosa why he wanted to run the NYC marathon, and he simply said, “My dreams.”
He said the weather was ideal and the event was well-organized, to the point where he shaved 20 minutes off his previous marathon time. Afterwards, he said he felt no pain, and did some deep squats to prove it. “Strong,” he said, pumping his fist.
At the celebration, Silvana Cruz of Throggs Neck proudly sported three medals around her neck from the Boston, Chicago and New York City marathons, which she ran all within the past couple months.
“I was praying for the best, and my body was telling me I could do it,” she said.
Cruz said her husband has been a longtime runner, but until 2018, she had never run at all. “When I first started, I couldn’t even run a full block” — even a 5K (3.2 miles) seemed impossible at the time, she said.
But Cruz and her husband joined the Boogie Down Bronx Runners, a local club that meets multiple times a week to help locals train at all skill levels. Gradually, she became a better and better runner — and now the club refers to her and her husband as a “power couple” because of how they motivate each other.
“If you put your mind to it, anything can be done,” said Cruz of her journey to multiple marathons. Overcoming the mental obstacles can be tough — but when you complete a goal, “You come out thinking, ‘Wow, I am strong,’” she said.
Yamir Adames, who lives in Parkchester, had an even more unbelievable couch to 5K to marathon story: she was never a runner until about a year ago and since then has not only completed three marathons (“still a newbie”) but in March, she ran over 300 solo miles from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. In three weeks, Adames will travel to run the entire length of the country of Chile.
Something about distance running clicked instantly — and she said she simply “fell down the rabbit hole” of running events.
“I feel like the universe laid everything out for me,” Adames said.
She said her Boogie Down run club is “truly inclusive.” But distance running in the borough doesn’t always get enough representation, she said. Plus, those who come out to cheer for the Bronx portion of the marathon have to stand behind full barricades, which is not the case in the other boroughs, said Adames.
“We have runners out here too,” she said. “We’re equally part of the community as well.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
