2022 NYC MARATHON: Meet the Marathoners
Our special preview of the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon kicks off with our “Meet the Marathoners” series. Over 60 New York Harriers are signed up for the race. Read below on how some of them are training and preparing for the big day — and how they plan to celebrate crossing one of the world’s most iconic finish lines!
Sergii Pershyn
Sergii is no stranger to the marathon, having done two self-supported marathons on the West Side Highway in the past, something he calls “the toughest experience in my life!” As the 2022 race will be his first official 26.2, he’s turned to the best running team he could find to get him across the finish line. Sergii became a morning regular after joining the Harriers this summer. “On my first race as a Harrier, I saw a lot of support on the course,” he remembers. After Mirjam, Dan and others cheered “Go Harriers!” from the sidelines, plus the support he gets at the weekly workouts, he was convinced of the benefits of being part of the team. “The best feeling for me is running really fast shoulder to shoulder with someone,” he says, noting how “I did most of my speed workouts with Jeremy during our morning training sessions.”
That and the challenging workouts themselves keep Sergii coming back. “It’s been really beneficial… Love the intervals!” He’s also using those weekly tempos to drill down on his pace. (“My splits are getting more and more consistent.”) Plus, he has a (possibly unpopular?) opinion about Harlem Hill. “Harlem Hill repeats was my first run with the Harriers,” he explains. “I am a huge fan of that hill. It’s challenging but really rewarding!”
As for racing, Sergii enjoys half-marathons, recently cruising across the Staten Island Half finish line as the first Harrier in a blazing 1:21:15. “You can run fast and not kill yourself,” he adds.
He also likes listening to podcasts on his easy runs, but turns to New Wave and Punk Rock for faster runs. When he’s not stomping out some hill repeats to R.E.M.’s It’s the End of the World As We Know It, he’s busy being a talented writer. “Occasionally, I write short stories,” he says. “Two of my anecdotes were printed in The New York Times.” You can read them here and here!
While Sergii admits to being “super nervous” about the marathon, he hopes the crowd support – some cheers from his wife and kids – “and a bit of a miracle” help keep him on his ambitious target pace. “Sometimes when I really want to quit I promise to myself to wait until the end of the bridge, etc. and often I run much farther!” he says, but notes if you have any good running mantras, to please pass them along.
Kristin Lunghamer
It’ll be Marathon No. 6 on Nov. 6 for Kristin, who is also toeing the start line of her third New York City Marathon next month. The race is also her marathon PR, which she ran in 3:05:58 in 2019. The first Sunday in November happens to also be her favorite day in the Big Apple. “I’m really excited,” she says. “Nothing beats the energy of the city that day!”
Kristin joined the team in August of 2019. “I felt it was time to find a running club that would take my training to the next level, meet like-minded runners, and enjoyed grabbing beers after workouts,” she recalls. “I didn't have to search for long!” She now finds herself regularly running with Kiran, Hannah and Simon, who are “always either inviting me on a long run or being game to join me when I ask.”
Running the marathon is also going to be a family affair for Kristin this year. “My grandma is coming in from Michigan,” she says, “so I would love to spot her in the crowd. Also my dad and sisters!” Plus, her mother will be racing as well. “This will be her fifth marathon and first in over 30 years,” Kristin explains. “I'm really excited to celebrate with her and hopefully watch her cross the finish line amidst the crowd.”
While her marathon training has had its usual ups and downs, with temps finally dipping as the fall gets into full swing, Kristin’s starting to see the payoff in her training. “It’s given me the confidence boost I needed.” As for her favorite part of training… like many of us, it’s the food. “The guilt-free bagels and pizza,” she gushes, like a true carbo-loading New York marathoner. She’s also looking forward to crushing plenty of beers and tater tots after she finishes.
Kristin loves running to music, listening to what she describes as “an embarrassing amount of trance, electronic, and deep house when I run.” She also never leaves All These Things That I've Done by the Killers off a running playlist. And when things get tough she has a go-to running mantra (heads up, Sergii!): "Gas in the tank, money in the bank – that is, if you are diligent about keeping track of your energy reserves, you'll have a strong finish.” We can’t wait to see what that finish looks like on race day.
Ethan Seltzer
Here are a couple of numbers that tell you a little about Ethan: on race day morning, Ethan will be 24 years and 364 days old. This year’s race will be Ethan’s third time running NYC. And while he’s run an impressive total of 13 marathons, it’s notable that two of those were just within the past month. Even more astounding are his finishing times: he ran a 2:58 in Berlin, then two weeks later, a 2:57 in Chicago.
As he now turns his focus to the greatest marathon in the greatest city in the world, Ethan is ready. “I love the buildup to race day,” he says. “It’s a great feeling when you trust the process and get to put it all into practice on race day.” His biggest challenge, which anyone who’s read this far might be able to tell, is trying to keep himself from overtraining. “I’m trying my best to stay within my limits so that I’m healthy on race day,” he promises. He hopes to have fun and “hopefully this race will be a little victory lap on the fall training cycle. Negative splits? A boy can dream.”
Ethan joined the Harriers six months ago after his excellent college running club buddy, Amrita, introduced him to the team. He relies mostly on the Wednesday night workout crew to keep him on track, and enjoys having Thomas, Kim, and Amrita along for company on his long runs.
Ethan has a particular and well-rehearsed pre-race routine: “Wake up. Complain about being awake. Eat like 100 calories that will be instantly depleted but just because it makes me feel like I at least tried to fuel. Get on the bus to Ft. Waddy. (I forgot to mention that I put on my race day ‘fit so just to be clear I’m wearing clothes for all of this). Get chills from seeing so many humans in once space. Listen to all the stereotypical New York songs that they play at the start. Soak it all in.” While the tunes help get him hyped for the big day, he prefers to race music-free. “Just the sound of feet smacking the pavement and thousands of cheers,” he says. His race day mantra is to essentially ignore his mother’s advice. “My mom always says that if I get tired I should stop,” he explains. “Sometimes I actually follow that advice but my goal is to not.”
Like Kristin, Ethan appreciates the intersection of food and running. He notes his favorite Harriers “workout” was the Donut Mile. “That was strictly business,” he declares, “and definitely not at all for fun.” He jokes (we hope) that his race-day eve dinner will likely include “Taco Bell or something else that isn’t conducive to fast running” and that after the race, “I’ll most likely be finding the greasiest burger north of the Mason Dixon and a cider to get my blood sugar back to a homeostatic level.”
The main thing he’s looking forward to after finishing the iconic race? “Laying down and not moving for the rest of the winter,” he says. We fully support this plan.