ART DEGREE
I studied art before running took over most of my attention. It is probably why I care so much about how an idea looks, sounds, and fits together.
ZACH YOUNG / NORTHERN NEW JERSEYZACH
YOUNG.
I’m a runner, writer, pacer, and coach from Northern New Jersey. Running was not always the center of my life. Now it shapes where I go, who I know, what I write about, and most of the work I choose to do.
RUNNER · WRITER · PACER · COACH
01 / WHERE IT STARTED
I DIDN’T GROW UP A RUNNER.
I started running after watching my mom finish her first half marathon at 50. She chose something difficult before she knew exactly how it would turn out, and seeing that changed what I believed was possible for me.
I was not immediately fast or especially polished. My first marathon took 4:38. I started slowly, learned by doing, and kept showing up long enough for running to become part of the structure of my life.
Years later, I ran 2:59:20 at Buffalo. The number matters to me, but the years between those two finishes matter more. They are where I learned that ordinary work, repeated honestly, can change a person.
02 / WHAT IT BECAME
I KEPT GOING FARTHER.
Eventually I stopped thinking of running as one race at a time. It became a way to test an idea, make a day memorable, or see how far curiosity could carry me.
I have run marathons, ultras, and long days that made very little sense on paper. I created a 100K called the Last Supper. I spent 16 hours on a treadmill because I wanted to know what would happen if I stayed there.
Those efforts were never only about proving I could finish. I like finding the edge of an idea and then living inside it for a while.
10+MARATHONS A YEAR
2:59:20BUFFALO MARATHON
100KTHE LAST SUPPER
16 HRTREADMILL RUN
03 / WHY I PACE
THE BEST FINISHES ARE NOT ALWAYS MINE.
Race pacing gave running another meaning. When I carry a sign, my job is to make the day less complicated for everyone around me. I hold the rhythm, make decisions when the group is tired, and keep the finish time from feeling impossible.
Some runners stay with the group for the whole race. Others drift in and out. I remember the conversations, the rough patches, and the moment somebody realizes they are actually going to make it.
Running can look solitary from a distance. Most good miles are held together by other people.
04 / OUTSIDE THE RESULTS01 02 03
A FEW OTHER THINGS.
FIVE YEARS ON A BIKE
I worked as a bike messenger in Philadelphia for five years. Before my life was organized around running, it was already organized around moving through a city.
THE EXTRA MILE
I write a weekly newsletter about running, effort, community, and the ideas that tend to show up after the easy miles are over.
READ THE EXTRA MILE →STILL IN PROGRESS
I DON’T THINK I’M DONE BECOMING A RUNNER.
Breaking three hours was a major finish line, but it did not settle anything. I still want to get faster. I still want to go farther. I still come up with efforts that sound unreasonable before they become calendar entries.
I do not know exactly what the biggest mile of my life will be. I like that there is still a chance I have not run it yet.