by Larry Eder
Thursday morning in the Big Apple was all about the rain.
I grabbed a Lyft from my FurnishedQuarters apartment on East 69th.
The fifteen minutes drive to the New York Road Runners Pavilion was filled with observing New Yorkers on a rainy day, as the rain and the wind reminded me that a hurricane was battering the Carribean. I quickly time travelled back to Hurricane Katrina, and the announcement by Mayor Bloomberg that the marathon was cancelled. I shivered and quickly returned to 2025.
My attitude changed when I hit the NYRR Pavilion, a temporary structure for the Marathon weekend. Media is there, and so is hospitality.
The event on Thursday was called the NYRR Rising Star Shoe Distribution. Since 2016, New Balance and the NYRR have distributed 56, 600 pairs of shoes from New Balance running to thousands of young deserving athletes in the New York Metro who want to run, but may have challenges affording running shoes.
At the event, with 350 students from ages 8 to 16, NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer began the 15 minute ceremony, speaking with the kids on their level, about getting new sneakers. Then, Nnenna Lynch, Chair of the NYRR, a shining example of how NYC Metro athletes can grow from high school runners to leading the one of the most important organizations in running in the world. Senior VP of New Balance, Tom Carleo spoke to the 350 athletes, then, introduced Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, one of the finest ahtetes to every wear a Team USA uniform (six world records at 400 meter hurdles, American record (2x) at the 400 meter flats, and a New Balance sponsored athlete.
I loved speaking with the young runners. They were excited about getting new shoes and perhaps meeting an Olympian.
Several things were said of import at this gathering. Rob Simmelkjaer and Tom Carleo both noted that NYRR and New Balance had extended their long-term sponsorship agreement. This deal is not merely a sponsorship of the NYC Marathon, but a sponsorship of the New York Runner’s portfolio of events and causes shows the sophistication of the worlds’ largest privately-held sports footwear and apparel brand (that is New Balance, at $8.5 billion in sales).
I hung out at the NYRR Rising Star Shoe Distribution because I wanted to be inspired. In this day and age, it is hard for someone such as myself to be hit constantly with how fragile our treasured Democracy truly is. However, on October 30, I observed the next generation of our country, smiling and laughing with each other, different ethnic groups, different religious backgrounds, different economic backgrounds. In the 1950s and 1960s, we called the U.S. a “Melting Pot”.
I saw the future of my country, it is in the diversity that manifests itself in the New York Metro area, as kids get together, and share running, cross country and track and field. I was so proud to be an American.
#intheNYRRpavilion, Nnena Lynch, Chair of the New York Road Runners, speaks with RunBlogRun’s Larry Eder on the support that the NYRR does with over 100,000 kids in NY Metro! On October 30, in partnership with partner #newbalance, NYRR gave 350 pairs of New Balance shoes to… pic.twitter.com/9oz9Vjg99Q
— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) November 2, 2025
Nnenna Lynch, the Chair of the New York Road Runners gave me a wonderful clip which I show here. I wanted Nnena, who I recall racing in the Colgate series, racing at Villanova and racing as a pro athlete. I have been so proud to hear Nnenna speak, leading the New York Road Runners board to evangelize running 24/7, three hundred and sixty five days a year. Nnenna Lynch gets it. In the media capital of the world, Nnenna Lynch does what a Chair needs to do: get out the message!
My final memory from the NYRR Rising Star Shoe Distribution is pretty simple: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone spent some time with some high school athletes, giving them a few tips on running track and field. Sydney loves being with the kids, and I try and give her that respect. I have finshed with a short video on Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone hanging with young athletes.
On Thursday, October 30, 2025, this writer saw the present and the future. New Balance and the New York Road Runners are building the sport, one pair of shoes and one new or one refurbished track and field facility around New York Metro, at a time.
The grand experiment in New York with the NYRR and New Balance is building the sport in New York and New Jersey.
Watch this great experiment continue between NYRR and New Balance.
