What does running mean to you? Irene and Tiina, the Super Women

What this episode covers

Irene's bio: Irene is Greek-American. She was born and raised in Athens, Greece. She holds a BA from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Mills College. She speaks five languages. After teaching in Athens for ten years, she decided to move to New York City and started a career in the transatlantic nonprofit world. Meeting people in a big metropolis is not easy so she decided to sign up for the New York Road Runners classes hoping to make friends. She found a supportive community and discovered that she enjoyed long-distance running. People from all over the world and all walks of life came together for the workouts in Central Park that took place in all weather conditions. She bonded with an amazing group of women and the 6-mile loop in the Park became their daily run. At 42, she was recruited by a local running team and eventually started running marathons. Irene appreciates that running events create a level playing field. She does not need to win the race to feel that she won, she is competing against herself which means that she can finish anywhere in the pack and feel almost as good as the overall winner because she managed to break her own personal record. Running has built her resilience. “You learn how to keep on plowing through and that is a skill that comes in handy when you hit the bumps along the road called life,” she says. Irene has collaborated with the Athens Marathon on several marketing and strategy initiatives and initiated the Athens Marathon and NYRR Team For Kids partnership. Her favorite race is the Shelter Island 10K; the course is beautiful, and it runs past her aunt’s house. She also loves the New York City marathon for its amazingly supportive spectators. Her dream (and on her bucket list) is to complete the original course in her home city, the Athens Marathon. Tiina's bio: In fifteen years of running, Tiina Ylonen has completed over twenty marathons and seven ultra-marathons, including one 55-miler in South Africa. She is a member of Big Apple Runners running club and currently trains with Great Hill Track Club. A native of Finland, Tiina has lived in New York City for the last twenty-five years.