​BKTC Member Marta Fenollosa:
Marta is an architect originally from Barcelona, who now now lives in Washington DC.

Why did you start running?
I’ve always been very active and into sports. I am a happier person when I exercise. But when I moved to New York, it was impossible to meet up with people to play basketball or tennis, sports that I practiced a lot back at home. I started running around Prospect Park as a way to stay fit (and channel all the craziness of NYC) and soon got addicted.

What music do you listen to while running? Why?
I don’t usually listen to music when I run. Occasionally I might take off the dust of my headphones in a long run if I am running alone. But even if I do, music has been substituted by podcasts. They trick my brain more effectively, because you know a song is 3, or 4 minutes long, while a podcast can go on for hours! It helps losing sense of time, something very useful on a 2+ hour run.
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What do you think about on the run if you don’t run with music?
Running has become sort of my meditation time. Some days I reflect on how the day went; others I create mental “to do” lists for the next day. Most of the time I just look at my surroundings and think of very banal things.

Most memorable race? Why?
Running the Boston Monsoon in 2018. I am extremely proud of finishing that race. One of the hardest things I have ever done, both physically and mentally. It took me a long time to be able to run on the rain again!!

What's your least memorable race?
My second NYC marathon. I thought I knew what I was doing because I had run it the year before and I didn’t train as much as I should have. The last 10 miles were the worst. I stopped more times that I can count, and I barely made it to the finish line. It was one of most humbling races that make you respect the distance again.

What advice would you give to new runners?
ENJOY IT!! Running should be all pleasure. Some friendly competition here and there is always good, but don´t let it get into your head. Every step, every mile, every race is for you, no one else.

Who would you like to go on a run with? Why?
My great grandfather Wilfredo Ricart. He was a very well-known engineer, famous for his car designs. A lot of people consider him a genius and it would have been super interesting to hear his view of the world. Sharing a run with him would have been awesome!

Who are your favorite athletes?
Rafa Nadal, who just won his 23rd grand slam title!! Insane! He is an amazing athlete; he has achieved absolutely everything but, at the same time, he has never lost the right perspective on the important values of life.

What’s your favorite movie?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, even though I haven’t seen it in ages! Maybe it is not as good as I remember...

What’s your favorite running route?
A 10 mile run in Menorca, an island in Spain where I’ve spent most of my summers. It´s the right combo of trails and road, and it finishes in a tiny beach where you can just dip into the water and let your muscles relax. It’s heaven.

Share an embarrassing running story:
I got lost on my first leg of Speed Project. I had my route memorized and it was a super simple leg, but somehow the nerves played me. It was 5 am in the middle of LA and I had missed a turn.  When I finally found someone and asked if I could use her phone, she started running in the opposite direction! Luckily my instincts kicked in and I remembered the area was a grid… and I eventually found the van. It wouldn’t have been a good start for our team!!! Luckily, it ended up being just a minor hick up (in case you did not follow the race, we broke the female record by 5h!!)

​BKTC Member Ben Chan:
He runs in hot pants, donated one of his kidneys and takes on everything from the Mile to Ultramarathons.

Why did you start running?
Before donating one of my kidneys in May 2012 my friends and I signed up to do an obstacle course mud run in October. I ran my first 5K the week before surviving 12+ miles of obstacles and mud on October 20, 2012. My friends and I had a lot of fun, but we agreed that it would have been more enjoyable if we actually trained and got in shape. So that’s when I started running- sometime at the end of 2012. Prior to donating I avoided running. At first I ran to get in shape for obstacle course races and 5ks and 10ks, and then I did a Ragnar Relay in September 2013. Our team had a theme and I ran all three of my legs in my underwear. One of my teammates suggested that I run a marathon, so we signed up to run the 2014 Los Angeles Marathon. I did my first training run after Thanksgiving dinner 2013. I ended up running four marathons in 2014.

What do you think about on the run?
I focus on being present. Running is my time to turn off the screens and tune out everybody else. I try not to look at my watch while I’m running. I try to take in my surroundings and listen to what my body is telling me. Sometimes negative thoughts creep in- doubt, fatigue, somebody else’s annoying music from their crappy portable speaker or way to loud headphones. When I hit rough patches, one of my mantras that I say is “You are here. You are doing this.” That pulls me back into the moment.

Most memorable race? Why?
Hard to pick just one. The firsts- first road race, first marathon, first underwear run, are memorable. The ones that stick out the most for me are the ultras. Every race has a beginning and an end, but ultras have the longest middles with the most plot twists. When you train for races up to the marathon distance, the goal is to either avoid the dreaded wall or to overcome one wall. Running an ultra means overcoming multiple walls. I’ve been to some very dark places. I mistimed sunset at the 2015 World’s Toughest Mudder, a 24-hour obstacle race. That year the race was in the desert in Las Vegas and there several water obstacles and crossings. At night it gets so cold that participants run the course wearing wetsuits. I started the race wearing a Speedo, and I thought I could get another lap of the course in before sunset. I was wrong. It got dark while I was still on a Speedo lap. There was one obstacle that required us to wade into water and then climb up a rope and maneuver into a pipe. A lot of runners had a tough time not just getting up the rope, but standing in the cold water waiting to climb up the rope. Participants were getting pulled left and right for hypothermia. A medic saw me shivering and told me that if I continued shivering he was going to pull me from the race. I took 2-3 minutes to the mentally compose myself, got a really warm bear hug from one of my friends, and then I got myself up the rope and into the pipe. The organizers eventually closed the obstacle because so many folks were getting pulled right there. That was only the halfway point on the course. There was so much freezing water left. I was cold, wet, and wondering why I was putting myself through this. But I kept on moving forward. Eventually I made it back to my tent in the pit area. I put on my wetsuit, but before I could head out for another lap, my wife laid on top of me to warm me up. I kept going. That’s the coldest I’ve ever been.
Moments like my friend giving me the bear hug to warm me up and my wife laying on top of me to save my race are the kinds of things that happen in ultras. 

Least memorable race? Why?
After a while, all the 5ks, 4-milers, and 10ks in Central Park start to blend together. I still enjoy them for what they are - opportunities to practice patience when I’m running a fall or winter race in and get asked “Aren’t you cold?” by 110 different runners.

What advice would you give to new runners?
Be present at your runs. Music can be helpful, but it can also be a crutch. Practice running by feel. Create a definition of success for yourself that isn’t strictly tied to numbers. Social media and advertisements for running gear present an idealized version of running that separates Instagram worthy moments of triumph from the rest of running. The “rest of running” is the majority of running. Heavy legs, soreness, tough days, doubts- are part of the entirety of the running package. Commit to the process of running and accept all the moments, bad and good.

​What does it mean to you personally to be LGBTQ in running?
As you grow up, you begin to understand areas of your life where being gay limited you or set you a few paces behind non-LGBTQ people. With running, that's rarely the case. Once you lace up your sneakers, toe the line, and the gun goes, everything else vanishes. Everyone's equal. It's just you and the clock. 

What advice would you give to a younger LGBTQ runner?
Celebrate yourself! There are more and more LGBTQ runners out there performing at such an incredibly high level, and it's refreshing to see the sport celebrate these athletes. Look to them as examples, and let yourself shine. 

Our very own Leigh Anne Sharek was interviewed by​ Citius Mag's 'Runners Of New York Podcast"

“I run because of the way that it makes me feel and the way that it has positively influenced my entire life. It’s not even about running but work, relationships and self-awareness. All of those things wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t have this thing in my life. I run for me and to share that with other people. That’s why I’m part of a team and that’s why I try to run with other people and talk to other people. Because, if it’s made me feel this good, I want everyone to have that same experience. It’s such a confidence booster and such a way to know yourself better.”