NYRR President & CEO MICHAEL CAPIRASO has been on the go this week, leading his organization’s Global Running Day on Wednesday and then laying the groundwork for several events around the city this weekend. As head of the community running organization that has been around since ’58, Capiraso participates in almost all of its races, but this weekend represents a rare chance for him to sit back and cheer on his daughters in their own event. Capiraso, who started running about 30 years ago, is also set to run in his 26th consecutive TCS New York City Marathon coming up this year.
OFF & RUNNING: Global Running Day was Wednesday, with millions of people pledging to run all across the world. I got up early and went for a group run with some folks from the office, then hit City Hall and ran over the Brooklyn Bridge with some city officials. There’s rarely a weekend when we don’t stage a race of some kind. This weekend we have the NYRR New York Mini 10k in Manhattan, and outside of the NYC Marathon it is the oldest race we have. We started it in ’72 and it’s the world’s original women-only road race. So that’s Saturday morning with a professional field, complete with both the winners from the Boston and London Marathons competing. We roll into Friday with a lot of preparation, media events with the athletes and then we have a fun gathering at our run center with some past racers leading into the race.
FAMILY FIRST: I’ll get up early Saturday morning and head over for the Girls Run that will take place ahead of the Mini 10k. It’s a little shorter distance, and my daughters will be running in that one. My daughter GWYNNE will even be singing the national anthem as well, so I get to introduce her and then cheer on my girls. I’ll be at the finish line ready to congratulate them. It’s a great day of seeing people of all abilities and ages run.
STAGE IS SET: We do an annual family reunion this weekend as well. My uncle comes up from Georgia and we always go to a Yankee game. Saturday afternoon, my wife is actually going to see “HAMILTON,” which my daughters and I have already seen, and that evening we’ll have a big meal together as a family. Sunday morning, I’ll do a long run and start my training for the marathon later this year. Then later that day, we’ll go to the Yankee game all together. It’s a nice balance of staying on the go and bonding with family all in the same weekend.
IN THE RIGHT PLACE: My wife and I are big fans of Broadway shows, and even my kids are big into musical theater, so we’re lucky to be here in NYC. We go pretty often. It’s old fashioned, but we also like to do family dinners after really taking advantage of the city. There’s so many festivals and performing arts that we try to see on a regular basis. When we do stay home, I’ll watch a rerun of “SEINFELD” any time, and I’ve also gotten my family into “SHARK TANK.” I was a big “SPORTS REPORTERS” guy as well, and I’ll miss that now that it’s off the air.
Know of someone you’d like to see featured in Weekend Plans? Shoot an email to tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
