After a chance encounter at a local Brooklyn gym in 2015, Marva Joseph and Marie Young decided to become volunteer Run Captains at the newly launched New York Road Runners Open Run site at Canarsie Park in 2016.
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Now, their friendship has spanned hundreds of miles, and has even gone international.
"We were already into health, since we were at the gym, so then coming here and joining Open Run, this a more healthy activity for us. And it's a free program, the gym we had to pay for!," Young said as she and Joseph were in the park.
The Open Run initiative is a program that hosts weekly runs and walks in neighborhood parks, free of charge.
The women took the program one step further when they decided to become captains.
"We came here and volunteered to be run captains. Some of them can't run. They came from not being runners, walkers, joggers. Some of them couldn't even walk one mile. And to see the progression over the weeks, to running even faster," Joseph said about the participants in the Open Run initiative.
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Young and Joseph tackled each challenge, running side-by-side, and found their passions for running marathons.
"Then we volunteered at the New York City marathon in 2017 and oh my God that was it! We were hooked," Joseph said.
The duo went from running one marathon, to shooting for six. They said it has become an obsession and that they want to run the major marathons in London, Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, and of course, New York.
"We motivate each other. And we're companions for safety," the two chimed in together.
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"It's also a time where we get to discuss things and that's how our relationship got built," Joseph added.
They were bitten by the 'marathon bug' and are set to race in Sunday's TCS Marathon together.
WATCH | Teacher takes on the marathon to raise resources and inspire
Teacher takes on the marathon to raise resources and inspire
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