Finding Queer Joy at the Pride Run and Year-Round


J Solle (they/them) is director of the Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run. They are the newest member of the NYRR Contributors Circle, established to create a meaningful connection with, and dedicated spotlight on, diverse communities and important societal initiatives within the running community.
 
Leading the Pride Run is a labor of love. It consists of 12 months of planning condensed into three intense hours of joy, celebration, and visibility in Central Park during Pride Month in June. This year, as I stood on the start-line stage watching the corrals gather in front of me, I felt overjoyed to help bring together this community. To me, this feeling, from sharing the race course with over 8,000 people to celebrating love and queer identity, lasts year-round. And I owe my own experience in New York, running, and serving as the Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run director to the sense of community I felt when I first ran this race in 2021. 

Front Runners New York run club members in 2025. Photo courtesy of Kyle Barron.

That summer, the Pride Run was one of the first NYRR in-person races after the pandemic, and my new teammates made sure I was signed up. It was my first NYRR race, and I showed up alone and nervous. I wasn’t even sure I was going to go, but my teammates assured me it was an event not to miss. Front Runners members of all ages would be there, and I wouldn’t want to miss seeing the support from the community, especially as in-person races were just starting to come back. I took a leap of faith, and when I came to the start line and saw other Front Runners singlets among the runners, I felt excited to be a part of something larger than myself; it gave me the confidence I needed to run a strong race. 

After I finished the race, I joined the Front Runners cheer zone to encourage hundreds of other runners until the last person crossed the finish line. As more and more runners finished, they joined us, creating a cheer tunnel as the final finishers passed by. More than 4,000 runners finished the Pride Run that year. I saw how expansive the running community was, not only the support that our run club brought, but also the atmosphere and genuine happiness of all the participants. That day I felt joy and strong ties to the community, which ultimately made me feel rooted in both the run club and my new home in New York City.

I moved to NYC in early 2021 for a new start, hoping to find queerness that I hadn’t yet experienced in my life. During the loneliness of the pandemic, I spent time questioning my gender identity and thinking about my pronouns, often processing those thoughts while running. I had only a blurry vision of what a community could look like. Having lived in Boston since 2012, I felt that the queer community was isolating and sparse there. I had attended Pride events in New York City in past years, and knew there was a vibrant community that could be a base to explore my queer identity. I wanted a large queer friend group, an opportunity to date and find a partner, and for queer joy to be a larger part of my life. I didn’t know how powerful that could be until I joined Front Runners, New York’s largest running club for LGBTQIA+ folks. 

J at the start of the 2025 Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run.

Now, as the Pride Run director, I thrive on giving people that same experience that I had. At the event this year, many of my newer teammates attended the Pride Run for the first time, and I watched with joy as they experienced the happiness of the morning with each other. Some even offered to come early to help with whatever I needed. Seeing this made me feel more connected to my community than ever. Running has helped me make best friends through Front Runners, meet my partner, and get to know people who inspire me and bring me immense joy. I hope it offers the same experience to my closest friends, my teammates, and everyone who joins us. 

Runners at the Pride Run post-race festival.

Running has also given me a safe place to explore my gender identity. I've now run in the nonbinary category for over three years at many NYRR races. The nonbinary division allows me, and many other athletes in New York, to participate authentically in the sport. There are very few places where I see a tangible reflection of my identity, but at each race, I get to see an X next to my name and I can filter the results by the nonbinary gender. This allows me, and other gender-nonconforming runners, to experience the sport in a way that doesn’t constrict us into a binary definition of gender, making running align with our lived experience. The nonbinary division has grown over the past few years, and the Pride Run typically draws one of the largest fields of nonbinary runners at NYRR races. 

J with drag artist Blacc Cherry at the 2025 Pride Run.

This year's Pride Run was a deeply important moment of visibility, joy, and support for our community. Helping bring that pride to others was intensely gratifying. Importantly—and especially now—that joy shouldn’t only be felt in June but year-round. When I lace up my shoes for the next race, I’ll carry this same pride with me as I line up alongside my teammates and the same community that showed up to support us at the Pride Run.

J with the pace car at the 2025 Pride Run.


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