Believe in Every Step
Written by Rob Simmelkjaer, New York Road Runners CEO, as an op-ed for the New York Daily News, originally published June 3, 2026.
Ten years ago, when the world celebrated the first Global Running Day, few could have predicted what the next decade would bring.
The pandemic sparked an unprecedented running boom that’s the new normal. Races, including New York Road Runners’ (NYRR) 60 annual adult and youth events, are selling out at record pace. Run clubs are thriving. More young people are discovering the sport. And after years of isolation, running has become more than fitness.
Running is community, therapy, identity, and hope.
That’s worth celebrating this Global Running Day.
So why has running resonated so powerfully at this moment?
The answer is simple: running reminds us that progress is possible, one step at a time.
NYRR recently launched a brand platform around four words: “Believe in Every Step.”
You don’t need to be fast to be a runner. You don’t need expensive equipment. You just need to begin. One block. One lap around the park. One decision to move instead of standing still.
Our mantra reflects something we see every day in NYC and beyond. Every step means something—better health, connection, purpose. Sometimes, those steps change lives.
I’ve seen that transformation happen in the runners and communities across the five boroughs we serve.
As the nonprofit that “runs” NYC, NYRR provides free or low-cost programming to more than half a million people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. That includes more than 200,000 kids through Rising New York Road Runners, over 1,100 older adults through NYRR Striders, and nearly 17,000 community members through weekly NYRR Open Runs.
I see every day how movement improves their health, mental well-being, confidence, and connection.
Despite that, too many people still believe running is not “for them.”
They think they are too slow. Too old. Too out of shape. They look at social media and see marathon finish lines, elite athletes, and impossible standards, rather than what running is at its core: one foot in front of the other.
Global Running Day is an opportunity to reject those doubts.
The celebration grew from a simple idea. In 2009, New York Road Runners helped establish National Running Day in the U.S. to encourage more people to experience the benefits of movement. That evolved into Global Running Day in 2016.
Ten years later, the mission feels more relevant than ever.
Loneliness is rising, anxiety is pervasive, and too many people spend their days sedentary and disconnected. Running can’t solve every problem. But it can create momentum—physically, mentally, and socially. It reminds people that they’re capable of more than they think. It creates common ground in divided times. It turns strangers into teammates and neighborhoods into communities.
In NYC, you see that power everywhere.
You see it in schools where children discover confidence through playground games. You see it in parks where run clubs gather. You see it in first-time runners crossing finish lines with tears in their eyes because they believed they never could. And every November, you see it across 26.2 miles of the five boroughs during TCS New York City Marathon Sunday, when millions cheer not just for speed, but for perseverance.
Running speaks to something fundamentally human: the belief that forward motion matters.
This Global Running Day, I hope people everywhere take that step forward, however that looks for them.
Walk around the block. Jog with a friend. Join a local run club. Participate in the Virtual NYRR Global Running Day 5K Powered by Strava. Get your kids involved with our Rising New York Road Runners Global Running Day Virtual Run.
Because every runner starts somewhere.
And every step counts.
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