Taeya Konishi-Schogel’s days start at 4:00 in the morning.
As a mother of two with a demanding job as well, she says if she doesn’t get her run in then she’s not sure if she will at all. It’s the type of schedule that would make it easy to just quit running—which Taeya did in 2018, temporarily. But over the pandemic she needed an outlet that got her out of the house, and so at 40 years old she worked her way back into the sport.
Taeya had already posted some impressive performances before her break, including a 2:59 at the Boston Marathon. But since her return she’s leveled up even further, running a 2:55 marathon PR in London earlier this year while competing at the top of the Masters division for both North Brooklyn Runners and now 212 Athletic.
The Peru native credits her consistency with allowing her to keep improving, as well as the classic adage of keeping your easy days easy. But in the end, none of it matters without staying the course in the first place.
“I know we as moms are busy, but we all need our own space. We need our me time,” Taeya says. “If any of the moms out there are reading this, I would say don’t give up running, if that’s your passion. Keep on going. Just try to fit it in somewhere in your day, because it’s important not to derail from who you are.”
We spoke with Taeya to discuss her initial running journey beginning in 2010, comparing and contrasting the running community then and now, her favorite New York City races and more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Can you start off with an intro of yourself, where you’re from, what brought you to New York if you’re not originally from here and then your initial origins of how you got into running as well?
My name is Taeya Konishi-Schogel. I was born and raised in Peru. My parents are Japanese, but all my life I lived in Peru, and then I went to D.C. for college. I always wanted to come to New York, but New York just felt like it was too big of a city. So I moved to D.C., I was there for six years, and then I came to New York for grad school. I studied architecture at Pratt Institute, and then I’ve been here since. So I’ve been here for 21 years now.
And my running journey, it started—I think it was like 2009, 2010. I don’t remember exactly when, but a friend of mine [Yasmeen], she asked me to run a 5k. I didn’t even know what that distance was, because I’d never run, really. So I had to search what that was.
I started running one block from my house, came back. The next day, two blocks, went back. And at the time I was living in Crown Heights, so my goal was to get to the top of Prospect Park eventually…. So that’s how my running journey started, it was thanks to her.
What was that motivator that kept you going, despite how painful running can be in those early days and early weeks for a lot of people?
I would say I’m a pretty goal-oriented person, so like I was telling you my goal was to get to the top of Prospect Park, and that was about two miles and change for me. But obviously I wasn’t gonna run two miles the first time, because that was just way too far. So I started one block—‘Okay, I can do it. Let me try two blocks the next day.’ So that’s what I did, and little by little I was able to do it. But I remember getting to the top of the park, I got there but I couldn’t come back, so I had to take the train back.
What did the evolution look like, going from a 5k to running your first marathon relatively soon after that?
So my first marathon was in 2010, it was the Philly Marathon. I couldn’t get into New York, and then Yasmeen was like, ‘Okay, why don’t you try Philly? Because that’s relatively close to New York City.’ But I didn’t know what that meant—like, what do I need to do to train for it? So that year, I basically just picked up a book and started to run what it said, but I didn’t know what tempo was or a track workout was. I was just running all of these at the same pace. And then there was a race by Nike, it was the Human Race 10k, and Yasmeen and I did that, and I beat her. I didn’t train for it, but I beat her. It was a couple loops around Prospect Park. And she couldn’t believe it…. I was like, ‘I don’t know, I just went for it.’ And so she’s like, ‘Yeah, so then let’s train for a marathon.’ And that’s how it started.
But I really had no idea what I was doing. I think I was running maybe 30 miles a week at that point, and that was too much for me. But I went, I did the marathon. I only had one of those stopwatches back then. I didn’t have any Garmin or anything. And I felt like I could do 3:45, 3:30, so that was my goal. But I didn’t know how fast I was going. Then when I crossed the finish, I thought the clock was broken because it said 3:19…. And that kind of got me motivated into, ‘Okay, maybe I should take running a little more seriously and train for it, and really learn about all these different speeds in order to get better.’
At some point you joined NBR as well. What motivated you to join them, and how did they push or motivate you in your running journey?
So back in 2010, the Mini 10K, I went to cheer because my friend was running, and then I saw this singlet. And I’m an architect, so I like anything that looks really cool graphically, and I was very attracted to the NBR singlet. And I saw this girl Anna McCusker, red hair—she was really fast, I saw her with this singlet, and I was inspired, ‘I want to be like her, she looks like a total pro.’ And I just got curious. At the time I was living in Crown Heights, but I said, ‘Well, maybe I can join them, because they look really cool.’ But at the same time, I was very intimidated because Anna was fast, and then I saw other fast girls like Jen Daniels, and I was like, ‘I can never be like them.’
So I joined the Google group, but I wasn’t participating at the time physically because I was intimidated. But eventually I went out and I started running with them, and then my whole intimidation went away, because they were really nice to me. And we started running almost every day, eventually I became a run leader, I also volunteered, I was the team captain of NBR. I just wore many hats within NBR, and I helped shape the team.
In those initial years of racing, what were the north star goals? Or was it really just to get better year by year and just keep improving in your race times?
Yeah, for me, it was a learning journey from other people, my peers. I wanted to learn about how to run, how to improve…. I remember the first time I broke seven-minute pace in a four-miler in the summer, and that got me really excited. So I just wanted to keep going to see where I could go. Because frankly, when I was a kid, I’d never been an athletic person. I was always the last to finish in a 100-meter dash, always last to finish a swimming meet. I’d never been athletic, so it was exciting when I saw that I broke seven-minute pace for the first time. But like a lot of people, you get into the whole marathon cycle, and instead of focusing on other distances, I got the marathon bug.
2012 was a really hot year, and I was trying to break three. I don’t know what I was thinking, going from 3:19 to trying to break three. Of course, I didn’t. In 2013, I hired a coach, James Chu, and he really held my hand and walked me through the whole journey. And in Boston I broke three hours in 2013, and so I just kept wanting to hone on that. But I’ve always been afraid of pushing myself, and I still struggle with that even today. I’m pretty good at endurance, but I’m still afraid of pushing myself, and I’m trying to figure out how to break that out of my comfort zone.
In 2014 I had my first child, but I started running again in 2015, and I was consistent until 2018. 2017 was a difficult year. As a new mom, it was very challenging to train, and I was doing all my runs on the treadmill, pretty much. And my husband was traveling a lot at the time. So 2017, again, I was trying to break three hours in New York City, it didn’t happen, and I just pretty much hung up my sneakers. I said, ‘This is it. I don’t want to run anymore. It’s too challenging to be a mom, having a very demanding work, and running is just not gonna happen.’ So I quit.
And then I had my second child in 2018, and I didn’t run until 2020 really, when the pandemic hit. Being at home with two kids and a husband, it was just driving me crazy…. So I started to run again. And now I live in Cypress Hills, so I have Forest Park about 2.5 miles away from here, so I started again with the whole, ‘Let me see if I can do 2.5 miles, and then come back. So that’s five miles. Let me see if I can do that again.’ So that’s how I started to run, and here we are today.
It seems like over the past couple years, you’ve gotten even faster than you were before you took a break. Was that a surprise to you?
I mean, I didn’t really change that many things from my running, my training. The one thing I changed is my easy pace. I think my easy pace used to be too fast…. So that’s one thing I changed, to make easy days very easy, and I think that’s what helped me get faster. And also being consistent. I try to run almost every day, whenever I can.
Can you talk through ways in which you balance running within your overall schedule?
Yeah, so I have two kids, like I said. One is seven, the other one is 11. And I thought when they were babies it was challenging, but now for me it’s even more challenging because we have to check their homework, we need to do reading, we need to take them to their extracurricular activities. My son who is in middle school, he goes to school in Midtown, but then he has soccer in Flatbush. So luckily, he can take the train on his own with his friends, but we still have to pick him up.
So time-wise, everything is—if something goes wrong, that’s it, I cannot run, it goes out of schedule. So everything is very, very compact in my life. Everything has to just precisely fit in that box. If I’m training, especially if I’m training for a marathon, I have to run at 4:30 in the morning. Because if I don’t run at 4:30 in the morning, that’s it. I have to be creative… So my day starts at 4:00 in the morning, and I just have to keep it super tight.
Outside of what you were actually doing within training, were there any other differences in terms of how you approached running, or what the goals were in your head mentally as well between your first stint in competitive racing up to that 2017, 2018 period versus the last couple years?
Back then I was under 40, so yes I was competitive, but at the same time I felt like I was never good enough. And then when I came back to running again, I turned 40, and I remember I learned about this whole age group competition, and I was like, ‘Oh, let me see if I still have competitiveness in me.’ And I started racing again. I was really scared of racing again because, as you know, New York City has a lot of amazing athletes out there, especially in their 40s and 50s. It’s just so crazy how fast these women are. And for me to be among that, I just can’t believe that I’m racing against these people.
“New York City has a lot of amazing athletes out there, especially in their 40s and 50s…. And for me to be among that, I just can’t believe that I’m racing against these people”
I feel like I’m competitive, but at the same time, I try to not care too much, which is not a good thing to say. But I lower my standards because honestly it’s really hard for me to navigate everything, and be able to be good at every single thing, like be a really good mom, be good at work and be good at running.
You’ve obviously been running for a while within the New York City running community…. Are there things you’ve noticed over the years in terms of how New York City running specifically has changed, or broader running has changed?
To sign up for races—and we’re talking about only 15, 16 years ago. We’re not talking about 30 years ago. Even 15 years ago, I remember signing up for my first half marathon, it was the Brooklyn Half—I remember going to the New York Road Runners office in the Upper East Side, and I filled out the paper application, and I think it was like $25, and I signed up the week before the race. So you can only imagine that’s how chill it was. And now here we are….
Back then, it was just put on your running shoes and go for a run. There’s no selfie, there’s none of the social media content. It was just going with your friends, enjoying the run. But now I feel like the young crowd is doing a really awesome job with documenting their running journey. People also look so cool with their little tattoos and the outfit. And I don’t know, it’s just a different approach…. It used to be a lot simpler back then.
Do you have thoughts on whether that’s a good or bad thing, or is it just kind of a natural evolution as something catches on and grows?
Yeah, I think it’s a natural evolution. I mean, there’s nothing bad about it. I think it’s cool. I think it’s just the way people approach running is different than back then.
More recently, you’ve also started running with 212 Athletic. I’m curious if you can talk about joining them and how that group has added to your running journey?
I wanted to be on a more racing-focused group, which is small. I’ve been looking for that small group since 2021 or so, be able to train with the same people. But 212 didn’t exist then, they just started last year. And I started to see the singlet, and I also saw Felicia, she was always coming in with 212. So I looked it up, and I was a few seconds short of their standards, so I just forgot about it. But then I was like, ‘Well, it would be nice to join if I can, and then I can really contribute to the Masters team.’ And Sarah is more outgoing than I am, so she approached the team, and that’s how we got in.
But it’s been great. We’re a very focused team, we meet two times, three times a week in person. And it’s challenging because I’m on the slower side than everybody else. But still, it helps pull me and try to improve, and so it’s been really a great journey.
You recently set a [2:55 marathon] PR in London earlier this year. Do you have any long-term goals or is it just to keep getting faster and keep seeing what you can accomplish?
I always train for the marathons, and I try to train for the mile, I try to train for the 5k, but I’ve never been successful, and I don’t understand it. So I think my goal is to improve those distances. Because I’m just not a fast runner. I have endurance, I can do half [marathons], I can do the marathon, but to be able to hit a good time in the mile or 5k is extremely hard. So that will be a good goal to have.
And then in terms of long term, unfortunately I have a lot of hip problems. I have arthritis. I have all kinds of things. But I want to see how long I can compete. It would be nice if I can compete until my 50s and 60s, but I don’t know if I can do that. So I’m just taking one day at a time and enjoying it.
Photo by Mahir Rahman
Do you have any favorite or most underrated races in New York?
I think the Queens Distance [Runners] Jackson Heights Mile is a super fun one. It’s like a local event, and the neighbors all come out to cheer. All the kids come out to cheer. It’s super, super fun. And then another one I would say is East River 5000 by David Alm. That’s a fun one…. And the Shirley Chisholm Trail 5k organized by Black Men Run. It really brings the community together, and they do a lot of great events around the city.
Do you have a most underrated or favorite running route that you’ve done in New York over the years that you think more people should try out?
I don’t think it’s underrated, but I go to Forest Park a lot. That’s my go-to place. It’s beautiful. The trail’s really nice. So if you’re doing a recovery run, I would say go in there. Shirley Chisholm State Park is also cool to go to.
And then for speed work, it’s fun to go to Linden Boulevard Track, which is in East New York. Because a lot of the super fast high school kids, they train there, and I feel like a total turtle there. But it really inspires me to see these kids, they’re really training super hard, and I enjoy that.
Any topics that we haven’t covered that you’d like to touch on, or just any closing thoughts?
I would say, I know we as moms are busy, but we all need our own space. We need our me time. So if any of the moms out there are reading this, I would say don’t give up running, if that’s your passion. Keep on going. Just try to fit it in somewhere in your day, because it’s important not to derail from who you are.
“If any of the moms out there are reading this, I would say don’t give up running, if that’s your passion. Keep on going. Just try to fit it in somewhere in your day, because it’s important not to derail from who you are”
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