NYC Marathon runner plans to juggle entire 26.2-mile race

Be on the lookout for David Rosenstein this Marathon Sunday. He’ll be hard to miss, because he’ll be juggling while running the 26.2 miles.

He calls it joggling.

“Jogging plus juggling. Joggler,” Rosenstein said.

Rosenstein said this will be his first time combining marathon running with juggling for a full race. He has run marathons before, but has never joggled one.

“It’s my first time ever combining them, and I was dropping it a ton the first time I was combining it, but over the past few months, I figured out how to do it,” he said.

Rosenstein learned to juggle when he was about 7 years old, and has kept up the skill. As a frequent runner on Central Park’s loop, he met 81-year-old Jack Hirschowitz, who has been joggling marathons for decades.

The two have become friends, and have joggled together a few times. Rosenstein said he has listened to Hirschowitz’s advice, including using mesh joggling balls on race day.

“They’re absorbent of the sweat on my hands,” Rosenstein said. “They’re lightweight, but they’re heavy enough that the wind isn’t going to blow them away.”

Rosenstein said joggling the marathon will be a lighthearted way to draw attention to a serious cause. He is raising money for the Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest nonprofit dedicated to providing resources to homeless and at-risk LGBTQ+ youth.

So far, Rosenstein has raised more than $10,000 for the organization.

“When I came out, I knew in high school that I was going to have a place to stay at night,” Rosenstein said. “And it breaks my heart that there are people who come out across New York, and they all of a sudden find that they have nowhere to go.”

Training for a joggling marathon has looked different from traditional marathon training. Rosenstein said he juggles during all of his long runs, but leaves the juggling balls at home for some shorter and more speed-focused workouts.

Last month, he ran the Staten Island Half while juggling, and said he did not drop once. He said he has a plan in case he drops a ball during the marathon, and wants to make sure he stays out of the way of other runners.

“I’m going to have some friends and families with backup balls along the way,” Rosenstein said. “I don’t want to cause harm. I just want to do my thing and stay in my own lane.”

For Rosenstein, the challenge is 26.2 miles, three juggling balls and a chance to raise money and awareness for work he says reaches beyond the finish line.