{"id":359723,"date":"2026-09-29T12:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/359723\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T12:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:52:10","slug":"runners-of-nyc-rasheda-herndon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/359723\/","title":{"rendered":"Runners of NYC: Rasheda Herndon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Rasheda Herndon had no specific goals when she first started showing up to BridgeRunners.<\/p>\n

She says she doesn\u2019t even remember why exactly she kept going every Wednesday night. But she did, and over time got to know the others that did as well\u2014especially the other women in what was a \u2018heavily male-dominated\u2019 space. One of those women was Jessie Zapo<\/a>, who eventually started Girls Run NYC<\/a> and asked Rasheda to serve as one of the co-captains. The latter jumped on the opportunity and it\u2019s been all about consistency ever since, with the group still going strong over a decade later.<\/p>\n

Through the years Rasheda has dipped her toes in a variety of marathons and ultras, though her goals\u2014or rather, lack thereof\u2014have remained the same since the beginning. She says she rarely races for time and gets more enjoyment now from pacing others, including Jessie for the Javelina 100-Mile this October.<\/p>\n

We spoke with Rasheda to discuss the early years of BridgeRunners, how Jessie \u2018saved [her] life\u2019 at the New York City Marathon, allyship within the running space and more.<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n

Can you start off with an intro of where you\u2019re from, what brought you to New York City and your origins of how you got into running?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m born and raised in Washington, D.C. …. My mother\u2019s family lived in New York, so I spent my summers in New York. But as an adult, I moved to New York 30 years ago for school. I left D.C., went to Connecticut, and then from Connecticut I came to New York, and I\u2019ve been here ever since.<\/p>\n

As far as my running journey, I don\u2019t have one of those spectacular stories. I ran in junior high school\u2026. I\u2019ve always had a love-hate relationship with running, because I love to run, but I never felt good running. And as it turns out, I had asthma and a heart murmur, and so I stopped running for a little bit. Ran in high school, but not a lot, because again I didn\u2019t like the effects of running. I didn\u2019t like what I felt like afterward. And back then\u2014I mean I come from the inner city, we really didn\u2019t pay too much attention to health. So when I was diagnosed with asthma and a heart murmur, it was, \u2018So, stop running.\u2019 That was the remedy for all of that. And so I did. I stopped running, took up other sports\u2014volleyball, softball, whatever.<\/p>\n

Went to college, landed in New York, and just started getting active again, started running. There was a time in my life where I lived close to Central Park, and so I started running again, and it was awful. I literally felt ill every time. But then when you become an adult and you get the insurance, the big-people insurance, I started going to the doctor regularly. And I was on a treatment plan for the asthma, and running became much more feasible and doable for me.<\/p>\n

I was just running, and I would be in Central Park when they would be running races and not sure what was going on, this is late \u201990s. By early 2000s, I was introduced to New York Road Runners. And back then, a 5k was considered a marathon for me. That was my marathon. Did a couple of those, and from those you just meet people. It\u2019s almost like a snowball effect, where you meet one person, and you show up to go run with them, and then other people are there as well, and you meet them, and they tell you about another group. So that\u2019s how I really got into running.<\/p>\n

I was running New York Road Runners races, and every year I would get this email about the marathon, but I never really had a desire to run a marathon. Running was never that serious for me. But I decided to sign up for the marathon one year, and I decided to take running a little bit serious and I signed up for an official marathon training group. And within that group, I became friends with a lady who introduced me to BridgeRunners. It was in the early stages of BridgeRunners, but it was a very unconventional group that would meet every Wednesday 7pm, down in the Lower East Side. Every Wednesday the group would grow, and you would meet somebody new. You weren\u2019t there to meet friends, but it just happened. All of these strangers meeting up to run, you just kind of meet people, and it snowballed from there honestly.<\/p>\n

In your experience, what about [BridgeRunners] made it so attractive that it drew people from all over the city, all the different boroughs, to that one space in that time period, and eventually inspired a lot of those people to start their own things?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure if we even considered it attractive back then. I can honestly tell you, I\u2019m not sure why I showed up every Wednesday. I do think it was the fellowship, coupled with the unpretentiousness of this group. I call them Raggedy Anns. It was literally people that\u2014they didn\u2019t have matching outfits on, the sneakers didn\u2019t match the shirt. It was people who were showing up in just regular gear, ready to run and talk shit. There was no real organization to it. I don\u2019t even think there was a real route. But we all had the same goal, to just run. There were fast people, but it wasn\u2019t like, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m going to go to BridgeRunners because they\u2019re fast.\u2019 I think for me personally, I was invisible, and I liked that. You came as you are.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no real organization to it. I don\u2019t even think there was a real route. But we all had the same goal, to just run\u201d<\/p>\n

I remember one time I came, I had my bag, I was coming from work, and I didn\u2019t realize I didn\u2019t have my running clothes in my bag. And we were in [Mike] Saes\u2019s apartment, and I was like, \u2018Oh fuck, can\u2019t find my shorts or my shirt.\u2019 And Saes went to a drawer and was just tossing stuff. He held up a pair of shorts, he was like, \u2018Here, try that\u2026. Keep it. That\u2019s what we\u2019re here for.\u2019 You had no reason not to run.<\/p>\n

And you met cool people. Every Wednesday I met somebody new\u2014again, not intentionally\u2026. But you would find yourself running with the same people every Wednesday, because you were all on the same pace or same level. You didn\u2019t know their name, but if for some reason you got over that bridge before they did, you were waiting for them, because you knew, \u2018Oh yeah, the girl with the red hair, she\u2019s normally behind me. Let me wait for her.\u2019 It was an unspoken family, so to speak. So yeah, I definitely came back every Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Were there other clubs or groups that you knew of or were involved with at the time?<\/p>\n

I did belong to an official marathon training group. It was a much smaller one, and you paid for it, and it was very regimented\u2014set days, set workouts\u2014and it was serious. I met nice people there too, but there was no social aspect to it. You showed up, this is what you were supposed to do, and that\u2019s what you did.<\/p>\n

Then there was the Nike Run Club, which was a much bigger run club that ran out of 57th Street, when the Nike store was on 57th between Fifth and Madison, and it was hundreds of people running out of there. You had pacers, you had run groups, there was a set mileage and all of that\u2026. And you would definitely see the same people throughout each run club.<\/p>\n

Did you have goals you were striving toward on the running front, or was it just going to these groups and meeting people? <\/p>\n

No, didn\u2019t have goals. And again, the goal wasn\u2019t to meet people. I didn\u2019t need any friends. I didn\u2019t need friends at all. There were no goals. Nike was training you for a marathon, and that was cool, and it was a club where you didn\u2019t really have to pay\u2026. Bridge\u2014it was just fun. It wasn\u2019t like, \u2018I\u2019m going to see my friends,\u2019 or whatever. It was fun. We would meet up some Saturdays or just other days to run, and then go drink. Summertime, it was, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re running to the Rockaways, meet here at 7am.\u2019 And that was fun\u2026. It wasn\u2019t like, \u2018Oh yeah, I\u2019m training for the marathon, I need to get these miles in.\u2019 Very few people in the running community, and especially BridgeRunners, were training for a marathon back then. We were just running because we could\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery few people in the running community, and especially BridgeRunners, were training for a marathon back then. We were just running because we could\u201d<\/p>\n

But to answer your original question, there wasn\u2019t a goal. There wasn\u2019t a mileage goal. I think my ultimate goal for Bridge, when I was running back in those days, was to not be the last person tonight, and not to get lost. They would tell you before you leave, \u2018Get your MetroCard,\u2019 because it would be an out, and we\u2019d go so far out, \u2018We\u2019re not running back, let\u2019s get on the subway\u2019\u2026. But as far as training goals, there really wasn\u2019t a goal. That pressure and that culture wasn\u2019t there back then. We ran races back then, but there was no competitive goal. We went to have fun.<\/p>\n

Can you talk through the origins of meeting Jessie Zapo and how you got involved with Girls Run NYC?<\/p>\n

Yes, Jessie, she\u2019s had me tell this story a number of times. I refer to Jessie as my Buddha, and I tell people I will follow her to the end of the earth. Jessie saved my life during a marathon, and we both cannot figure out what year it was, somewhere between 2007 and 2009.<\/p>\n

But that year, I had not met her. And I had a great training year\u2014food-wise, mileage, all of that\u2014for the New York City Marathon, and that morning everything went great. Heard the gun, everything was good. By Mile 11, there was a rumble in the jungle, and I was like, \u2018What in the world?\u2019 And it got so bad, I dipped off just before the Pulaski Bridge. It was in Greenpoint, I dipped off\u2026. I jumped back on the course and I felt better, and I kept running.<\/p>\n

Now, along the way, this lady was in front of me with this platinum blonde hair, and it was very long, and it would sweep her butt. And I would see her, but then I would get in front, and the next two miles I had to dip off again. And by Mile 18, I thought I was going to die. I had dipped off like six times. I had nothing left. It was just my stomach cramping. I started throwing up, but nothing was coming out, it was just the movement of it. At a certain point, I started crawling. I had nothing left in me. But every time I got back on the course, I would start running, and I would run up on the lady with the sweeping hair, and I would know, \u2018Okay, I\u2019m still in the race. I\u2019m still alive, and I\u2019m still in this thing.\u2019<\/p>\n

I finished the marathon, and when I crossed, I literally just fell to my knees\u2026I heard someone say, \u2018Get a medic.\u2019 But then somebody put their hand on my shoulder and was like, \u2018I\u2019m so glad you made it.\u2019 And I looked up, and that was it. I passed out. I was in medical, I was so dehydrated.<\/p>\n

Fast forward maybe three weeks, I started running again. Showed up at Bridge, on the sidewalk, tying my shoe, and somebody put their hand on my shoulder and said, \u2018How are you feeling? So good to see you.\u2019 And I looked up and I was like, \u2018That\u2019s my angel, oh my god.\u2019 And it was kismet after that\u2026. You let her tell the story\u2014this lady with this shirt kept jumping in and out of the race, and the shirt said \u2018Sheda (the e is long).\u2019 And that\u2019s what she kept reading the whole race. She was like, \u2018As long as I saw \u2018Sheda,\u2019 and in parentheses, \u2018the e is long,\u2019 I just knew I was still in there.\u2019<\/p>\n

And I told her, \u2018I am forever in your debt. I will do whatever you want me to do for the rest of my life.\u2019 And she makes me pay for it, which is how I started running ultras.<\/p>\n

How did you get involved with Girls Run NYC?<\/p>\n

So within Bridge, there were the same females running every Wednesday, and we kind of just clicked together\u2026. And in the running community, there really wasn\u2019t a space for women. Bridge was heavily male-dominated, very competitive, very testosterone-laden. We were tough, we held our own. But there was never a set space for women, and Zapo wanted to create that.<\/p>\n

We started having Sunday runs. She would invite just women, and it was word of mouth\u2026. Shortly after that, Jessie developed Girls Run NYC and asked me to co-lead, and I jumped at the chance. Of course, I owe her my life, so why not? But I really enjoyed the idea of it, because at that time I didn\u2019t realize how we were seen as leaders in the community. There were no women to really show us what to do. It was hook or crook. We literally were building that plane in the air. So to have the chance to be what I wish I had back then, I was like, \u2018Definitely, I would love to create this space for women to thrive. I\u2019m all for it.\u2019<\/p>\n

On women-only running spaces and the importance of allyship:<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think much has changed within the space, other than the increased volume of women-only running spaces, which is great to see. But the same thing happens in the coed running spaces, or all-male running spaces, where I don\u2019t think guys really understand what it\u2019s like to be a female running in the streets\u2026. I would definitely encourage males to be more of an ally to female runners. Step up and lead, and step up and speak for female runners.<\/p>\n

A lot of people don\u2019t think it\u2019s their business or their space. But I don\u2019t think they understand, or even conceptualize, that when they want to get up at 6am to go for a run, the only thing that they\u2019re thinking about is, \u2018Where am I going to put my keys, and how far am I going today?\u2019 But when a woman wants to get up and go for a run, she has to drop her location with someone. She has to carry her mace. She has to carry her stun gun. She has to make sure that what she\u2019s wearing is not enticing someone. We have a plethora of other things to worry about just to go for a simple run.\u2026<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been running in the street, and cab drivers will reach out and touch me. And it\u2019s like, what gives you the right? But there are guys standing there and won\u2019t say anything. When we\u2019re running in coed spaces, guys, construction workers will catcall, and male runners with us won\u2019t say anything\u2026. When I ran for Adidas\u2014I was a pacer for Adidas\u2014we used to do a lot of allyship programs, which I thought was great, and it gave guys another view of what we went through when we ran. A lot of dudes didn\u2019t realize, \u2018Oh wow, yeah, it\u2019s up to me to say something.\u2019<\/p>\n

And it was within the space too. Guys can be very competitive. They can be very mindless in their world, and they\u2019ll say certain things to a female runner. And it\u2019s like, \u2018Okay, you wouldn\u2019t say that to a guy, but you\u2019re going to say that to me?\u2019 And it\u2019s up to an ally, another male, to say, \u2018Hey, buddy, that wasn\u2019t cool that you said that.\u2019 So that\u2019s what I encourage. I encourage just more allyship amongst male runners. But I am happy to see the increase in all-women running spaces. It\u2019s very nice to see.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Rasheda (middle) with fellow Girls Run NYC captains Ameerah Omar (left) and Jessie Zapo (right)<\/p>\n

Your transition to ultras\u2014you said it was Jessie who initially got you doing that as well.<\/p>\n

Jessie gets me into all types of trouble\u2026. It started out one day, her and Ameerah<\/a> were talking\u2014I think the three of us were going out to dinner or something, but they got there first. And when I approached, Ameerah said, \u2018Oh, ask SheShe.\u2019 I said, \u2018Ask me what?\u2019 And Jessie said, \u2018What are you doing next weekend?\u2019 I said, \u2018Whatever you want me to do.\u2019 And she said, \u2018Oh good, I\u2019m running Philly. You\u2019re going to run it with me\u2019\u2026. And that started off what we call the Suffer Fest, because every year for maybe four years, it was freezing rain or snow that marathon day, and I would curse her so much. We definitely reevaluated the nature of our relationship during the Philadelphia Marathon\u2026.<\/p>\n

And then she was doing ultras, and I\u2019m not sure what it was that made me say something to the effect of, \u2018If you do that, I\u2019ll do it next year.\u2019 She was training for Black Canyon, which is in February. She completed it, which meant I had to do Black Canyon as well\u2026. That race handed me my ass on a platter, it was horrible. And I vowed to never run Black Canyon again, and I haven\u2019t. Now, I have paced at least four times, which is totally different from running Black Canyon.<\/p>\n

On her individual racing goals and pacing others:<\/p>\n

Rarely do I run for time\u2026. I prefer to pace ultras, not run them myself. Some people call me the professional pacer. I just get more enjoyment and excitement out of pacing someone else and helping them fulfill their goal. It also takes the pressure off of me. It doesn\u2019t take much for me to keep you encouraged and on target to complete this race. But if it was me having to run this race, that\u2019s a whole different story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just get more enjoyment and excitement out of pacing someone else and helping them fulfill their goal\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pacing Jessie for the Javelina 100 in October\u2026. I\u2019ve paced her for Black Canyon twice. So yeah, it\u2019s what I do. I think there have only been maybe four other ultras I\u2019ve actually signed up for. We just did the Flagstaff 40-miler in May, we did it for her birthday. You know what we did for my birthday? We went to Paris for my birthday. The other person we were running with, it was her birthday as well, and everybody was like, \u2018Oh my gosh, happy birthday, I can\u2019t believe you\u2019re running an ultra with them for their birthday. That is so cool.\u2019 And I was like, \u2018You want to know what we did for my birthday? We went to Paris for my birthday.\u2019 I went to Paris for my birthday.<\/p>\n

Any topics that I didn\u2019t specifically ask about that you\u2019d like to touch on, or any closing thoughts?<\/p>\n

No real closing thoughts. Girls Run NYC is a passion of mine. I love it. I love the leadership. I love how we have evolved. We have been consistent for 14 years, and that says something in this community. And I don\u2019t think Jessie, Ameerah or myself give ourselves enough credit for that.<\/p>\n