{"id":365718,"date":"2026-10-06T10:42:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/365718\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T10:42:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:42:10","slug":"runners-of-nyc-will-whelan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/365718\/","title":{"rendered":"Runners of NYC: Will Whelan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

On the side of his chest, Will Whelan has a tattoo that says \u2018Grass Roots.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the name of the club of his late high school coach Mike Slinskey, someone who Will says shaped both the runner\u2014and person\u2014he is today.<\/p>\n

The Newburgh, NY native credits Slinskey with encouraging him to continue training competitively after graduating from Fordham in 2021, at first keeping his focus on the track before shifting to the marathon last fall. And following a 2:32 debut in New York and 2:26 in Jersey City, Will now has his eyes on his former coach\u2019s 2:18 PR and potentially an OTQ within the next few years.<\/p>\n

However he also emphasizes that those strict time goals are far from his only motivation, and that he takes inspiration from Slinskey to simply put in the work every day to pursue his potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask anybody chasing the OTQ, they don\u2019t want to run just 2:15:59. They want to run 2:15 flat, sub-2:15,\u201d Will says. \u201cI want to be the best version of myself I can be, so when I do walk away from the sport I look back and have no regrets. I left it all out there\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully, I had not only the best coach, but a good friend who pushed me my entire life to be the best version of myself\u2026. His hard work and his love for this sport reflects on me every day and in every aspect of what I do. I hope to be an ounce as good as he was. Maybe I won\u2019t hit a 2:18, but I\u2019m gonna keep trying, for myself and for him and everything he stood for.\u201d<\/p>\n

We spoke with Will to discuss his marathon progression and goals, following in the footsteps of his Brooklyn Track Club teammates, how the NYRR Club Points Series \u2018brings [him] back to cross country\u2019 and more.<\/p>\n

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

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

Yeah, so I am from upstate New York, Newburgh, close enough on the Metro-North. Originally I\u2019m from Russia, got adopted, my parents are from New York. Mom is from Long Island, dad is from New Jersey. I always wanted to live in an urban environment, and the moment I graduated high school, I looked for schools in a city. I was also chasing that dream of going D1, looking at Albany, UMaine, Stony Brook, and I had a legacy at Fordham. My mom went to Fordham Law. My dad, a bunch of his brothers, my uncle went to Fordham. Getting a scholarship on the team was a big drive and a big push. That was in 2017, graduating in 2021\u2026.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done all kinds of jobs, everything from sales to now working in the city in local government. Now I\u2019m in grad school, a part-time student, I\u2019m running, which is almost like a part-time job of itself. I look at my Strava and I\u2019m putting at least 10 hours a week dedicated to this. Working full-time, so I\u2019m balancing that, but I\u2019m also enjoying everything the city has for runners like us. There\u2019s nothing better than this. With how popular running is, everyone\u2019s fast in New York, and being on a competitive club team is a dream come true.<\/p>\n

Was it always a goal to run in college, or when did that start to become a realistic goal for you?<\/p>\n

I always knew I had the talent. I was running 5ks when I was seven. I wanted to play football, but my mom signed me up for track and field instead. I thought I could be a good wide receiver, but she thought otherwise. It wasn\u2019t until maybe freshman year\u2014I think I ran 18-lows my freshman year [in cross country], and I knew, \u2018Okay, if I really put my work in this\u2014maybe it\u2019s not what I want to do, but I definitely had the talent for it.\u2019<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until indoor track that year that I ran the indoor mile, and I was like, \u2018I\u2019m hooked. I want to just run track.\u2019 So I always thought of myself as a track guy who occasionally runs cross country, but that\u2019s slowly changed now. I\u2019ve accepted the distance running as part of who I am.<\/p>\n

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

After Fordham, what did running look like for you in those first couple years post-grad? Did you always know you wanted to keep training and competing at a high level?<\/p>\n

I was gracious to have one of the best coaches, a Hudson Valley legend, Mike Slinskey [in high school]. He unfortunately passed away a year back. When I graduated Fordham, he genuinely believed in me, and he thought I still had it. I switched more to the track and field stuff, and when he passed away, I was like, \u2018I\u2019m really gonna take this marathon training seriously now.\u2019 So I\u2019m grinding to beat his time. He ran 2:18, so that\u2019s the goal now.<\/p>\n

What motivated you to join Brooklyn Track Club, and how did they push you in those years leading up to your first marathon [last fall]?<\/p>\n

I originally started on West Side Runners under Coach Bill Staab. They have great talent on that club, but there\u2019s not a training environment with it. A lot of it they do independently, so you don\u2019t have any kind of community or any kind of team orientation on that club.<\/p>\n

My friend Alberto Mena, who is also a local runner who went to the [U.S. Olympic Marathon] Trials in 2024, introduced me to a lot of the people on [Brooklyn Track Club]. Sean Grossman, Matt Leach, Liam Dee\u2026. And so it slowly became, \u2018These are the people I want to work with, who have way more talent than me, have done way more impressive things, and I want to chase after it myself and give that a try.\u2019 That\u2019s where I am transitioning now, to more of doing the marathons in their footsteps, and my friends\u2019 footsteps and my coach\u2019s footsteps, trying to go after what they\u2019ve already done.<\/p>\n

You were training at a high level with Brooklyn Track Club for a couple years before doing your first marathon last fall. Was that intentional\u2014building toward [the marathon] rather than going straight into it?<\/p>\n

I knew eventually I was going to run [the New York City Marathon], I just didn\u2019t have an estimated time when. I\u2019ve always been training\u2014especially for the Club Points Series, if you needed to put me in a 10k or a 5k anywhere, I would run it. I always thought of myself as, \u2018I could race, I could run anything. I\u2019m not gonna win it, but I\u2019ll place and score for the club.\u2019 For West Side, I was constantly their fourth and fifth guy. Brooklyn Track now, I\u2019m right in the middle of the pack with the Performance Team.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until I got an email from New York Road Runners that they had a non-complementary bib for me if I wanted to run [the marathon] that I took it and I was like, \u2018I think 2025\u2019s our year.\u2019 I didn\u2019t know how fast I was going to be. I didn\u2019t do the best training block either. I was in Spain for almost two weeks, and I didn\u2019t get a lot of running in there. So I was kind of just like, \u2018What happens, happens.\u2019<\/p>\n

After running 2:32 [in New York], and then 2:26 in New Jersey, taking six minutes off, I\u2019m like, \u2018I\u2019ve got something, I can really cook. I can do something really good if I keep at it.\u2019<\/p>\n

What are your short and medium-term goals, upcoming races and goals for those? And long term, you mentioned 2:18, based on your coach\u2019s time\u2014is the Trials standard something you have in the back of your mind as well?<\/p>\n

Right now I have planned for Indianapolis in early November, looking around the low 2:20s, probably 2:21, 2:20 flat. And I\u2019d like to take that fitness, after some time off, of course\u2014I\u2019m entered into Tokyo, so that\u2019ll be another great Major I\u2019ve heard a lot about. That would be the one looking to sub-2:20, and hopefully it\u2019s OTQ come 2027 CIM\u2026. That would be the goal. And then maybe find some half marathons sprinkled in there to keep up the fitness and test where I\u2019m at.<\/p>\n

What motivated you to sign up for Tokyo in the spring?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a dream to go to Japan and travel. I don\u2019t do it enough. I do a lot of domestic traveling, but I don\u2019t go internationally a lot. The plan I have right now is, while I\u2019m fit, while I\u2019m chasing these times, go out there and find new competition, race against some other countries with the best of the best, and get away from staying local\u2026. <\/p>\n

I want to get out there and challenge myself\u2026. Get the internationals done, then come back home for the domestic Majors. That\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking right now.<\/p>\n

With the OTQ standard as a goal over the next couple years, how do you balance having that time as something that motivates you with not forcing training for it?<\/p>\n

Running is a long-term thing. It\u2019s not something you just pick up in a year and hit marathon-pace-specific things\u2026. I know the time right now is 2:15:59. If I don\u2019t hit it this [cycle], and they\u2019re going to drop it, that\u2019s what you chase. That\u2019s just how it is. Running is all long-term consistency, and just being dedicated and loving it. If you\u2019re not loving running, you\u2019re missing out on half of what we\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be the best version of myself I can be, so when I do walk away from the sport I look back and have no regrets. I left it all out there\u201d<\/p>\n

If you ask anybody chasing the OTQ, they don\u2019t want to run just 2:15:59. They want to run 2:15 flat, sub-2:15. It\u2019s chasing the next time. They don\u2019t want to just hit an OTQ. They want to keep getting better for themselves, and that\u2019s how I think of it. If I hit OTQ, I\u2019m not done. The job\u2019s not done. It keeps going\u2026. I\u2019ve always been competitive and shooting for the next best. I\u2019ve never been one to, \u2018Let\u2019s just get 2:15:59, whatever pace that is, right on the mark.\u2019 I want to be the best version of myself I can be, so when I do walk away from the sport I look back and have no regrets, I left it all out there\u2026.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, I had not only the best coach, but a good friend who pushed me my entire life to be the best version of myself. He never gave up, and I\u2019m not giving up either. I have his club [name] tattooed on my chest, and it just means so much to me. So I\u2019m gonna keep pushing for him and everything that he stood for\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the pinnacle I think of how a coach should be with his athletes\u2026. Maybe I won\u2019t hit a 2:18, but I\u2019m gonna keep trying, for myself and for him and everything he stood for\u201d<\/p>\n

He was the pinnacle I think of how a coach should be with his athletes. I\u2019ve met so many talented runners, and there\u2019s a difference between talent and hard work. He was on the complete hard-work spectrum. He was the last one out there finishing workouts, the first one to show up. He wasn\u2019t the most talented. In high school, he was not the best. Collegiately, he was not the fastest either. But his hard work and his love for this sport reflects on me every day and in every aspect of what I do. I hope to be an ounce as good as he was. Maybe I won\u2019t hit a 2:18, but I\u2019m gonna keep trying, for myself and for him and everything he stood for.<\/p>\n

What makes the New York City running community special to you, or what\u2019s your favorite part of the New York City running community?<\/p>\n

It has to be everyone\u2019s background and everybody\u2019s insight on the sport\u2026. Having a club team that not only wants to help you but will help you, especially Brooklyn Track, has been the best thing. Everybody there is so supportive and uplifting. They just want to see you succeed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Will set a 2:26 PR at the Jersey City Marathon this past spring | Photo by @swagmirr<\/p>\n

Any life lessons you\u2019ve gotten from running, or ways it\u2019s helped in other areas of your life?<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to be the best, you don\u2019t have to be the fastest, but just showing up and being there is sometimes all it takes. And just giving it your best, giving it your all.<\/p>\n

Any favorite running or racing memories that stand out?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll quickly speak on\u2014I did the Bronx 10 Mile [this year], and I was in the top pack. We had maybe 15, 20 guys in the lead, and it was a windy day, five, maybe six miles of brutal winds. And you look around and see a pack of NYAC, Central Park, Dashing Whippets, all these clubs, and you\u2019re at the front, and your teammate\u2019s there.<\/p>\n

Another aspect is the Club Points, and it\u2019s like you\u2019ve made it. You\u2019re running with the top talent in New York, and I can\u2019t wait to feel that way again, to experience how competitive, how fun racing is in New York. It brings me back to cross country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the side of his chest, Will Whelan has a tattoo that says \u2018Grass Roots.\u2019 It\u2019s the name…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,56,63,65,64],"class_list":["post-365718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}