{"id":848853,"date":"2026-09-15T17:58:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T17:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/848853\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T17:58:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T17:58:12","slug":"nyc-race-sends-runners-from-gym-to-gym-with-workouts-at-every-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/848853\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC race sends runners from gym to gym with workouts at every stop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eight miles, three gyms \u2014 one race through New York\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n

A rainy Sunday morning couldn\u2019t stop over 200 athletes from running through the Meatpacking District up to Midtown Manhattan, then across the bridge to Williamsburg.<\/p>\n

But this wasn\u2019t your typical 5K.<\/p>\n

Instead, Urban Iron<\/a> competitors ran between some of the city\u2019s most iconic gyms and fitness studios, stopping for a workout at each one.<\/p>\n

Athletes compete in the Urban Iron race, running through New York City with stops at iconic gyms and fitness studios. Anthony Crouchelli<\/p>\n

On September 12, competitors started at Rivian<\/a> (one of Urban Iron\u2019s sponsors) in Meatpacking, then headed to their first stop, The Training Lab on West 39th. There, they used a SkiErg, did barbell push presses and carried a water jug up nine flights of stairs.<\/p>\n

Next, it was across the bridge to The Yard Gym in Williamsburg for another sweat session consisting of box jumps, kettlebell walking lunges and plate ground-to-overhead.<\/p>\n

They finished with a jaunt over to True North Training\u2019s Domino Park location to get in some time on the rower accompanied by wall-balls and weighted sit-ups.<\/p>\n

After crossing the finish line, racers head to Rivian Williamsburg for a post-race party with live DJs, ice baths<\/a> and podium ceremonies.<\/p>\n

For some, the toughest part wasn\u2019t completing box jumps or weighted walking lunges after sprinting down Broadway. It was that there was no set route between gym stops.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless you\u2019re local to the city, the challenge is trying to navigate to get to the stops you need to, which makes it super dynamic and exciting,\u201d Dylan Crutchfield, who drove 6 hours from Pittsburgh for his fifth Urban Iron, told The Post.<\/p>\n

While participants are sent a suggested route beforehand, the streets they take are ultimately up to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cRace participants are required to really think about and understand and plan how they are going to complete the race ahead of time,\u201d Urban Iron co-founder Jake Schonberger told The Post. \u201cSome people show up and wing it. Others plan with their friends how they\u2019re going to run from gym to gym.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Competitors plot their own route between three different gyms, stopping to complete a three-movement circuit workout. Brandon Matos and Anthony Crouchelli<\/p>\n

Meet the racers<\/p>\n

The exercise-meets-urban adventure brings together the city\u2019s various fitness tribes, from runners to lifters and functional athletes \u2014 especially those looking for something different.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe various aspects of the race make it really attractive to people that are looking for something new, a way to meet new people and an opportunity to challenge themselves to do something really difficult while competing but also having a great time,\u201d said Urban Iron co-founder Louisa Li.<\/p>\n

Before her first Urban Iron last fall, Jill Czarnik, a 38-year-old runner, was most apprehensive about the functional fitness part. She knew the importance of strength training<\/a> to support her running and hoped the race would give her the push to lift more weights.<\/p>\n

The split format also gave her a new perspective on health and racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s promoted more of a balanced approach to fitness,\u201d Czarnik explained. \u201cI don\u2019t have this singular focus on running and have this benchmark of [a time in mind].\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know my finish time\u2026 but it\u2019s nice to not have the pressure on the numbers,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Even Crutchfield, a self-proclaimed \u201cgym bro\u201d who was mostly into powerlifting before Urban Iron, says the events have exposed him to \u201ca new world within the fitness community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s race saw runners traverse Midtown Manhattan and head across the Williamsburg Bridge to hit all three studios. Cesar Cardenas and Anthony Crouchelli<\/p>\n

But he added that training for Urban Iron feels like its own beast, different from preparing for a marathon or Hyrox.<\/p>\n

Three-time competitor Edward Gomez, 40, agrees, saying the mind and body have to be prepared for a race of this kind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is definitely not something you could just wake up tomorrow and say, I\u2019m going to run eight miles and do three circuit workouts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the lead up to race day, he aimed to run 25 to 30 miles a week while incorporating three to four gym visits to \u201ckeep the gears in motion.\u201d<\/p>\n

In between miles, participants completed sets on rowing machines, wall balls, weighted lunges, sit ups and more. Brandon Matos and Anthony Crouchelli<\/p>\n

Built with local love<\/p>\n

The brainchild of Schonberger, a triathlete, and Li, a runner and yoga instructor, Urban Iron was initially created as a personal challenge to combine strength and running while training for their respective races.<\/p>\n

The first race was held in June 2025, with four more completed in New York, and every event selling out and quickly growing waitlists.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just the format that makes this race different from others and attracts so many people: Li and Schonberger want to raise awareness for local gyms and fitness communities in the cities they race in.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore we drop into a city, we meet with the local fitness leaders, join in on run clubs, meet gym owners and talk to the locals,\u201d Li said. \u201cWe also host a dinner to bring the local communities together as a way to really get to know them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really want to establish trust and genuine relationships with all our partners and participants,\u201d Schonberger added.<\/p>\n

The partner gyms get their name, logos and professional photography of their space presented to people all across social media, while race participants get to experience first-hand what the partner gyms have to offer.<\/p>\n

While Crutchfield initially signed up for the fitness challenge, the 24-year-old kept coming back for the community he found. Since the race in Chicago this past June, he hangs out with some of the gym owners and several other athletes.<\/p>\n

Co-founders Louisa Li and Jake Schonberger wanted to combine lifting, running and urban adventure, all in one race. Anthony Crouchelli<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the coolest things about Urban Iron is that [they\u2019re] working to bring people together who are aligned in their health, wellness and fitness lifestyles,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s super inviting for people looking to get into that space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event has since expanded to Austin and Chicago, with plans for a race in Los Angeles on Oct. 4 and future ones in Miami.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the co-founders are hoping to address the growing demand for the race to come to cities across the globe.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also constantly testing to see how big they can make each race, upping the number of participants \u2014 something competitors are doing, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to get more people and this time I got 13 folks to enter the race,\u201d Gomez, who lives in Astoria, said. \u201cI want this race to be in the 1000s. I want it to be something like Hyrox\u2026 because for me, it\u2019s just that much fun and a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crutchfield echoed the sentiment, saying he \u201cwill tell everyone I know\u201d about Urban Iron.<\/p>\n

And for Czarnik, the smaller race is something she looks forward to, despite running all the World Major Marathons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe event itself creates this sense of community because when you finish,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019ve probably seen everyone you started with\u2026 and you make great friends along the way much easier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eight miles, three gyms \u2014 one race through New York\u2019s streets. A rainy Sunday morning couldn\u2019t stop over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":848854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[186,674,337,9664,97,5871,1999,347595,5117,7394],"class_list":["post-848853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-exclusive","tag-exercise","tag-fitness","tag-gyms","tag-health","tag-metro","tag-new-york-city","tag-races","tag-running","tag-weightlifting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}