Un cuarto de milla con Streets 101

The New Balance 5th Avenue Mile is fast approaching, where runners will take to the New York City streets to race down Manhattan’s iconic 5th Avenue. One team that will be out in force is Streets 101, so ahead of the one-mile race, we talked to Greg Laraia.

Name: Greg Laraia

Club: Streets 101

Fartlek or tempo? Both. And I mean that. I love going fast, whether it be for short intervals or longer duration runs.

Favorite NYRR race? The TCS New York City Marathon, although I’ve never actually ran it before. But the hype is real. The city shows up and supports everyone from start to finish. Everyone is on the same team that day.

Favorite race distance? 10K or half-marathon.

Favorite distance to run? Tough question. For me, the best distance is one done with my team at a nice pace where we can all chat and have a good time along the way.

Running hero? There are so many.

Post-race meal? Beer and I love a good huevos rancheros to go with it.

Cold-weather or warm-weather running? Dripping sweat in the summer when you can crush miles in the summer heat is great, but I also like putting on a ton of layers and trying to run some quality miles in super chilly weather.

Treadmills: yay or nay? Nah.

Most exotic place you’ve run? Not sure how “exotic” this is, but Crater Lake was one of the most beautiful.

Race-day inspiration quote? “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is going to hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you got to be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you want to be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that!” —Rocky Balboa.

Toughest race course, in your opinion? This is a tough one. I ran a lot of really hard courses in college in Pennsylvania. The NYRR Team Championships course is pretty difficult.

Song that makes you want to go faster? Not a big headphones runner, but any solid dance song really gets me going.

You can run alongside any three people in the world: Who are they? Zac Efron, Dwayne Johnson, and David Goggins.

Best non-running account you follow on Instagram? Probably one of the motorcycle/car accounts.

Your club, in five words or less? Inspiring, motivational, encouraging, and family.