“No se trata de ganar o perder, se trata de aprender y mejorar”

Photo provided by MarathonFoto.

In September 2022, Kevin Phipps became the Rising New York Road Runners program lead at MS 127X Castle Hill in the Bronx, where he works as a school counselor.

Kevin grew up in the Bronx and was a thrower in high school—shot put, javelin, and discus. Later he coached throwing and other sports at his old high school, but he left that work to pursue a career in finance.

In 2019, on a whim, he signed up to run the TCS New York City Marathon to fundraise for a client, Autism Speaks.

“I was never a runner,” said Kevin. “I’d done a Mud Run for fun, a couple of 5Ks here and there.”

He started his running journey without a plan. “My shoes were eight or nine years old, I didn’t finish my first mile—you know the story,” he said. Training was rough, but he was ecstatic to finish the marathon in about six hours.

At the time, Kevin was making another career pivot, pursuing a degree in counseling. In 2022 he became a counselor at MS 127X.

When an administrator asked him to start a Rising NYRR running program for 7th and 8th graders, Kevin was all in. He’d continued to run, and it reminded him that he missed coaching track.

“I thought about the connections I made with athletes in the past,” he said. He remembered how good sports made him feel as a kid and how as a coach he’d seen young athletes learn and grow.

His own kids were benefiting from running, too. His son, now 13, and daughter, now 9, ran with him and were developing stamina and grit that helped them in other sports. “They could hustle,” he said. “They might not be the most talented player, but they don’t give up, thanks to running.”

As a counselor, Kevin also knew that bringing kids together for any group activity has huge benefits. “It’s group therapy for them,” he said.

The team’s first competition was at The Armory Track & Field Center in Upper Manhattan, he recalled. “Before then, the kids didn’t understand why they were running. It was inspiration."

Since then, students have taken part in Rising NYRR events at Central Park, Times Square, Icahn Stadium, and Coney Island. For some, it’s their first time visiting these iconic NYC locations.

“Some kids never see ‘our city,’” Kevin said.

MS 127X has no track, and practice times are limited, but Kevin is unfazed. “We practice where we can—hallways, fields,” he said. He’s working on getting a grant to help with equipment, as some of the students run in boots or basketball shoes.

He’s excited about the start of the school year, when he’ll add 6th graders to the program, grow enrollment overall, and add more practice sessions. “We’d love to bring 40 kids to every [Rising] NYRR event,” he said.

“My favorite thing about coaching kids is seeing the moment when they go from ‘I don’t know why I’m here’ to ‘What’s next, coach?’” he said. “It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about learning and getting better over time.”

Kevin’s own running is flourishing. He ran the 2022 and 2023 NYRR Queens 10K with his son (pictured below) and the 2023 RBC Brooklyn Half inspiring his students, assistant coaches, and other MS 127X faculty. He’s on the leadership team of his club, Yonkers Running Project, which includes youth runners.

He tells the kids at MS 127X—and anyone else who will listen—that the mental health benefits of running are as vital as the physical benefits. “It teaches them so much—how to face challenges and just be comfortable in the moment and with yourself,” he said. “I didn’t understand that until I became a runner.”