Heroes on the Run
During these challenging times, running can serve as a source of solace and strength. We are proud to recognize everyday heroes who keep running, keep us running, and keep our community safe. New York Road Runners is honoring and showing gratitude for our courageous frontline and essential heroes. These heroic individuals continue to inspire us with their bravery, dedication, and selflessness in caring for other individuals.
For each event in the NYRR Volvo Virtual Racing Series Powered by Strava, NYRR will select a runner who is serving or has served on the frontlines of the pandemic as our “Hero on the Run.”
To Be Selected
If you would like to be featured as one of our Heroes on the Run, fill out this survey form and you might be highlighted in an upcoming story! To be featured, a runner should be:
Read Stories About Our Heroes on the Run
Select a story from the list below about the Hero on the Run from each race of NYRR Volvo Virtual Racing, and follow the hashtag #HeroesOnTheRun on social media to see more about their stories.
Virtual NYRR Season of Light 5K
Hero on the Run:
Barbara Vallee is a flight attendant for United Airlines, based out of Newark Airport, who has continued to work on international flights during the pandemic.
Read her story
Virtual NYRR Ted Corbitt 15K
Hero on the Run:
Angela Wint is a medical assistant in the pediatric cardiology unit at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. Angela was also the final finisher of the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon.
Read her story
Virtual NYRR Run for Thanks 5K
Hero on the Run:
Vanessa DiServio, a P.E. teacher at Hudson High School of Learning Technologies in Manhattan, helped bring Rising New York Road Runners to her students. This year, Vanessa received a prestigious Big Apple Award, given by the NYC Department of Education.
Read her story
Claudio Grassi is a delivery driver and partner of a logistics company near Milan, Italy, that specializes in the health sector.
Read his story
Virtual Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5KHero on the Run:
Tatiana Rojas is a case management coordinator at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, working with COVID-19 patients by phone after they are discharged as she herself recovers from the coronavirus.
Read her story
Virtual Poland Spring Marathon KickoffHero on the Run:
Kelton Miller works as a production shift supervisor at Poland Spring's bottling facility in Hollis, ME—the largest bottling factory in the country—and hasn’t missed a day of work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read his story
Virtual NYRR Staten Island HalfHeroes on the Run:
Dr. Karen Sutton, based in Connecticut, is an orthopedic surgeon with Hospital for Special Surgery and a member of the Sports Medicine Institute and Women’s Sports Medicine Center.
Read her story
Dylan Vidoli is a firefighter with Engine Company 225 in Brooklyn and an active member of the FDNY Running Club.
Read his story
Virtual New Balance Bronx 10 MileHero on the Run:
Sandra Perez works as a registered nurse at the trauma unit at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, has been an NYRR member since the 1990s, and currently runs with the Boogie Down Bronx Runners.
Read her story
Volvo Cars for Alex Million Mile 5KHero on the Run:
Dr. Yael Mossé is a doctor in pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and one of the funded researchers for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.
Read her story
Virtual New Balance 5th Avenue MileHero on the Run:
Nicole Pieszchata from Harlem is an NYRR Open Run volunteer at Morningside Park and a full-time physical therapist at Columbia Presbyterian.
Read her story