"We All Love Running"
Tararin “Noon” Nikomborirak, who grew up in both Bangkok and Bainbridge Island, a suburb of Seattle, plans on running the United Airlines NYC Half with her parents and younger brother.
“We all love running. My mum is the original runner of the family. She [time] qualified for the [United Airlines NYC Half].”
After running 2-3 miles a day for two months, back in February 2020, Noon started to join her mother on runs with her friends.
“That day I hit nine miles, I was overcome with the sense of achievement. If I could run nine [miles], maybe I could run 10. Then a half [marathon]. Then, maybe even a marathon,” she said.
Noon started running to lose weight after visiting Thailand three times in one year and eating all of her favorite foods that she’d been missing.
“My body is still not as thin as it used to be, but I do not think about weight anymore. The fact I can run marathons makes me feel strong and accomplished more than anything else.”
She finished her first marathon in 2021 at the St. George Marathon in Utah with a time of 4:15, her PR to this day.
“It was the most challenging [race], but the one I’m most proud of.”
Her younger brother followed in the family’s footsteps and joined his middle school’s running team in 2011. A gifted runner, he too time-qualified for the United Airlines NYC Half.
Noon’s father will also be running the United Airlines NYC Half, and the entire family hopes to run the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon together.
While running the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon with her family, Noon will be raising funds for APEX for Youth, an organization that works with volunteers to help guide and support underserved Asian and immigrant youth from low-income families in NYC.
“I wanted to fundraise for something I believed in. [I’ve] mentored and tutored kids so their mission aligns with my beliefs and passion of providing education and opportunities for the community.”
Noon moved to New York City in April 2021 and shortly after, joined Run for Chinatown where she said she felt truly connected to the AAPI community for the first time.
She participated in a Run for Chinatown event on February 21, 2022 where a group ran 35 miles to honor 35-year-old Christina Yuna Lee who was murdered by a homeless man who followed her into her apartment in the Lower East Side. The event raised awareness of the rise in violence against Asians and Asian Americans in New York City. Some runners ran the entire 35 miles, others ran for 35 minutes or 3.5 miles—all to show their support.
“I felt the strongest sense of community that day. We were all there for the same reasons—to voice a change to make the AAPI community safe. There has been an unsettling amount of violence towards Asian women,” she said.
Noon ran the first 3.5 miles, 18 laps around the quarter-mile block where Lee lived, then cheered along the other runners by clanging pans with wooden spoons. She said that people from Run for Chinatown participated by running, cheering, handling the support table, and controlling traffic.
“The run was used to honor Christina Yuna Lee and to show the community that we are powerful and resilient and that a change must be made to keep us safe.”
Top photo by Kevin R. Wexler / @KRWphoto.