Mandy Kwan: Going the Distance with Family

Mandy Kwan runs in her Brooklyn neighborhood.
Mandy Kwan immigrated to Brooklyn from Hong Kong when she was 11 years old and was impressed by the wide-open spaces and greenery, something she didn’t expect. Instead, she’d pictured tall buildings like densely populated Hong Kong. 

“I remember when I landed at JFK and my uncle drove on the Belt Parkway to Sheepshead Bay, which is where my grandparents lived then, it was open space. I was like, wow, America is huge,” Mandy said. 

When they pulled up to her grandparents’ house, it reminded her of Hansel and Gretel.

“It looked like something from a fairy tale. So, to me, Brooklyn was very idyllic,” she said. 

Now 45, Mandy still lives in Brooklyn, now with her husband and their three sons, ages 11, 8, and 5, whom she homeschools. Mandy is a certified teacher and taught at a public school for years before she decided to become a stay-at-home mom.  

“I like homeschooling because there's just more opportunity for us to spend [time] together for spontaneous conversations about all sorts of things that I don't think would happen if they were at school,” Mandy said. 

Mandy’s husband, sons, her mom, and even their dog regularly attend Open Run sessions in Marine Park. 

“There’s something special about the Open Run community. The group is very welcoming to my children and welcoming to my mom,” she said. 

She said her parents started going to Open Run with close friends while her father was still alive. After he passed away, Mandy and her mother continued to go. 

“It’s kind of a metaphor. My mom's life goes on. Our lives go on. Right? We keep running.”

Her mom has run many NYRR races and when Mandy would visit her, she’d see her medals displayed. It motivated her to run too.

“She’s over 70 years old and she has tons of medals and race bibs. I'm like, you know, maybe I could start [running].”

Mandy applied for NYRR Race Free, a program that provides race fee assistance for New Yorkers to run NYRR races, including the TCS New York City Marathon and was given the chance to run races free of cost. 

“Race Free gave me an opportunity to try for something that I wouldn't think of doing…without a lot of financial burden on my part,” she said. 

She ran her first race, the NYRR Washington Heights Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K, in March and was surprised and excited to see thousands of people show up for the race. 

“There are all these people in New York that love to run. People who are willing to get up [at] six in the morning on a Saturday. Not only the runners but all the volunteers,” she said. 

Mandy also took on the SHAPE + Health Women's Half Marathon the following month. On November 5, she will run the TCS New York City Marathon.

“I got the momentum going to keep running from now to 2024. [I can] cross it off my bucket list.”

You can also check out an interview with Mandy on NYRR's YouTube channel here

Learn more about Open Run and Race Free.

Mandy is part of #TeamInspire at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, a diverse group of runners whose stories capture the power of running to change lives. Read other #TeamInspire stories at the links below, and check back for more as November 5 approaches:

Margot Fleming: Running in Memory of a Champion

Aubrey Barr: Beating the Odds

Tricia Quartey-Sagaille: Running for Black Maternal Health

Roman Kashpur: Pushing the Limits

 

Author: NYRR Staff