May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. With the recent rise in crimes and expressions of hate against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), educating people about the history and heritage of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States is paramount. PBS has made their Asian Americans series free for viewing on their website. When thinking of Asians and Pacific Islanders and the intersection with running, some names come to mind, like American Miki Gorman (nee Michiko Suwa) who won the New York City Marathon in 1976 and 1977 and the Boston Marathon in 1974 and 1977. Gorman was the last American woman to win the New York City Marathon before Shalane Falnnagan’s 2017 win. Gorman remains the only woman to have won both the New York City Marathon and Boston Marathon twice. Another noted American runner is Toshi d’Elia, who, in 1980 with a finish time of 2:57:25 at the World Veterans Marathon Championship in Glasgow, became the first 50-year old woman in the world to run under 3 hours in a marathon. More recently, Japanese runner Yuki Kawauchi won the 2018 Boston Marathon during the downpour with a time of 2:15:58. Earlier this year, Kawauchi was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the first person to run 100 marathons with finish times under 2:20. Also from Japan, Mariko Yugeta became the first woman over 60 to finish a marathon with a time under 3 hours when she finished the 2021 Osaka International Women’s Marathon with a time of 2:52:13. Asian American Pacific Islander runners are making these splashes all over the world and creating waves in our own backyard.

This month we turn our spotlight on a few AAPI runners from New York who work toward bringing hope and positive change for AAPI and BIPOC.

Leland Yu

Even before the global pandemic was officially declared, businesses in Manhattan’s Chinatown began to struggle. The streets of Chinatown were empty despite the usual boisterous lunar new year celebrations. In March 2020, Brooklynite and Chinese American Leland Yu (he/him) who worked as a cook at Insa in Gowanus lost his job. Aspiring to join the FDNY training Academy, he received a notice that his dreams were put on hold by the FDNY until further notice. Looking to do something for the Manhattan Chinatown community, Leland began running ultramarathon distances to raise funds for charities directed towards helping small businesses in Chinatown (Welcome to Chinatown), enriching and protecting the Chinatown community (Chinese Freemason Athletic Club, Chinatown Block Watch), and beautifying Chinatown and drawing foot traffic to Chinatown (Chinatown Mural Project).

In May 2020, Leland ran 60.1 miles running from Park Slope into Manhattan and back to Brooklyn, finishing in Chinatown and raised $25,000 from friends and family. In December, Leland set out again, running for 12 hours. He covered 62.5 miles and raised another $25,000. In March of this year, Leland ran the Virtual NYC Half and raised $5,581 for Chinatown Block Watch. Leland is not done running miles to raise funds for Chinatown charities. He will be doing another charity run of 50 miles on May 29th, running through all the Chinatowns in Brooklyn and Queens, and ending in Manhattan to celebrate AAPI Heritage month and to honor the life and wishes of renowned late photographer Corky Lee. Corky Lee was a noted photographer who documented Asian-American life who proposed to Leland to complete a charity run through the Chinatowns of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. Funds raised from Leland’s May 29th run will benefit Chinatown Organization for Media Awakening (COMA), which was founded by Corky Lee and fellow Chinatown activists Victor Huey and Karlin Chan, to address the negative stereotyping of Asians in media and cinema, and to promote and ensure true representation in mainstream media.

Leland has also just begun holding weekly group runs at a comfortable pace for 3-4 miles in and around Manhattan’s Chinatown. The runs start in Columbus Park in Chinatown near the tai chi wheels on Mondays at 6:15PM, with runs starting at 6:30PM. Leland has also dipped his foot in the restaurant business, opening Mr. Lee’s as a pop-up at The Good Fork. The pop-up has ended and Leland doesn’t have any immediate plans for another pop-up, but it’s not out of the question.

Follow Leland on Instagram and follow his charitable running exploits as he runs for Chinatown on Instagram here. Read more about Leland in Men’s Health and Runner’s World. Make a donation to Leland’s fundraiser for his May 29th run here.

Victoria Lo

On February 26th, an Asian-American man was stabbed in the back while walking on Baxter street in Chinatown at 6PM. This event—in addition to a year of increased violence and racism against AAPI communities, served as the catalyst for Victoria Lo (she/her) to create the Chinatown Runners movement.

In Victoria’s words, “Chinatown Runners is not a crew, it’s a movement.” Locally, Chinatown Runners holds monthly runs to different Chinatowns and AAPI communities in New York City. However, Chinatown Runners has no geographical bounds, and runners outside of New York are encouraged to join in the movement virtually by running in solidarity and using the hashtag #chinatownrunners on social media. Chinatown Runners also includes a family of partner crews located worldwide, from Boston, Philadelphia, Montreal, Ontario, San Francisco, and beyond. Runners are encouraged to explore their local Chinatowns and Asian Pacific Islander-owned businesses/communities to bring energy to these areas that have suffered with the rise of Asian hate. Not only will businesses welcome the patronage from these runners, but added foot traffic in these neighborhoods may help deter violent and racially-motivated crimes against Asian American Pacific Islanders that have been on the rise since the start of COVID-19.

Victoria is a Chinese American product/visual designer at a large consulting agency. Born and raised in California, she’s lived in Seattle, San Francisco, and NYC. From 2013-2016, Victoria ran with BridgeRunners and Black Roses NYC, but she’s currently not affiliated with any club or crew, preferring instead to run unattached to any one team.

Victoria credits the running community for the growth and energy of Chinatown Runners and chooses to be identified only as a founder. The goal of Chinatown Runners has always been to uplift, celebrate and empower AAPI communities as well as the residents that live in them.

Chinatown Runners has partnered with Bridge Runners and Prospect Park Track Club for its May run. The run will be held on the evening of May 22nd, starting from 167 Delancey Street at 6PM in Chinatown and running to Koreatown. There will be bathrooms available at the start and a mobile bag check will be provided. Face masks are required at the start and finish and whenever social distancing cannot be maintained. Prospect Park Track Club members can sign up for the run on the group-run sign-up sheet (link available on the club’s forum & on Facebook). Those looking to cover some added distance, can meet at GAP at 5:15PM.

Chinatown Runners has also partnered with Harlem Run for a Monday night run on May 24th to AAPI-centric parts of Harlem. Follow Chinatown Runners and Harlem Run for details.

Follow Victoria on Instagram and hear more about her and Chinatown Runners on Citius Mag’s Runners of New York City podcast. Subscribe to Chinatown Runners’ newsletter here and follow Chinatown Runners on Instagram.

Ben Chan

Prospect Park Track Club members will remember Ben Chan (he/him) from our November 2020 General Membership Meeting. Ben is a New Yorker, originally from Queens, who recently moved to Keene, New Hampshire. He is also an activist working for social justice. Runners in New York will undoubtedly remember seeing Ben running races in leopard print or hot pink Speedos and a cowboy hat, which was itself a statement against preconceived notions of Asian men. Ben’s commitment to social justice has not wavered.

Ben took on Gary Cantrell, AKA Lazarus Lake (the creator of the Barkley’s Marathon) for deleting Ben’s post in the Facebook group the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee (GVRAT). Ben’s post was a recap of his finish of GVRAT and included an accounting of his runs when he was sometimes subjected to racist and homophobic slurs. Ben’s post also sought to bring attention to worse conditions that other runners, like his wife who is Black, face. The post included a photo of Ben wearing a Black Lives Matter singlet. In a second incident, Cantrell refused to allow Ben’s team for the Circumpolar Race Around the World (CRAW) virtual relay race to be named “Black Lives Matter”. Cantrell has defended his actions claiming to want to maintain political neutrality. It would be an understatement to say Ben has been frustrated by how the ultra-running community and media have been willing to overlook Cantrell’s harmful political “neutrality”. In an Outside Magazine article, Ben questioned “Isn’t the whole idea behind ultra-running that you run to a point when you get uncomfortable? If so, why is it OK for runners to push their limits and test themselves mentally and physically, but when it comes to their beliefs about who belongs here and who doesn’t, why can’t we test those beliefs?”

In an effort to improve the running community and our society as a whole, Ben continues to take a stand and to make us uncomfortable by challenging us to face our racism in an effort. Although no longer living in New York, Ben is still working for social justice in New York and in the New York running community. He was a speaker at the April AAPI & BIPOC: Us v. Them Running to Protest Run.

Ben is no longer running, choosing to not engage with the running community as a runner, but he is still working for change in the running community. Ben continues to call on NYRR to take more demonstrative actions in its professed commitment to DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and has proposed that NYRR create a virtual race in the name of noted New York photographer Corky Lee, who documented life in Asian-Americans and who recently died of Covid-19, as a recognition of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Ben recently worked with others to draft this statement about anti-Asian violence at his job. He is also working on two podcasts: Tete a Tetes and Bad Asian American. Follow Ben on Instagram and hear more about him on Citius Mag’s Runners of New York City podcast and Ali on the Run’s podcast. You can watch a video of Ben’s remarks at the April AAPI & BIPOC: Us v. Them Running To Protest Run here. If you missed our November General Membership meeting, you can watch the video of Ben’s discussion on PPTC’s YouTube channel.

Thank you to Leland, Victoria, and Ben for the work you are doing for our whole community and for inspiring us to make positive change in our community. You have all provided us with a means to make positive changes in our community, and continue to challenge us to make positive changes in our community. We are so grateful.

PPTC is a diverse and supportive team. We want to celebrate the diversity of our club and membership. We welcome and encourage everyone to share their stories with us.

Text by: Linda S. Chan (she/her)
Photos: as noted
Edited by: Rachael DePalma (she/her)
Produced by: Linda S. Chan

Asian American Pacific Islander Runners Making Waves in Our Community

Leland Yu

Victoria Lo

Ben Chan