LISTEN HERE for the full podcast! And available everywhere podcasts are found “Let Me Tell You Why with Jeremy Jacobowitz” But below is a summary of my NYC marathon journey! If you want to donate to City Harvest, and help feed almost 2 million New Yorkers, please CLICK HERE 

Running has always been an escape for me, especially when I lived near Central Park and would run almost every day. For a long time, I didn’t want to “ruin” something I loved by turning it into work, so I kept saying no to running a marathon. But over the past year, it started to feel like the New York City Marathon was the ultimate New York thing to do, something that should be on my goal list. And I’m only getting older, so every year I waited, it would just get even harder.

City Harvest, an organization I’m deeply involved with, approached me about joining their charity marathon team. The opportunity to do good while running finally pushed me to commit. Training was intense, but the Runna app helped keep me structured, three runs a week, gradually increasing distance, and learning to slow down for endurance, not just speed. Keeping focused on pace, fueling my body for long runs, and reorganizing my social life around training became my new normal.

Race day threw in surprises, an annoyingly late start, hours spent waiting on Staten Island, chilly weather, and even a missed Halloween because of training. But from the moment I started over the Verrazano Bridge, the energy was unreal. Every borough, every ethnicity, every kind of New Yorker came out to cheer us on. Williamsburg’s crowd was so wild, they spilled out onto the course, and it didnt even matter! It was truly magical! And the first 15 or so miles were perfect! I was even ahead of my goal pace.

Around the Queensboro Bridge, the pain set in: legs, feet, back, neck, everything hurt. I pushed through, sometimes walking, sometimes shuffling. My watch and headphones died in the final miles, so I had nothing to distract me from my exhaustion. But I kept moving, and crossing the finish line in Central Park, even at six hours (longer than I hoped), was one of the hardest and most magical things I’ve ever done.

After the race, all I wanted was to go home, eat Thai food, and question my life decisions, swearing to never run again. But the next day, the pain faded and determination crept in. I started thinking, “I want one more shot, I want to do better.” I’m not sure if I'll run again, but the idea is there…

The entire journey meant even more because I was running for City Harvest, raising money to fight food insecurity in New York, especially crucial now as so many need help. I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who supported me, from donors to the volunteers to the NYPD and my friends and family. I’ve come a long way from being the kid who would fake being sick to skip gym class mile day, and now I can say I ran the New York City Marathon, with a real medal and a memory I’ll never forget.

FILM

After years, two films I executive produced are officially out! If you are in NYC this weekend you can watch the romantic comedy 31 Candles from Jonah Feingold at Quad Cinema, ill be there Friday night! It will be playing in select cities over the next few weeks, so definitely check out 31candles.com to see if it will be in your town!

And then I also produced a film called Us and Ourselves that is available to purchase digitally or on blu-ray, here is the Apple Link. But it is more of a dramedy, “Sebastian is a writer in his late 20s, entrenched in the process of completing his second novel. Plagued by writer's block, he bumps into an ex-girlfriend, Aurora, who he had always considered to be "the one who got away". Over the course of the weekend, Sebastian and Aurora rekindle a friendship - but could it become something more?”