Podcast: Episode 152 with Darcy Budworth

Mario Fraioli | March 15, 2021

“I think I’m somebody where I grew up in a family of many people, a large family—and then also I grew up Morman, and so I grew up around many families that were very large and also my mom did daycare at our home—and so I’ve always just been around a lot of people and I’ve always had to be somebody that has found my voice among many people while also being friends with everybody. And it’s funny, when I was growing up I always had friends all over the place. I never realized until recently that that continues to be true. I feel like I’m a connector where I love just meeting new people and finding out about new people and then connecting different people with likeminded people, so I definitely think that’s probably the core of my being.”

Darcy Budworth is the co-founder and race director of Take The Bridge, which is an underground and unsanctioned series of races that was born in New York City in 2015 and has since spread to numerous other cities around the world.

I raced my first Take the Bridge this past February in San Francisco and I loved everything about it. As I wrote in my newsletter a few weeks ago, the race was low-key and community focused, the distance was unconventional—we happened to run 4.2 miles over the Golden Gate Bridge—and even the turns we took were up to us as long as we hit the required checkpoint along the way. There were no mile markers, no clocks, and at the end of the night, you were battling it out for place, not trying to run a pre-determined pace. There was level of purity to it that I really appreciated and, quite honestly, didn’t even know I missed. It reminded me a lot of cross-country but with a fast and the furious, every runner for him or herself urban street vibe to it.

In this conversation, Darcy and I talked a lot about Take the Bridge and all aspects of unsanctioned racing in general, but we also got into her background, how she got into running, her relationship to the sport, as well as some discussion about stress, anxiety, injuries, and more.

Darcy Budworth: Instagram | Take The Bridge | Website

the morning shakeout: Instagram | Twitter

Mario Fraioli: Website | Strava

This episode is brought to you by:

— Atlanta Track Club. Member and lottery registration for the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia is going on right now. The race will be held in-person and virtually this year on July 3rd and 4th. Strict COVID-19 safety precautions will be in place for the in-person version with limited spots available—Atlanta Track Club members get guaranteed entry and race day preference. If you’re not a member you can join today and then sign up to get a guaranteed spot at Peachtree! Non-members will be placed into a lottery and race day preference will be accommodated as spots remain. Registration is going on now until May 1 and you can put your name in today at ajc.com/peachtree.

Music and editing for this episode of the morning shakeout podcast by John Summerford.