Friday Fun Runs with Spencer Pilates Arts
You may have noticed a lively group of runners bounding down Austin Street every Friday evening. That’s the Queens Distance Runners hosting “The Kessel Run,” a weekly community run that meets at my studio, Spencer Pilates Arts.
Back in 2020, when the pandemic shut our doors, I was looking for any way to stay mentally healthy—and honestly, maybe make a few friends. I had just started running casually. Nothing serious. One of my clients told me about the Queens Distance Runners and this weekly run they did. I showed up, and it quickly became a new outlet for me. Getting involved in running helped carry me through a really difficult time, and meeting like-minded people from Queens did wonders for my emotional well-being.
This was really the start of my running story. I’m definitely not an elite runner, and that’s kind of the point. Meeting a handful of people who shared this interest completely changed the way I related to the neighborhood and to Queens. I’ve heard so many stories from runners of every level, and just having a group to show up for each week gave me a real sense of community. Sure, it’s exciting to improve your pace, tackle new distances, or even run a marathon. But I’ve also learned that progress is personal, setbacks happen, and running, like anything, can be messy. What makes it meaningful is the people you meet along the way.
At the Kessel Run, I’ve met everyone from brand-new runners on their first mile to seasoned athletes who’ve qualified for Boston multiple times. And honestly, the obsession with race times feels superficial when you compare it to the sense of connection and shared experience this group brings. Every runner has a story. Sharing those stories is what gives the sport its emotional value.
I asked a few Kessel runners to share their thoughts, and one story from Ben Helmer really stuck with me. He told me, “It made me realize that running isn’t about competition, but celebration of one another. I had run my first Marathon, NYC, the year before. In 2019, running my fourth Marathon, I suddenly felt transformed, not because I was so much stronger, but because my ‘why’ had changed. I had people on the course, and I constantly cheered on my fellow runners. It was the first marathon when I finished with more in the tank, and at that time, my best time.”
“I had been in therapy, afraid to live alone for the first time, and dealing with seasonal affective disorder, which hit me especially hard. Then Covid hit. This was a different level of being alone. I saw almost no one. But QDR, and Kessel, had transformed me. I barely felt the seasonal depression or loneliness which had hit me so hard in the years prior. I had a new purpose, a new community. I was only beginning to understand what that word meant. And it all started with the Kessel Run.”
The Kessel Run was started by Mike Bocchinfuso in 2019, and this January marks its 8th anniversary as a community run in Forest Hills. The name comes from a mix of Star Wars lore and Kessel Street right here in the neighborhood—fitting for a run that’s equal parts fun, quirky, and full of heart.
