The partnering Running Crew of the OctoberFast

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So, What IS the NERR...?
The North End Road Runners is a mostly post collegiate training group that focuses on good sportsmanship, maintaining a running related presence in the community, and implementing / experimenting long term training methodologies that enable race-readiness year-round in upstate NY. We also adhere to an emphasis on out-of-town races whenever possible, as a group - to chase competitive opportunity.

What really IS GOOD sportsmanship? Good sportsmanship is always believing you have had a "good" day, even if it’s not your BEST day. There is always another race. Always. Good sportsmanship is not having a "winner takes all" mentality. It’s not "I am the BEST" mentality - it’s rather a "look at what we did" mentality. Good sportsmanship is congratulating your team mates on a great race when they finished ahead of you. The group always outweighs the individual. Always.
What IS maintaining a running related presence in the community? Well, we have an extremely robust community that is very running oriented. The Binghamton area has a lot of local lore and history to boast. Year after year, decade after decade...races come and go - but the opportunity to test yourself is available nearly every weekend. Unique, for any area - and we are lucky enough in Binghamton to be able to share that. The NERR recognizes this, and we try to put emphasis on volunteering or supporting local races whenever possible, to help local race directors, and to cheer on our fellow runners. Just because the NERR strives to be at the front, doesn't mean we don't appreciate those behind us.

Training Methodologies...? In upstate NY, regardless of the numerous opportunities we have to race...we all have to train to get to the starting line healthy, and FIT. With the NERR, we extrapolate decades of running experience (collegiate, post collegiate, HS, and the like) to culminate into a wealth of training tips and running knowledge - to keep our crew ready to roll regardless of the time of year.

Although we have a wide range of opportunities to compete locally, often, the big PRs we chase are better attained with out-of-town races with much more depth. We strive to do several out-of-town races a year as a group to rep the NERR logo with other areas who put out their best competitors as well.
I founded the NERR in 2023, after many, many years of speculation of whether our area could support such a group. I have spent most of my life in the southern tier area, and I learned its rich running history. Some locations in our country have Football, some locations have baseball, some have hunting. Some have surfing. In the Southern Tier of New York State, long distance running is what we have. I'm thoroughly convinced that our location, in addition to other surrounding cities (Ithaca, Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, etc.) make New York State a hotbed for competitive running. It has been my goal to lobby this interest in any way that I can, since I was a teenager.

Within the NERR, we have an extremely competitive nature from the mile to the marathon, and we like to focus on the runners at the front of the race - the ones dedicating countless hours a week in heavy training loads; some of us with families and children, jobs, mortgages and the like.

The end goal? To push ourselves to our best races, and our best lives, collectively.

See you on the roads.

- Steve Esposito