Anna Spinner: Loves the Intensity of Long Distance Running

Anna Spinner, 36, assistant director of internal communications, College of Physicians & Surgeons,has been running since high school, but only started getting serious about it when she was balancing work and graduate school, and began craving time away from her desk. Read more.

When did you start running, and why? And what’s the longest distance you’ve run? 

I started running in high school to control my weight. I got more serious about running later when I realized how helpful it was to reduce stress. I really committed to it many years later when I was juggling a full-time job and graduate school. Spending so much time hunched over a computer made me crave the time each morning when I could get out and move my body. Sitting for too many hours makes me feel disjointed. Running reconnects me with my body. I’ve run two marathons, and hope to run longer races in the future.

Why are you running the marathon?

Running a marathon is exhilarating: Like any long-distance runner, as I put in the miles, I go through waves of intense, wide-ranging emotions: excitement, frustration, calmness, anger, happiness. Physical pain emerges, changes, and often passes. It’s an intense personal experience, and it’s amazing to do that in New York City alongside 50,000 other runners and with hundreds of thousands of spectators cheering us on. I can’t wait to do it again.

What’s your goal on race day?  

I’d love to beat my race time from last year, but I only recently recovered from a stress fracture in my hip, so I know I can’t expect too much. Rather than focusing on a time goal, I’m going to listen to my body: I’ll push when I can, ease up when I have to, and give it my all for the final few miles.

Does this distance— or this particular race— have any special meaning for you?

This race feels very special because I didn’t know that I’d have recovered from my stress fracture in time to train for it. That injury was humbling. It taught me that it takes more than hard work to train—it takes patience and the good fortune of a body strong enough to endure the trauma of long-distance running. I feel lucky that I am healthy enough to do this again.

What gets you through your long training runs?  

My teammates on North Brooklyn Runners, many of whom are my closest friends. During some particularly hard runs, it’s great to have friends beside you whether you’re chatting or just silently pushing through the hard moments.

Have you had any particularly special moments during your runs? 

Several years ago, as I was training for my first marathon, I was running my very first 14-miler. (I’d never run more than 10 miles.) I decided to run along the Hudson River Greenway, where many marathoners do their training. A few miles in, I saw a fellow long-distance runner who reminded me of why I like running—she had the biggest, dumbest grin on her face. It made me smile—that was what a real runner's high looks like from the outside!

A few few miles later I passed a guy coming toward me who flashed an amused smile and gave me a thumbs-up. He was looking at me and laughing to himself; I was now the one with the silly runner’s-high smile. That blissful feeling never lasts long, but those moments are well worth it..

Do you see any relationship between your work and your running?

 Running balances out all the desk-time. If I don’t make time to exercise, sitting in a chair makes me antsy. But if I am regularly running, I go into work happy, refreshed, and grateful for a chair to rest my aching legs.