807. Darcy Budworth, Founder of Take the Bridge

"We don’t do things the easy way."

Ten years ago, Darcy Budworth was feeling burned out on running and racing in New York City. The interior designer felt a pull toward something beyond the classic weekend morning road races in Central Park. Enter Take the Bridge: an unsanctioned urban race through city streets and over bridges, navigating traffic, pedestrians, and bike messengers, all at night, in the dark. In this conversation, Darcy talks about building the thing she thought was missing from the running community. She talks about how Take the Bridge has grown and expanded beyond NYC to 27 cities and nine countries. She talks about how they've stayed true to TTB's roots, fostering community, connection, and exciting racing — and about what they're doing to celebrate the event's 10th anniversary this summer. (Register now to be a part of it on July 25, 2025!)

FOLLOW DARCY @darcybud

SPONSORS: 

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In this episode:

• Have you run today? (2:25)
• What Darcy is looking for on the run right now (4:20)
• All about Darcy’s job as an interior designer (7:00)
• How Darcy found running (12:15)
• What running looked like for Darcy in the mid-2010s in New York City — and how Take the Bridge was born (16:45)
• What it’s like participating in an unsanctioned race (23:40)
• What it’s like running Take the Bridge (32:15)
• When Darcy knew she was building something special (41:50)
• How Darcy has stayed focus on her original mission as Take the Bridge has expanded to 27 cities and 9 countries (43:40)
• How a Take the Bridge race actually works (49:15)
• How Darcy has seen the NYC running scene and community evolve since the mid-2010s (53:15)
• The best bridges: which ones Darcy has loved the most (58:15)
• How Take the Bridge will celebrate its 10th birthday this summer (1:08:40)
• Darcy’s advice to anyone afraid of taking a big risk (1:15:30)

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