From Rhymes to Runs: N.O.R.E. Sets His Sights on the TCS New York City Marathon

Episode Transcript
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N.O.R.E. (00:00):
I love this community. I love everything I did in
the past. But this is truly a community that I feel
comfortable in. It's truly a community that understands me and
I understand them back. And again, that's the most beautiful
part about running, is it doesn't matter who you are,
you can have all the money in the world, or

(00:21):
you could be the brokest person on earth, and when
y'all start that finish line, y'all on the same level.

Rob Simmelkjaer (00:31):
Hey everybody, and welcome to Set the Pace, the official
podcast of New York Roadrunners, presented by Peloton. I'm Rob
Simmelkjaer, the CEO of New York Roadrunners, joined in the
flesh this week by my co- host and Peloton instructor,
Becs Gentry. And Becs, this is a special version of
Set the Pace because-

Becs Gentry (00:50):
Sure is.

... For those of you listening out there, you got
to go to YouTube and check out the fact that
Becs and I are sitting together right here at the
Peloton Studios for the first ever video version of Set
the Pace. And Becs, what an amazing place to do this
first video podcast.

I know, isn't it? We are so lucky to be here.
We are actually in our beautiful yoga and meditation studio
right now, which is why we're really calm and using
our indoor voices for now. It is awesome to be
here doing this. I feel very like the worlds have
come together today. Perfect.

It's amazing. You look great.

Thank you.

It's great to see you in person.

You too.

I'm wearing pants, which I don't always do during the podcast.

I don't think I needed to know that.

I'm oftentimes sitting at home wearing shorts or whatever.

Glad you said that.

We really dressed up. We really dressed up for the
podcast. And, let me tell you, not only is it
special to be on YouTube this week, but we also
have an incredibly special guest coming up in just a second.

Yeah.

You can't see him yet, but you might remember, not
long ago at the Citizens of Queens Tanque in June, we
had a huge moment at the finish line of that
race, because if you're a music fan, certainly of my
age, pretty much of any age, you know N. O.
R.E., you know the Queens born rap star, started out as part
of Capone- N-Noreaga, now he's gone solo. He's a huge

(02:14):
star. He's also a huge runner. And at the finish line, he
and his crew announced he's going to be running the 2025 TCS
New York City Marathon. We're going to be talking to N. O. R.E.
about running and how this all happened.

Yeah, absolutely. I'll tell you, my Instagram feed was just
him that day.

Yes.

So I'm so pumped to talk about running and music, because
that's what I do every single day. So I'm selfishly
really, really excited.

So excited. We got a lot to do when we get
to N. O. R. E., but I want to call
out a little bit about what's going on at Roadrunners. And we had another big race this past weekend
here in New York City. It was the RBC Race for the Kids
on a very humid Saturday morning in New York City.

But I'm so thankful it happened, because the weather was looking like it was going to be
torrential rain and storms. And I was like, " No, not
the kids race. No."

It cleared out.

But it did.

And we had a pretty nice day. I got out there and ran, Becs.

You did?

Which we'll talk about what I'm doing running a little
while. But, it was a warm day, and we had
a great turnout, and we had some pretty fast winners.
The non- binary winner was Pierce Lydon at a time
of 24
was Victoria Kingham with 23
Club Tracksmith. And on the men's side it was Ethan

(03:32):
Koreth, 20 minutes and 39 seconds from 212 Athletic and Saucony. So
yeah, it was warm, but it was a great day,
and it was a really fun day in Central Park.

Congrats everyone.

Absolutely. And you know what? We got N.O.R.E coming up. After we
talked to N.O.R.E., what happens when a friendly rivalry with a
buddy who's in training for the Chicago Marathon takes on
a life of its own? Find out later in the
show when our man, Meb, interviews New York Roadrunner's member Noah
Perez. So that's coming up a little bit later. And
as N. O. R.E. knows well, the only thing better than running

(04:03):
is getting your friends into running. So Meb's going to be
here to give us some tips on the best ways
to encourage your friends and family to take up the
sport of running. So stay tuned for today's Meb Minute coming
up a little bit later in the show.

Try the Peloton app for free and access classes for
every type of runner. Whether you're training for your first
race or you're a seasoned pro. From outdoor runs and
intervals, to strength, yoga, and stretching, you'll find the perfect
fit for every part of your routine. Whether it's a
long run day, or you just need a quick five- minute
reset, the Peloton app meets you where you are and

(04:39):
helps you become a stronger, faster runner, because it's designed
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Google Play, terms apply. Peloton, the official digital fitness partner
for New York Roadrunners.

All right. So Becs.

Yes.

If you were running the Citizens Queens 10K, you might've
noticed a group of 18 guys all wearing the same
white Queens T- shirt with the name Run Champs across
the front. It looked like a baseball jersey. Well, if
the name reminds you of a certain podcast, some of us
might follow, called Drink Champs, that's because at the center

(05:20):
of that run crew was also the host of Drink
Champs and the Queens born rapper N. O. R.E. That's N-O-R- E,
pronounced N.O.R.E. N. O. R. E. burst onto the scene in
the late 1990s as half of the hip hop duo Capone-N-
Noreaga, went on to a successful solo career with hits
like Super Thug, and Nothin, and more recently became the

(05:42):
host of that podcast, Drink Champs. And he interviews rap
legends over a few drinks. And we got a few drinks here actually-

N.O.R.E. (05:48):
Good drinks, good drinks.

... Of a slightly more healthy variety. And so, N. O.
R.E., we are so thrilled to have you here on
Set the Pace. Welcome.

Yay. Woo- hoo.

N.O.R.E. (05:59):
By the way, I'm thrilled to be here. Running has
been a part of my life. And, I realize that I
can't explain running to anybody else who doesn't run. They
think you're a maniac, and we are. If you're up
at four o'clock in the morning, running seven miles, something

(06:20):
is wrong.

In a beautiful way.

N.O.R.E. (06:23):
In a beautiful way. And so, I've been running and I
didn't see competing in races. I didn't know that. I didn't realize...
I got a platinum plaque, so I didn't realize this little
medal means just as much to me, if not more,

(06:44):
because I did this on my own. And, I can't
describe the runner's high. You know what I'm saying? When you set
out a goal and you say, " I'm going to do
10 miles." And you go out there and you do 10 miles
and you come back home, I wish I could bottle
that feeling and sell it, because no one really gets

(07:06):
it, unless you run. I know I said this before,
but I was in Naples and the guy just comes
up to me and he's like, " So why are you guys
out here?" Because it was a lot of us. We
traveled. And I was like, " I'm here to run." And he's like, " So
you come here to run?" And I'm like, " Yeah.

Wait, Naples, Florida?

N.O.R.E. (07:24):
Yes. Naples, Florida.

Okay.

N.O.R.E. (07:26):
So I realized I made no sense to this guy.
And I'm trying my best. I'm like, " Yo, I come
here, my family, I got my kids with me." And,
he's just looking at me. And I realized, it's not
really him. It's that runner's feeling like when you accomplish

(07:47):
that goal on your own, it's just a certain feeling.
And, I'm addicted to that feeling, man. I'm addicted to
that feeling.

Love to hear it.

N.O.R.E. (07:55):
And, I'm glad that I'm doing it " professional" now. I'm
joining races. I flew to Maui just to run. I
know that sounds crazy again.

Not to us.

N.O.R.E. (08:07):
But, that's why I'm comfortable in this. This is going
to trust.

These are your people. You're talking your people.

N.O.R.E. (08:13):
Yeah, yeah. Exactly. So we went to Maui, we went to Naples,
we went to Tampa, we went to Puerto Rico, we
are going to Orlando, we're doing a wellness retreat. We're
going to box, we're going to weight train. A whole
wellness retreat for three days. And then, where else we went?

Speaker 1 (08:34):
We went to Puerto Rico.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
Jersey.

He's got his crew here in the studio. Absolutely.

N.O.R.E. (08:39):
Yes. So it's something that I'm really, really proud of and it's
something that another time I spoke to my friend, Busta Rhymes.

Just casual. Friend, Busta Rhymes.

My friend.

N.O.R.E. (08:53):
Busta Rhymes goes-

Your friend's my friend.

N.O.R.E. (08:54):
... He goes, "So what do you do this for?" So I'm like, " To be the better
version of me." And he's like, " But there's no goal
at the end. There's no money." And I'm like, " Not
really. I'm actually spending money to go there." And then,
I realized again, it's not going to make... It makes

(09:15):
sense to people who love you. Busta loves me, that's
my homie. So he sees that it's a better version of me. So he's with it.

Talking about Buster rhymes, just as you casually mentioned, he's your homie.

N.O.R.E. (09:24):
Yeah, yeah.

I thought I was super cool once, because he reposted
something I did in class. Long story. A mystical song
where the lyrics got confusing over and I did a
hand gesture that wasn't cool. I'll show you off after.

N.O.R.E. (09:38):
Okay, okay.

But I love how you phrase that of the people
who love you understand it, even if they don't run
themselves, they see that running is making you a better
version of you.

N.O.R.E. (09:51):
Yeah, yeah.

And so, let's talk about that, because your life has
been one hell of a journey.

N.O.R.E. (10:00):
I'll tell you this, I've traveled the world, and I'm
so sorry, but running the world is better.

Yay.

N.O.R.E. (10:11):
I'm so sorry. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (10:14):
All my rap friends, it was Cannes going on, the
movie festival in Cannes, and I seen all my rap
friends out there. And then, I went to Cannes the
next week, and it just so happens, my wife, she wanted to
do that for her birthday. And I ran in Cannes.

Mm- hmm.

N.O.R.E. (10:33):
You know what I'm saying? So I felt so different, because like I said, I
traveled the world, I performed, I didn't enjoy the world.
You know what I mean? Because, you're there working, you know what I
mean? And, now when I go to a place and if
I jog in that place, I feel like it's mines
now. Not own it, but I feel like you conquer

(10:58):
something and it's one of the... Again, Maui's one of my
favorite places on earth.

Yep.

N.O.R.E. (11:12):
I didn't even realize there's deers in Maui. I didn't even
realize it. And we woke up early in the morning.
We had two different sessions. So we did one run in
the morning, we came home, we ate breakfast, whatever, whatever.
And we did another run right after that.

Wow.

N.O.R.E. (11:25):
And, I got to really see the place. I got
to see, okay, you stay in the Four Seasons, you
stay in the St. Regis or whatever, but you pretty
much stay in a hotel. But I'm jogging the land.
I'm getting to see the chickens that's outside. I'm smelling the
cut grass. You know what I'm saying? I'm smelling the brewing coffee. It's just
a certain euphoria that my whole section changed, because I

(11:51):
realized that I'm so addicted to running. This morning, we
had to wake up this morning, not had to, I wanted to, I wanted
to wake up this morning and I didn't realize how
close we was to Central Park. But when I got
to Central Park, it was like a light flash, because
I seen all the other maniacs. It was so many people.

That's where they all live.

N.O.R.E. (12:07):
I was like, "Oh, I'm home."

Yes.

N.O.R.E. (12:10):
I didn't even realize it. I was like, " Yo." And when
you see other runners, there's three things that I actually
do when I see another runner. One, I say, " You're
late." Because I'm an early in the morning runner. Or
two, I say, " I'm jealous."

Yes, same.

N.O.R.E. (12:25):
Or three, I say, " What mile are you on?

Mm- hmm.

N.O.R.E. (12:27):
You know what I'm saying? So I even drive different
now. If I drive and I see a jogger, I'm
like, "Hey, a minute, minute, minute. Go ahead."

Let go.

Oh my God.

Let it go. Let it go.

N.O.R.E. (12:37):
I let bikers go through, joggers go through. This is a
different part of my life that's given back to me.
You know what I'm saying? It's just something I love. And this
is the biggest challenge of my life.

We're going to talk about that in a second. But I'm just dying to know, how
did this start, right? Because I look at your life
story and it doesn't look like a guy who's about
to become a runner and run the New York City Marathon. You grew up in-

Growing up in Queens.

... In Queens. That was a good part. But you grew up, had tough childhood,
right? Had some tough times as a teenager, had some
challenges, some legal stuff along the way that you got into.
Right? And then, you meet your partner, Capone. You guys
create this unbelievable rap duo in the '90s. Y'all hit

(13:28):
it big. That's amazing, right? But, okay, rap star, now you're a
music star, now all this stuff's happening and nowhere in
there do I see, " Oh, this guy's going to start
running." Right? Become a health duck.

N.O.R.E. (13:40):
You're correct.

Yeah. So where was the turn? How did that happen?

N.O.R.E. (13:44):
First, to tell you the truth, my first jog I
ever did was in Timberlands. That's how unexperienced I was.
It was snowing, and I just looked at myself, and
I was overweight. I didn't want to start next month.
You know how everybody say, " Start next month." I started
right then and there. So whatever I had on, I had bought
a house in West Orange, and I had jogged to Verona.

What made you do it? Why'd you start running?

N.O.R.E. (14:06):
I just looked at myself, I didn't like how I
was. And then, when I did that, I caught the high, because what
I forgot to say is I had my friend Stig with
me, and my friend Stig was more overweight than me.
And, we struggled that five miles. We really, really-

And you were wearing Timberlands?

You ran five miles?

N.O.R.E. (14:24):
... Five miles in Timberlands, in the snow.

Okay. Multiple things there blowing my brain here.

N.O.R.E. (14:27):
I did everything wrong.

Timberland, snow, five miles first run.

N.O.R.E. (14:31):
Yes, first run. Yep.

But you struggled through it?

N.O.R.E. (14:35):
I struggled through it. But it was something that hit me that I'm
not a loser. I don't want to say it like
that, but I'm not a person... I have to win.

You're not going to give up.

N.O.R.E. (14:44):
I'm that guy. I'm that guy that even if I'm
losing the fight, we're going to fight for 12 long rounds.

Yes, you're going to take it all that way.

N.O.R.E. (14:52):
Even when you beat me, you're going to not want to
fight me again. That's who I am. Right? So I wanted
to conquer that. But then, kept doing it, kept doing
it, and I got good and I started to become
a little better. Right now, when I jog, I really
feel like Rocky, because people be coming, " Yo, N. O.
R.E." I eat it up. It's the one place in

(15:13):
my life that I'd never say, " No pictures." Sometimes people
you eating, I'm like, "Chill."

Yeah, you're with your family.

N.O.R.E. (15:19):
When I'm jogging, somebody asks me for a picture. I'm like, "
Take three." I want the world to know. I want everybody to know, because, like you said, it
was something that I was doing that I wasn't promoting.
You know what I mean? My whole career. And then,
my father was a boxer, so my father used to
jog. So I seen it when my father got green

(15:41):
eyes like you too. So rest in peace.

Rest in peace.

N.O.R.E. (15:44):
But yeah, so then, what I started to do was
I started to understand the run life. And, what you
don't know is when you see a runner, and he
has on different sneakers every day, and he has... The
thing is, this is my assumption, we buy new equipment

(16:07):
because we have to use it.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (16:09):
So if you're sitting around, and this is the reason why I
looked and my wife told me the other day, she
was like, " You got to throw away some of these
sneakers." So I got real sneakers. And then, I got my
run sneakers. And I won't throw them away. The older
ones, I just can't. I'm not a hoarder or nothing.
I just can't. I just look at them and they have stories.

They do.

N.O.R.E. (16:30):
They have stories. This is a different level of my
life. And then, here's another level of my life. And
then, here's the level I'm at now.

For me, I'm the same as you. I hate throwing
away training shoes, because they've got a story of what
they helped me train for. Race shoes, hell no. They
all have their place in the closet.

N.O.R.E. (16:49):
Mm- hmm.

And, I have a little tag underneath of NYC Marathon
2019, or whatever, whatever, because these are my shoes. So
that brings me on, because I want to talk about that
Queen's run.

N.O.R.E. (16:59):
Let's go. Hell yeah.

Because I'm sure you've got training shoes for that, race
shoes for that. But most importantly, you described it as
homecoming for you, because it is, it was.

N.O.R.E. (17:09):
Yeah, where I grew up from was seven minutes away.
So I stopped there first. I stopped at where I
grew up.

On the way?

LeFrak City?

N.O.R.E. (17:15):
LeFrak City.

Absolutely.

N.O.R.E. (17:18):
I filmed it. I did it. It was a moment
for me. You know what I mean? And, the Queen's was my toughest run. Now,
you say, " What? What do you mean? You ran more." Rain is my Achilles
heel. Look, what's crazy, rain is my favorite weather. I
can stay on my balcony and just watch the rain
all day. But me running in rain, it's not so

(17:39):
much because I'm a huge sweater. I sweat thinking about
sweat. You know what I'm saying? I might be sweating right now.

Which is wild, because everywhere you listed that you've been running is so humid.

N.O.R.E. (17:49):
Yes, yes, yes. But-

Challenging.

N.O.R.E. (17:51):
... The crazy thing about Hawaii, Maui, we trained for it
with hills.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (17:58):
So we thought that it was going to be hills
and we get to the race and there's no hills at all.

Really?

N.O.R.E. (18:02):
Yeah, we threw away our whole training. So the Queens
was scary for me, because it rained, and it kept
raining, and it kept raining. And I got one of the
bags and it didn't help out. But I'm a believer
in energy, so I didn't want to put out bad
energy for my crew. So I just kept it to myself.

(18:23):
But I was scared the whole time. I was like, "
Yo, because what if I slip? Someone's going to film me.
I can't tell them not to film me. I'm N. O.
R.E." So I thought everything was going to happen. And you
know what? It didn't.

It didn't.

N.O.R.E. (18:36):
It didn't.

And you had a truly monumental day.

N.O.R.E. (18:41):
That's one of the best days of my life. You
know what I'm saying?

That's amazing.

And, I mean, it was pouring. It was-

Yeah, it poured at the beginning. It lightened up after a while. It wasn't the worst day.

... All the finishing photos were stunning.

Oh, absolutely. And so, I remember I ran that race
too. And, it wasn't until later that I got on the social and saw you with the
Run Champs there at the finish line, that video, I
loved it so much.

N.O.R.E. (19:05):
Yeah, I loved it.

If you haven't seen it, go check it out on N. O.
R.E.'s Instagram where you got your whole crew with you. And, you
say, and I'll never forget the words you said, you said, " Running makes
me happy."

N.O.R.E. (19:17):
It does.

"Running makes me happy. And so, I'm here to announce
I am running the TCS New York City Marathon."

N.O.R.E. (19:22):
Yeah, it really does. And, again, I learned that it's
only 1% of the world that runs. So now, I know that
I can't describe this to everybody. Now, I know this is a
losing battle. I know that. But if you're running, I
automatically identify with you.

If you know, you know, right?

N.O.R.E. (19:43):
I could look at a person and be like... And
then, I could feel like they could feel me too. Like, "
Oh, okay, you about that life." We was in Central Park just now and
12... No, no, no. Maybe 15 years ago, I used to
work out with a trainer named Mark Jenkins in Central
Park. And there used to be a guy that used
to be in Central Park. And I see him today,

(20:07):
I see him, he walks up behind me, and he
taps me on the shoulder. He was like, " Keep working."
Or something. I forget what he said, something like that.
And I be like, " Yo, I know this guy from 15 years ago."
So I just love this community. Like I said, this
morning, I know this is recent, but this morning, just
seeing other runners in Central Park and seeing crews, because

(20:31):
at first, I'm going to be totally honest. At first, I thought
running with a crew was corny. I was like, " Why
do they need help?" And then, I ran, Los, he's
going to get my son, but I ran it. And so, was
asking me for years, " Come to my running club. Come
to my running club." And they have something called Medal Monday.

(20:53):
And I didn't want to go to Medal Monday because
I didn't have a medal. So I'm like, " No." So then, I
went there one time, and I promise you, it was
every race, color, creed, it didn't matter if you was
a billionaire, it didn't matter if you were broke, we
were all on the same level of euphoria. This is

(21:18):
something I was fighting. And then, I sat there and
I was like, because I need a different level of life, I look
at DJ Khaled, he's playing golf. And I'm like, " I
need a hobby." And I'm like, " I already got one.
This is it." So I ran with this one club.
And, me and Mitch, we probably shouldn't say this, but
there was this white girl and she was leading the

(21:40):
pack. We called it her the Tasmanian devil. We probably shouldn't have said.

She Australian?

N.O.R.E. (21:45):
I don't even know. But, she was so much of
a leader. And, you could tell, this is a person, we probably wouldn't
have anything else in common.

Mm- hmm.

N.O.R.E. (21:55):
But, I'm looking and I'm looking to follow her. I've
never met this woman. I'm like, " Where's she at? Hi,
cool." And, that's when I really caught the runners- high. I was like, " Wow."
And then, run clubs. And, I used to be like, "
Yo, run clubs, whatever." And now, I'm the biggest run
club member. I want to go to all the beer

(22:17):
nights. I want to go to every night... Everything a run
club is doing, I participate. I just don't want to
never take away. Because, some people can't get over the fact, "
Oh, this is N.O.R.E. running with me. And, I'm going to
ask questions and ask... But, back to that New York
City Marathon footage, I look up to Nas. Nas is

(22:38):
my friend. It's the only time he's ever sent me
footage. And he sent that footage.

No.

N.O.R.E. (22:44):
Yes, he sent me that footage. I always sent it
to him. And he either co- signs or not. That's our
relationship. You know what I mean? But, that's the first time. That's why I know that footage
was so remarkable.

It was.

N.O.R.E. (22:57):
But, I lived in it in real- time, so I
actually didn't see it until I saw it.

Wow.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

N.O.R.E. (23:02):
Because I'm going to be honest, they gave my wife the medal. And
I was so much in the zone, I jogged past
my wife. I couldn't stop. And, I mean, that whole
day, I left the Queens, I went and it was just
a high that I can't describe. You guys know it, but

(23:25):
I can't describe. And, by the way, I gave up
trying to explain to people who don't want the explanation.

But you know what? You talking about it, right? You're bringing people in. There's no doubt, because think about how many people must have seen your announcement, your
video, all this stuff you're doing with Run Champs, people
who are like, " What? Running?" Or people who are like you,
maybe they run but they think running with other people's
corny or whatever. Now, they're seeing you do it and they're like, "
Oh, this actually is cool. I'm going to give this
a try." Right? So you are actually bringing a huge amount of people

(24:00):
into the sport. What does that mean to you?

N.O.R.E. (24:02):
Something that I regret, I know I'm answering your question, but one thing
that I regret was a friend of mine was Big
Pun, right? And Big Pun passed away. And he passed
away from health reasons. Something that we could have helped.
That's one of my things was, I want to help,
you know what I'm saying? Because, to tell you the truth,

(24:23):
and I know this is going to sound crazy, but running is fun.

Hell yeah.

N.O.R.E. (24:30):
After you get over the pain, after you get over...
It's actually something.

Just shock in your voice. It's still there.

N.O.R.E. (24:35):
Because I know how crazy I sound. If you're not a runner,
but if you're a N. O. R. E. fan, you're probably
watching this interview like, " What?" You see the happiness in
my face and you see it's truly saving my life
too. You know what I'm saying? I live life as if, " You
know what? Maybe I'm not going out to that club

(24:57):
tonight. I'm going to wake up in the morning and I'm going to do
miles." Don't get it twisted. I'm not an angel. I
do not want to describe as angel. This is not what you're going to-

It's not every night.

N.O.R.E. (25:04):
... I'm not a pastor. I'm not a preacher. I'm not an Iman. I'm not none
of that. I'm a human. But, I do enjoy this
part of my life. This part of my life has
changed me. And then, like I said, Los wasn't here,
but I said it, the run clubs throughout the world

(25:25):
for rappers or for anybody, that means you have a
crew every single where you go.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (25:35):
Everywhere you go. There is no place on the planet
that doesn't have a run club.

Yep.

N.O.R.E. (25:40):
I promise.

Yep.

N.O.R.E. (25:42):
I've tested it out.

Yeah. Yep.

N.O.R.E. (25:44):
I mean, maybe I didn't get with every run club,
but I've searched it. Every town that we went, " Is
there a run club?"

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (25:49):
And, not only that, here's the crazy thing about it, they're
willing to run. They're like, " Yes. Oh, I'll be there-"

"5

N.O.R.E. (25:57):
... And that's why I love this community. I love
everything I did in the past, but this is truly
a community that I feel comfortable in. It's truly a
community that understands me, and I understand them back. And,
again, that's the most beautiful part about running, is it

(26:18):
doesn't matter who you are, you can have all the
money in the world or you could be the brokest person on earth, and when y'all
start that finish line, y'all on the same level. Same level. So
I thank you run club.

Yay. All right. You're a family guy.

N.O.R.E. (26:37):
Yes.

You've got a big beautiful family, immediate family. Obviously, you have your
extended family with Carlos, and Mitch, and the team here.
But, when you're talking to the kids, the adults out
there who know you as N.O.R.E. the rapper who may be
struggling with mental health, do you feel like that by

(27:02):
telling them, if you travel the world as a rap
artist, yes, you get the cars, the money, the whatevers.
But if you travel the world as a runner, you've
always got somebody there. Do you feel like that is
helping your mental health and those kids and adults out

(27:23):
there by spreading that word of you can show up...
You can be, as you said, the richest person in the world, but you
can be the loneliest person in the world with all
that money. But you go to Seoul on the other
side of the planet. And, you could hop on Instagram and
just be like, " Yo, anyone I know here want to
go for a run?" Hundreds of people.

N.O.R.E. (27:41):
Yep. It's a power that I'm going to abuse.

It helps up here, doesn't it? But we can all
do it. Whether you're N.O.R.E., whether you're Becs. Whether you're a
singular person out there who doesn't know anybody, it helps
with mental health, and awareness, and welcoming, and belonging, right?

N.O.R.E. (28:00):
Yes. To me, that's the clearest you could ever think is
after a run doing it just clears your mind. I
recommend it for everybody. You know what I mean? Even
bigger people or whatever. It's a certain thing that you
get from testing... And this is no weights. And the thing

(28:23):
about running is what I love so much. I mean, I
know you could grab a weight and be like this, "
Ugh." And you can see muscles and all that. So you
get gas. Running is all mental. Running is like, " Yo, I
finished this and I got better." And, for mental health
reasons, I recommend it for everybody. I recommend challenging yourself.

(28:46):
I recommend exercising, period. You know what I mean?

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (28:51):
But, running is mine. You know what I mean? Running
is something that I absolutely fell in love with and
it fell in love with me back. You know what
I'm saying? So it's not a one- way street. But,
running is really, really, really, really crazy, because I can
run for three months. If I take off, I got

(29:12):
to start all over. Oh my God.

Yeah, that reset.

N.O.R.E. (29:16):
So you don't want to take off.

Get that fitness back. Yep, yep.

N.O.R.E. (29:16):
But, like you said, I recommend it for people... And a lot of people
just think they'll go on my gram and see seven
miles or see nine miles. You don't got to do that.
Go do one mile. You know what I mean? Go something.
But, for me, personally, I know this made my brain

(29:37):
sharper. I know this made body aware. I noticed it
was just like... And crossing that finish line, for a
person... I've been platinum, I've traveled the world. And, do you see how
happy I was in that?

Yeah. The happiness.

N.O.R.E. (29:55):
And it's like, you can't fake that. You know what I mean?
And the thing was, I had said that I was doing
the marathon, but this was the official announcement. This was the official announcement.
In Queens, five minutes from where I grew up. And,
it was just so dope, because everyone came up to

(30:17):
me and they get to meet running N.O.R.E., right?

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (30:21):
There's rapper N. O. R. E., there's podcast N. O. R.
E., there's whatever. But running N. O. R. E. is
a more personable, you get to actually know the person.
It's not Victor, it's not Poppy, but it's still N. O.
R.E. But he's a different dude. My conversations is different.
We're sitting there saying, " Well, what are we doing at six
o'clock in the morning tomorrow? What are we going to eat?

(30:42):
Are we carving up? Are we not? You know what I mean?" It's
a different person. And, I think it's a better version.
I think it's the better version of me. But, running
these races has really... I'm just telling you guys, if
you have never done it, my DJ done it. And
then, my DJ, he's joining races without me. He doesn't

(31:03):
even call me. I'm like, " Yo, what the hell? How
am I going to get you on? And you..." Yeah.

"You didn't even give me a heads-up?"

N.O.R.E. (31:13):
He ran in Queens again in Flushing Meadow. And he didn't
even tell me. I had to look on his Instagram. I was like, " This is not cool.
You're not allowed to join without me."

You got it. You got it.

N.O.R.E. (31:23):
So if you've never done this, go out there, run a 3K.
What is it? 3K. Oh, 5K. Run a 5K. And, get that medal
at the end.

Mm- hmm.

N.O.R.E. (31:35):
I guarantee you. It doesn't matter what pace you is,
because we have real fast runners. My son, Nakai is
running the marathon with me.

Nice.

N.O.R.E. (31:47):
That's my other son right there and my grandson.

First one? First one?

N.O.R.E. (31:50):
My son's ran with me. He's my first. But my sons,
Noah and Nakai ran with me all of the races that I've joined.

Okay, okay.

N.O.R.E. (31:58):
Nakai's the only one that's joined in the marathon.

Okay, okay.

N.O.R.E. (32:00):
But we got fast runners that's with us. And we
got a slow runner that's with us. So we say, it's
not to compete, you just got to complete.

Oh, I love it.

N.O.R.E. (32:11):
You know what I'm saying? We're not here to compete,
we're here to complete. That's a no-no.

Trademark that. That is so good.

That's good. Can we use that? I love that.

Quote it. Bye.

N.O.R.E. (32:23):
It's the truth. We have 18 of us, like you
said. You wasn't exaggerated. It was 18 of us.

Yeah, it was a big group.

N.O.R.E. (32:30):
And, I seen this one guy, he was like, " Does N. O. R.
E. crew even want to run? Or is it just him?" And
I was offended by that, because nobody wants to force run.

No.

N.O.R.E. (32:41):
You can't force nobody to run.

Yeah, you can't force running.

N.O.R.E. (32:45):
You can't force nobody to run.

It's impossible.

N.O.R.E. (32:46):
So I heard that comment and I didn't like it,
because again, 18 of us. Some of us are strong.
Some of us, I don't want to say weak, but
some of us are less strong.

They're working on it.

N.O.R.E. (33:00):
Yeah, less strong. But, all of us complete it. Every
last one of us, we complete it. And, I'm building
something that is going last for a long time. I
don't think hip hop has ever had this. I don't
think hip hop has ever had a person saying, " Yo,
listen guys, I'm getting up in the morning. I'm doing

(33:20):
this." And, it's a balance. I still do Drink Champs.
I'm still there. I'm both. But, in the morning I'm N- O- R- E.

Wait, I got questions about Drink Champs and running the marathon.

N.O.R.E. (33:35):
Let's go, let's go, let's go.

How are these things going to coexist? Is this a plan? You're going to-

He's going to be doing shots of-

... No, those who haven't watched Drink Champs, they're not
drinking Gatorade on Drink Champs. They're drinking something a little
stronger than Gatorade. Is the plan, you'll keep going with
the Drink Champs or dial it back.

N.O.R.E. (33:53):
No, no, no. I'm still doing Drink Champs. We do it
every week, we drop... I switched up the alcohol. I
only drink sake. And people would say sake. Well, sake is-

It's clean.

N.O.R.E. (34:06):
... It's clean.

Yes.

N.O.R.E. (34:07):
It's clean. And it's an opera, and it doesn't give me
a hangover. So that's my little trick until November.

... Wow.

That's a good trick.

N.O.R.E. (34:15):
Until November.

I love sake, by the way.

N.O.R.E. (34:18):
Yes, I love sake.

I ran the Tokyo Marathon this past March.

N.O.R.E. (34:21):
Get out of here.

Yeah. And one of the best parts of that whole
trip was the sake.

Yes. Agreed.

It's amazing. Absolutely.

N.O.R.E. (34:28):
So what we do is, we say, my boy, Mitch, he
says, our slogan is, " No matter what, run first." So
no matter what we do, and we have to hold
each other accountable, that's the good thing about having a crew
and having a crew that's on the same level as
you. You know what I'm saying? It's like, " Yo, you didn't

(34:49):
run yesterday."

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (34:52):
And I want you to be a snob about it. IF
you think you're being annoying, you're doing good.

But that's accountability, right? That's accountability.

N.O.R.E. (35:00):
Because I personally told him, I was like, " Yo, listen,
I can't take two days off. I got a day.
Day and a half maybe. Two is my limit. But,
three, no, no, no, no." I can't do it, because I have to reset so much. When I ran the

(35:23):
Maui, what was it? The Maui... No, no, no, excuse me. Not
the Maui. This was the Miami. For Miami, half- marathon.

Half- marathon.

N.O.R.E. (35:32):
I did a half- marathon. And I trained for nine miles. And
boy, was that a mistake.

Those last four-

N.O.R.E. (35:41):
Because as soon as I hit that ninth mile, my body was like, "
This is what you did."

... Yeah, "We're done."

N.O.R.E. (35:45):
I should have trained for 14. Everybody says never go
above. But, I'm my own doctor. I know my own
body. I should have been above. My body was telling me, "
You could go more." But, for two months, I did
nine miles. So when I hit that ninth mile. And
then, at that, no one told me that it was hills. So
I hit the ninth mile on a hill, and I'm like this, "

(36:08):
I want to give up." And I got three maniacs running with me,
looking at me like, " Let's go."

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (36:12):
And I start walking for a little bit. So you
learn. You learn. But, this is my thing.

I love that, in your mind though, you've got the, " You will
complete though, no matter what."

N.O.R.E. (36:26):
Yeah.

Okay, let's talk about your support network. I've heard your
wife is incredibly, incredibly, A, entrepreneurial, because she runs Juicy
Juice Bar.

N.O.R.E. (36:36):
Two juice bars.

Two juice bars. Okay. In Florida. Is she going to
be like, " Hello, darling, here's your green juice today for
your nutrition"?

N.O.R.E. (36:45):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Always. She's not going to run though.

That's fine. That's fine.

N.O.R.E. (36:50):
But she'll be there. She's been at every race supporting.
I'm glad for that. Because the thing is, one thing
about this is family- orientated.

Great.

N.O.R.E. (37:05):
If you're down with us, you have to bring your
wife around. You know what I'm saying? We're a family-
orientated group, because this is a family- orientated thing. You
know what I'm saying? And, like I said, for the wellness retreat, we're inviting everybody, and their
spouses, and their children. We're going to have a chef.
We're going to cook. And, I think that's important. I

(37:29):
think that everyone has to have their support group with
them, not just me. You know what I'm saying? Because this
is a family thing, but this is hard. Because I keep
saying I'm happy, and I'm sore too. Don't get it
twisted. I know that I'm putting my body through the

(37:52):
illest condition. I've only ran 14 miles. I don't want
to ever describe that, that's about the longest I've ever
done is 14 miles. So the month of August is
going to be a whole... Because that's my long... That's
when I start really. So I'm going to do 20s
and all this. My friend, JB Smooth... JB Active, excuse
me. He does 33 miles just on a Saturday.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (38:16):
What he did? 35?

Ultra. Does Ultra.

My kind of guy.

N.O.R.E. (38:18):
Yeah. And then, he comes right outside after that. He's not sore.

Does it scare you?

N.O.R.E. (38:29):
Yeah. Yeah. I'm scared to death.

But in an enticing way like, " I'm going to do it."

N.O.R.E. (38:36):
Yeah, it scares me in a good way, but I'm scared. Let's
be clear. I was going to say... Didn't I say that, Los? I said, " I'm going to announce it right
here." Because I don't want to describe it as it is not
scary. This is some hard thing to do. If you're a
runner, that first 12 seconds, your knees, your heels buck
up, your knees say, " Yo, you ain't got it." Your

(38:58):
heart... That first 12 seconds of just running, you got to beat yourself.

Oh, yeah.

N.O.R.E. (39:05):
And then, once you start getting into it, you start feeling it.
But, I don't think I've ever had an easy run.

What's the longest you've run to date?

N.O.R.E. (39:13):
14 miles.

14.

Okay. That's it. That's your longest run so far. All
right. So you just got another 12 to go. You got that. You got that.

But when you put it like that, only another 12, that's
less than what you've already run.

N.O.R.E. (39:24):
That's right.

So you know you can already do that. So when
you break it down, I always tell people, if you
break your runs down into bite- sized chunks, you can
eat it all up. You really can.

N.O.R.E. (39:36):
And you know what I love too, is not only
my friends being beside me, but when I see somebody
else and I see them, they have the same face
on as me. And you could tell they're struggling, but
you could tell they don't want to give up. It's
just like, anybody who's ever ran a half- marathon, a
marathon, I know I could go to war with. I know this. I know they're

(39:59):
not going to fold on me. I will go with
you through the... I could just meet you. And if I know
you ran a marathon, I'm like, " Let's go, let's go, let's go."

"You're on team."

N.O.R.E. (40:10):
"I know you won't leave me."

N. O. R. E., whose idea was it for you
to run the New York City Marathon? Was it your idea? Where
did this come from?

N.O.R.E. (40:17):
I got these maniacs, Los and Mitch. Because I was going to do it next
year. I was going to do it next year in 2026, right?

Okay. Yep.

N.O.R.E. (40:26):
But I felt like that was me slacking and pushing
it off a little.

You're procrastinating. "I'll get to it. I'll get to it."

N.O.R.E. (40:32):
And then, when they gave it to me, they was like, " Yo,
I mean, boom, boom, boom, boom." And I was like, " Oh, okay." I said, "
This year?" And they were like, " Yeah." And I was like, " Damn, I got
no excuse." I was like-

" It's on a plate. Here you go."

N.O.R.E. (40:46):
... I tried to think of one. And I was just sitting there, I remember I was just
shaking my head, and I was like, " Oh shit. I have nothing
to say no to about." And I was going to say next year. And
I was like, " Next year? You could do it all this year."

Yeah, get it done.

N.O.R.E. (41:01):
But again, I want to let y'all know, this is
very scary. And then, when we signed up, we did
an interview, and it was like, " Yo, would you like to run
the Queens?" And I was like, " This is so beautiful."
I know it's me. So I'm going to sound a
little crazy. But this is a fairy tale. This is

(41:25):
exactly how it's supposed to be if this is where
my life is going.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (41:30):
And, that was one of the best days of my life.

Your life's like a fairy tale, man. So it fit
in. And, I actually want to talk about the rap
side of things with you a little bit. And, coming
up, what was it like for you getting to that
point where you reconnected with Noreaga. And you and Noreaga-

N.O.R.E. (41:49):
I'm Noreaga. Capone who you talking about.

... Sorry, Capone. Sorry about that. You guys knew each other from a
young age. You and Capone, right? And how did that
all come together, where you and Capone were like, "All right, let's do
this rap thing." And then, not only did you do it,
which ended up doing it in a big way.

N.O.R.E. (42:06):
Well, Capone came to the Queens run too. He came to
support. But, I mean, me and Capone, we got together and
we made a classic album, the War Report, which I
recently just now could listen to. I couldn't listen to
it at all, at all, because every time I listened

(42:27):
to it, it reminded me of the pain that I
was going through at that time.

What time was that about?

N.O.R.E. (42:31):
When we recorded the War Report.

In the '90s, right?

N.O.R.E. (42:33):
Yeah, '97.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (42:36):
So I would hear it and I would hear the pain
in my voice. I would hear that young version of N. O.
R.E. So I couldn't hear the album. Now, I could separate
the music from the actual pain, but in the '90s it was
really, really, really hard to get on the rap scene.
But, not unfortunately, we fortunately made an album that went

(43:03):
on and sold gold.

These are the days you had Notorious B. I. G,
you had Tupac. This was the-

N.O.R.E. (43:10):
I'll tell you a funny story. Biggie wanted to sign
Capone before we came out. So if Biggie would've signed
Capone, there might've not been a Noreaga.

... Wow.

N.O.R.E. (43:20):
I couldn't say nothing. Biggie looked at Capone, Capone rhymed
for him. And Big was like, " I'm going to sign
you." And I was shy. I didn't rhyme. So just
think about how life would've went. You know what I mean? But yeah, so
we're still friends to this day. He's my friend. And like I said,
he came out for the Queen's. I would've left. Once it started

(43:43):
raining, I would've be like, " Bro, peace."

He hung out waiting for you.

N.O.R.E. (43:45):
He's still there in the rain. I'm like, "Damn, man."

That's amazing.

N.O.R.E. (43:48):
Yeah.

And then, from there, you go solo, right? And so,
what was it like for you to then go out on your own? And you
also changed genres a little bit, right? You went from
hip hop to some reggaeton, right? So I would listen to your stuff
since you announced. And it's cool, it's amazing, but it's
a lot of different vibes.

N.O.R.E. (44:06):
Right. Reggaeton was also a great time of my life.
But you asked about the solo. So what happened was,
I always want to do something innovative, I want to
do something that's different. The War Report comes out with
Capone. And, I meet these two kids from Virginia. And

(44:31):
one kid said to me, " If you listen to me, you're going to
go number one." And I was just like, " I believe
you." And this kid happened to be Pharrell Williams.

Wow.

N.O.R.E. (44:41):
You know what I'm saying? And he told me if
I listened to him, he was cocky back then, he
acts like he's not cocky now. He still is. So he
told me that. And he was right. He was correct.
And now, he's head of Louis Vuitton. I haven't got

(45:01):
a free Louis Vuitton nothing. But, you know what? I was going to
save my favor to ask Louis Vuitton to dress me
for the marathon, which they probably won't.

Well, the after party with the medal-

N.O.R.E. (45:13):
Okay. Oh yeah. Yeah.

... There you go.

N.O.R.E. (45:15):
We got to have Medal Monday. Medal Monday-

And you need to have the Louis Vuitton bag with all your running kit in it.

N.O.R.E. (45:21):
... With the running kit in there. Look at that. I didn't even
mean now at this point. But, yeah, so we did
that. And then, I don't know if that was the
question with Reggaeton.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (45:33):
And, I just fell in love with the genre of music. Me,
I'm not afraid. So I take risks. But I'm well
aware that the first person that does it always looks
a little stupid, right? Always looks a little... When I
introduced everybody to Pharrell, everyone was like, well, Neptune, everybody

(45:53):
was like, " Oh, whatever. These guys got tight shirts on."
And you know what I mean? " They got chokers." And then,
two years later, Pharrell's the hottest producer in the world.

Mm- hmm.

N.O.R.E. (46:04):
I did the same thing with Swiss B, Same thing
with Scott Storch. Then Reggaeton, everyone laughed at me when
I did Reggaeton. They was like, " Oh, now you want
to be fully Puerto Rican." I've always been Puerto Rican

That's my heritage. Thank you.

N.O.R.E. (46:19):
Now, you can't turn on the radio without Reggaeton. And I'm
not saying I invented Reggaeton. I did not. I just
brought it to the Americans. But everyone laughed. And then, when I started this " little
show" called Drink Champ podcast, the rap game also said, "
Oh, he must be going through something." And then now,

(46:41):
you can't even open your phone. You notice a podcast
app on your phone? You can't even delete that.

Nope. It's there.

N.O.R.E. (46:48):
I did podcasts before that was on your phone. It's
true. And now, it's on your phone. And you don't
think that I want to claim that?

Mm- hmm.

N.O.R.E. (46:58):
You don't think that I want to say I got something to do with
that? You don't think Steve's Jobs, little man said, " Hey,
I watched Drink Champs. Let me make everybody else watch
Drink Champs and put a podcast app on your phone." But
I looked at it... And now, I get a phone call every week, "

(47:18):
Yo, I want to start a podcast. I want to
start a podcast." " You're 10 years too late, but it's okay. I might
still sign it."

Give it a go.

N.O.R.E. (47:24):
Yeah, I might still sign it. And, I'm proud to announce that we did start
our own, it's called Healthy High. It's Run Champs. Our
first episode will be out next week with Angela Simmons. We're
doing it... And, again, I know this is going to sound a
little crazy, but we're just promoting it to the runners. I'm going to

(47:47):
give it to everybody, but it's a phrase I say, "
I'm going to put the balloons in the air and I'm going to let you pop
whichever one you want to pop." You know what I'm saying?

All right. So you're joining the running podcast game.

N.O.R.E. (47:59):
Yes, yes.

I love it. Welcome.

N.O.R.E. (48:00):
This is my first running show I've ever done.

Now, you're sitting right here on Set the Pace.

N.O.R.E. (48:08):
Yes, yes, yes.

I love it.

That is so exciting.

N.O.R.E. (48:08):
Yes. And, again, I know I might sound redundant, but I
owe the running world this. You know what I mean? I owe
back because of what it gave to me.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (48:21):
You know what I'm saying? And I sincerely believe that.
I sincerely believe every runner owes the running world. It's
dedication, it's loyalty, and it's sacrifice. You what I'm saying?

Yeah.

All right, so on your podcast, you have a little thing you do called-

N.O.R.E. (48:35):
Quick Thomas line.

... This or that?

N.O.R.E. (48:37):
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Quick Thomas Line.

You guys do this or that, right? So we're going to do... We
got a guy at Roadrunners, by the way. I got
to call him out. Stephen Rosenbaum, who's a huge fan
of yours, he's a director in our email market.

N.O.R.E. (48:47):
All right, let's go. I'm ready.

He came up with some this or that.

N.O.R.E. (48:49):
Okay, let's go.

So here we go. You ready?

N.O.R.E. (48:51):
Yeah, let's go.

All right. We're going to start with some Queens- related.
This or that? LaGuardia or JFK?

N.O.R.E. (48:55):
Neither.

Neither? You got another airport you like to go out of?

N.O.R.E. (48:59):
Newark.

Newark? Oh.

N.O.R.E. (49:00):
Even though, Newark, y'all putting me do something. Newark, what y'all doing right
now to me? I've been way too loyal. Y'all got
to get your stuff together.

Yes, they do.

N.O.R.E. (49:10):
I was in the airport for five hours yesterday. Yo, Newark, you got to get
it together. But, I'm still picking Newark over... And I'm
five minutes from LaGuardia.

I was going to say.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (49:21):
LaGuardia and JFK, what they did to me as a
child, I have never got over.

But LaGuardia is so nice now.

N.O.R.E. (49:27):
Everyone tells me that. Everyone tells me that.

Oh, it's so, so slick.

N.O.R.E. (49:31):
I don't think I was flying first class when I
was riding out LaGuardia and Kennedy.

Maybe not.

N.O.R.E. (49:37):
So I think those memories just-

They're still there. They're still there. It was rough back
in the day at LaGuardia.

N.O.R.E. (49:42):
... I would literally miss a flight if they fly
me into LaGuardia, I'd be like, " No, I'm not going."

All right. That was a twist. That was a surprise
answer. I did not expect Newark to come out of
the Queen's. All right, here we go. Shea Stadium or
Citi Field?

N.O.R.E. (49:58):
Damn, you got me on that one.

I'm a big Mets fan.

N.O.R.E. (50:02):
I'm going to say Shea Stadium.

Mm- hmm. Love it. Love it.

N.O.R.E. (50:05):
Because it's old school. Citi Field is very technology. It
is very up- to- date. They have iPads everywhere, as
opposed to Shea Stadium, where I had to come with
cash. You know what I mean?

Oh nice, Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (50:19):
Yeah. Now, you can do Apple Pay. But, Shea Stadium, for
my childhood memories, I have to go to Shea Stadium.

Yeah, I'm with you on that. Listen, until the Mets win a World series
at Citi Field, I'm going with Shea Stadium. Although the
food at Citi Field is not even close. It is
so much better.

N.O.R.E. (50:35):
But they just got Carbone in Citi Field. So Carbone
is going there.

Even better.

N.O.R.E. (50:39):
And, Sonny Anderson is opening up something in the Citi Field.
And Nas has something in Citi Field.

Oh, the food's incredible at Citi Field.

N.O.R.E. (50:46):
Yeah.

All right, we're going to do a little music.

N.O.R.E. (50:48):
Let's go. Go for it.

Yeah. All right. Music. NAS or Cool G- Rap?

N.O.R.E. (50:53):
Nas.

Yes.

N.O.R.E. (50:55):
Nas over everybody.

It's all about Nas.

Same.

It's all about Nas.

Mali Mar or Large Professor?

N.O.R.E. (51:00):
Large Professor.

All right. Running. Okay. Can I stick with this one?

Yeah, go for it.

All right. I think I know the answer to this one already.

N.O.R.E. (51:09):
I'm a little nervous now.

Solo run or group run with the Run Champs crew?

N.O.R.E. (51:15):
Group run with the Run Champs.

Obviously.

But that changed for you. You were a solo guy and then it changed. And that's true for
a lot of people in the world of running. People
run alone and it's great running alone. And then, they
get that first taste of running with other people and they're like, "
Wait a second, this is a different thing."

N.O.R.E. (51:30):
Yeah, especially if they're on your level.

Yeah.

Yeah. Okay. Early morning or evening run?

N.O.R.E. (51:36):
Early morning.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (51:38):
Hands down, no equivocation.

Hey, I got one for you. I say this all the
time, maybe you can use this. " Win the morning, win
the day."

N.O.R.E. (51:44):
Oh, wow.

That's what I say.

N.O.R.E. (51:45):
Fire. Fire.

Right? Right? You get that morning run in, it's never a bad day.

Never a bad day.

You never regret that morning run, right?

N.O.R.E. (51:53):
Correct.

Okay. Music or no music when you run?

N.O.R.E. (51:59):
Damn, that's a different question. If I'm running with the crew,
sometimes our conversation is the music.

Yes.

N.O.R.E. (52:06):
But if I'm running solo, I have to have music.

You have to?

N.O.R.E. (52:09):
But, let me also say this. And I know this
is going to sound crazy, sometimes we run and we just listen
to our feet.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (52:24):
It's a beat to us.

It's a beautiful rhythm.

N.O.R.E. (52:26):
So one time we were running, and we was listening
to it, and I pulled out my keys, and I
literally made a beat. I was like, "Shh, shh, shh." And I was like, "
Yo, no one would ever get this." And, only other runners.

N. O. R.E., let me tell you, you're going to
love the Queensboro Bridge.

I was just about to say.

Because when you cross the 59th Street bridge, during the marathon, you're going to remember this conversation.

You are.

Because if you like the sound of just feet hitting
the ground, when you're on that bridge, it is unbelievable.

N.O.R.E. (53:02):
That's where there's no people cheering, right?

No people cheering.

It feels like you're going to war. You feel like
you are suddenly with your comrades and you are going
to come down that bridge. All you hear is feet.
And then, you hear-

N.O.R.E. (53:12):
See their faces. I can relate to y'all faces so much. You're not even looking at each other and making the same damn face.

You're going to remember we talked about this. And I want you
to remember this one thing. N. O. R. E., you're
going to come off the 59th Street Bridge, you're going to come down
onto 1st Avenue, and it's going to be like you
just went to the plate at Yankee Stadium.

N.O.R.E. (53:32):
Wow.

Crowds are going to be huge. The music, the roar,
you're going to get caught up in that. You got
to hold back-

... Because it's a hill.

N.O.R.E. (53:41):
You got four more miles, right?

... No, no, no, no, no. It's still over 10 miles. You're
going up 1st Avenue, you're still at mile 14, 15.

Five miles uphill.

So you're going to be going up 1st Avenue. You
got to hold back, because then, if you don't, you're going
to die in the Bronx. You're going to die in Harlem. You got
a long way to go. So chill out on 1st
Avenue. That's my number one-

You will, because it gets really wide and quite daunting.

N.O.R.E. (54:02):
Because Kevin Hart told me... He found out I was doing
it and he texted me. And then, I go, "Yeah." And he goes, "
Yeah, because mile 22 is going to get you." And I'm like, " Damn,
why are you so mean? Wow." But, everyone tells me. So
you know what's crazy? I'm looking forward to it.

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (54:22):
I'm looking forward to putting myself through super pain. I'm
looking forward to training and I'm looking forward to being
around other maniacs. That's what I call runners. I think,
everybody who runs is a maniac.

55,000 of them.

N.O.R.E. (54:34):
It's 55, 000 this year, right? Or is that every year?

... Last year was 55. This year we'll see, maybe a
little bit more.

N.O.R.E. (54:40):
Okay. Wow.

Absolutely.

And that's just the runners. Then you've got all of the
other maniacs who are out there all day cheering for you.

That's millions. That's millions.

N.O.R.E. (54:46):
You know what I've noticed about the Queens run? Even the
people giving out the waters was happy.

Oh, yeah.

N.O.R.E. (54:52):
I would look like, I was like, " Yo, you in the rain handing out water. What
a smile?"

And that's why we thank them, because the races wouldn't
be there without the volunteers.

N.O.R.E. (55:04):
The people who give out the waters, are they marathon
runners as well?

A lot of them?

They're volunteers and a lot of them are volunteering because
that gets them into the marathon. Exactly. They're doing the 9+ 1
program, so that's their + 1 that gets them into the
marathon. So they are happy.

They still have all day in the rain sometimes.

N.O.R.E. (55:19):
Can you please explain the 9+1?

Yeah. 9+ 1 is basically if you run 9 of our
races in the course of a year and volunteer at 1-

N.O.R.E. (55:28):
Marathons?

... Not marathons. The Queen's 10K, races like that.

N.O.R.E. (55:31):
Okay.

4 mile races, 5K races. You run 9 of those
plus volunteer at 1 in a calendar year, and you
get guaranteed entry into the next year's marathon.

Isn't that cool?

So over 10, 000 people a year get into the marathon
doing that 9+ 1.

N.O.R.E. (55:46):
Because, I noticed that in Miami, and I thought it
was just people in Miami that was handing out waters
and being happy. So I was like, " New York, we
have the worst attitude in the world. I want these
guys happy."

That's why.

N.O.R.E. (56:00):
And I'm looking and I'm like, I wanted to do something like pour a cup
out or something to see if they had... And everybody's like, "
You got this." And, I said to myself, " They got to
be runners too."

Yeah, they're runners. They were late. They were late and they're thrilled to be there. Okay,
we should do a couple more. We'll do a couple
more this or thats. How about energy gels or energy
chews while you're out there running?

N.O.R.E. (56:23):
I'm a Block guy. What are they called?

The Box.

You like to chew it.

N.O.R.E. (56:28):
I'm a block guy.

Okay.

I'm the same way. Because I feel like chewing, it makes
me feel like I'm really getting some nutrition. The gels,
I feel like they just slide right through. I don't
feel like I get sometimes as much as chewing.

N.O.R.E. (56:39):
I'm going to be honest with you, every time I
have a gel, I lose it. I pull it out.
And there's somebody always picking it up and trying to
give it back to me like, "Hey, you dropped this bro." I'm like, " Hey man, I think I dropped
it on purpose."

Yeah. " Don't want it."

N.O.R.E. (56:50):
The blocks, I can put it right in there. Take
it out. So I'm a block IV guy.

A little snack?

N.O.R.E. (56:56):
Yep.

Okay. Beer or protein shake after your long run?

N.O.R.E. (57:00):
Oh, that's beer, for sure. Yeah.

Totally fine. Totally fine. Chasing a time goal or just
aiming to finish?

N.O.R.E. (57:08):
Aiming to finish.

Yeah, yeah.

Beautiful.

N.O.R.E. (57:10):
And let me just tell you about that beer thing.
To me, when a runner drinks a beer, it's the
ultimate flex. Because basically, I just threw out my workout. I don't even care about... So again,
I used to think running clubs was crazy until I
started to notice that they would run and they would run to a bar,

(57:30):
and then to a bar. And then, they were celebrating.
And I would look and I would be on a diet at
the time. And I'd be like, " Why are they drinking beer?"

Yeah.

N.O.R.E. (57:38):
"This is the worst thing you could actually drink." And then, I did
it once. And I was like, "This is cool."

" This is great."

N.O.R.E. (57:44):
I did it in Puerto Rico. I remember we ran
for a beer, we joined a race, it was called
Run for a Beer. And I thought they weren't being
literal, they were being little.

Oh, yeah. Well now, it's the early morning runs where
you meet friends and you run to a bakery and you
find the best Pastry or whatever, and coffee and you're
like, "Okay, this is great. I've just had fun and explored."

All right. Well, N.O.R.E., listen, we're so excited to watch you on this journey, from now to the starting line
of the TCS New York City Marathon. We can all
follow your training-

To the finish line.

... Well, I always say, and I say this to you right now,
the hardest thing about running a marathon is getting to
the starting line.

That's true.

Right? You got to put in the work, you got
to train, you got to stay healthy, keep from getting
injured. When you get to that starting line, I'm going
to see you there.

N.O.R.E. (58:35):
Okay. Yes.

And I will congratulate you at the starting line.

We'll be there.

Because that's the hardest part. From there to the finish
line, that's the fun.

N.O.R.E. (58:43):
Okay.

That's the war.

Very true.

You're going to have a good time.

N.O.R.E. (58:46):
It's starting at Staten Island right?

That's where we're going to start. That's right. Make sure you're there, bright and early.

You're there only in Staten for two seconds.

N.O.R.E. (58:51):
Okay.

It's really-

N.O.R.E. (58:53):
Every now and then, we have this group chat and
my friend Mitch, he just sends us the route of it going like this.

... Yeah. Have you watched the animated version?

N.O.R.E. (59:03):
Yeah.

Yeah. And you're like, " This is really long."

N.O.R.E. (59:04):
Yeah. Yeah, I'm scared.

From here to here. But you know what? Someone once said to me seven, eight years
ago that running the New York City Marathon, this specifically,
the TCS New York City Marathon, it is a love
letter from the city to every single runner. And yeah,
I pulled that face, I was like, " Sure. What do

(59:25):
you think I'm a fool?" And on the day, I
was like, " They are so right. This is unreal." From
the runners, from the volunteers, from the people cheering, you
are in pain, of course, we're not unicorns, we're real
people, it hurts. But somehow, you're running, you're smiling, and
you're like, " The city loves me today. And I'm going

(59:48):
to take it." So enjoy it.

N.O.R.E. (59:48):
As a child, I used to go to Queensbridge. And I used to just watch
the marathon go through there, right? Never knew, years later,
and then, I used to watch my father watch the
marathon. My father used to watch the marathon. And I used to
always be like, " They always showing the Kenyan guy in the

(01:00:10):
beginning. They always showing that. And then, they cut to the regular
people, then they show the Kenyan guy again." And I
would always repeat that. And I'm like, so years later, I'm like, "
Holy shit." In my mind, I'm the Kenyan guy. But, that's just
only in my mind. But, yes, to compete with this, this is the toughest
thing of my life. And it's something I'm facing ahead on.

Rob Simmelkjaer (01:00:32):
You got this. We're going to check back in with you. Okay? We'll check back in before the
marathon, see how it's going. It's been such an honor and
a pleasure to have you here on Set the Pace.

N.O.R.E. (01:00:41):
And, anytime you need me back, I'll be here.

All right.

N.O.R.E. (01:00:45):
I'm here.

N. O. R.E. taking on the marathon.
Looking to elevate your running routine? Check out Set the
Pace, the official podcast of New York Roadrunners presented by
Peloton. Each episode features exclusive interviews with inspiring runners, pro
training tips, and the latest on big events like the
TCS New York City Marathon. Whether you're preparing for a
big race or just love running, Set the Pace is

(01:01:10):
your go- to for motivation and advice. Tune in anywhere
you listen to podcasts. It's not just superstars who discover
that running can change their body, their mind, and their
life. A few weeks ago, the great Meb Kofleski caught up
with New York Roadrunners member, Noah Perez, a young runner
who took up the sport when he was visiting a
friend that was training for the Chicago Marathon. With no

(01:01:32):
prior running experience at all, Noah dove in head first
drawn by the challenge of competition. But, the further he
went, the more running became something deeper, a way to
unplug, to focus, and to reflect.

Meb (01:01:47):
Noah, welcome to the Set the Pace podcast. How are you doing today?

Noah Perez (01:01:51):
I'm doing great. How are you?

Meb (01:01:52):
I'm good, thanks. Let's get to it. Can you tell
us what got you started running in the first place?

Yeah. So I think, I have a pretty standard journey. Or, like I said, I'd
like to feel like of most young 20- year- olds.
I was in a place where I didn't really have any direction. I
started my career but I didn't really feel fulfilled. And
pretty much just on a whim I went to go
visit my buddy in Chicago who was training for the
Chicago Marathon. And, I'm pretty competitive. I like to compete

(01:02:20):
with my friends. I don't have any running experience, but
I feel like I could also run a marathon. And
that just transpired into my whole running passion basically.

Meb (01:02:29):
Pretty awesome. Can you tell us how did your expectation
about running change as you kept going?

Yeah, for sure. So I first started, like I said,
just on a pure competitive basis just wanting to compete
with my friend. And it slowly transitioned from just going
through the motions and logging the miles, the training that
I saw online to a real passion. I really found
myself enjoying running and it wasn't until I got a
coach necessarily who prohibited the use of the headphones and

(01:02:59):
just being in the moment. I think that key fact
has really impacted my life in a profound way, just
allowing a lot of time for self- reflection, disconnecting from
social media, which I struggle with, and I'm sure a
lot of people struggle with. Your attention's always everyone else's
biggest asset. So just being able to run, disconnect, and
really reflect on what's going on in my life has really

(01:03:22):
impacted, not only myself, but those around me. And hopefully
for the better I'd hope so is what I like to think.

Meb (01:03:29):
No, I think, running takes you to be in the
moment, to be aware of your surroundings and smell the
roses almost. And, in what way has running changed your
daily life or the way you see yourself?

It has changed my daily life in many ways. I'd
say, the biggest is just the mental health aspect, as
well as the cardio. Just, as I got older, growing
up I swam competitively. But mainly, just as a sprinter.
And then, I transitioned that into just body power building.
And again, just fitting the trip of what I thought

(01:04:05):
was a healthy lifestyle. But, as I got older, I
realized just because you have functional muscles, or big muscles,
or you can sprint doesn't necessarily correlate to a healthy
living. And I just found that having a healthier heart is
actually one of the most important things to prolong life.
And not only prolong, but just functional and healthy life.

(01:04:26):
So just having that incorporation to, again, just those blanket
miles into an actual structured training, trying to work on my
VO2 max with interval work, long runs, the standard training
has really impacted my health personally. And I think that
translates to better sleep, better performance in the workplace, and
just better social interactions overall.

Meb (01:04:46):
Pretty awesome. Most people see me running. And then, they say, "
You're going to be a beautiful swimmer." But there's two
different things. Have you found some peril or some differences
in that?

I found a lot of differences. So growing up swimming...
I've only been running for two years now, so I
don't have too much of the technique. I'm always trying
to strive for better form, more efficient form. But, one
of the key things that I think has really attributed
to my love and passion for running and the ability

(01:05:17):
to really push myself to these great distance, like marathons,
is just the ability to disconnect. Because, where I'm swimming,
it's just you looking at the floor with a black
line for hours on end. So I think that really
helps me, again, just focus and just tune in on
what my body's telling me, what's going around me and
how I can really improve as a person and an athlete

(01:05:38):
as a whole.

Meb (01:05:40):
Even the pool, and you've been there for an hour
or 45 minute, and you say you've been there. But, when
you run seven miles, eight miles, it's like, " I can't believe I
went there and back." And things like that. But, have
your goals with running changed since you begun? Or what
are you aiming for now?

Yeah, so definitely when I first started it was just getting
that one marathon out the way. And, I just caught the bug,
just the community, the people in it, the reasons why different
people run. Even though I have my own story, there's
a lot of different stories that I talk to from
interactions in the community and just ever so welcoming. It's
one community that I definitely want to be a part of
for the proceeding future and just continue to improve. So

(01:06:18):
just going from just wanting to complete a race to
then wanting to do the six majors. And now, I just wanted
to be a part of the community for as long as
possible again. So just really focusing on my heart health,
make sure I don't get injured, just prolonged training, and
just really putting the time. And, when I first started, I
mentioned doing the big six. I was really just focused

(01:06:38):
on getting the times as fast as possible. And, as
I've really progressed and matured as an individual, I realized
it's not so much about the results, it's just the
time, and the sport, and the connections that you make.
And, I'll get there eventually, whether through training or just
I'll age into my time. Hopefully, I'll get the time
first before I age into it. But, just the connections

(01:07:01):
along the way just really shifted my mindset into just
enjoying the moment, enjoying almost the training process of it,
instead of just strictly results driven.

Meb (01:07:11):
It's pretty awesome. I just interviewed someone named Udai who started his marathon at
75. It's great to see somebody like you fall in
love with it to be able to do that. But,
it's amazing. And, what does being part of the run
community mean to you? And how has that unfolded your journey?

To me, it's really taken a big hold in my
life. Like I said, I was at a point in
my life where I didn't have too much direction of
what I wanted to do to feel fulfilled. For example, so I
went to college out of Miami, which is the city
I was born in, came back, and I was just going through
the motions. And, it's really helped me create a community

(01:07:51):
that I can feel a part of and welcome, and
help grow as well, and interact with people I probably
wouldn't normally interact with. Especially, I'm also doing the 9+
1 program. I just met one of my friends, I
like to consider a friend, I met him last week,
but Stefan Oon. And we just interacted over just us
both doing the 9+ 1 program, just diving into a

(01:08:14):
bunch personal life issues and how I've taken away from
running, how he's taken away, and just for that one
interaction and just one race that we did, now we're almost
lifelong friends and we're texting each other on our training,
and goals, and when we might be able to train
again. It's just a community that is really welcoming. And,

(01:08:36):
as someone so young and I feel like social media
just portrays this ideology of, " You need to have everything
figured out." It's a nice feeling just feeling welcomed for
almost like you're insecurities are like, not knowing where you
are in terms of direction.

Meb (01:08:51):
It's pretty awesome. The 9+ 1 is an (inaudible)
runners. 9 races 1 volunteers get to the race. And yeah,
the camaraderie of friendship and accountability with others, it's pretty amazing.

Exactly.

Meb (01:09:05):
So keep up the great work and I'm just delighted
that you can love the sport as early age and
keep doing what you're doing.

Awesome, thank you so much.

Meb (01:09:13):
Thanks for being on the podcast.

Thank you so much, Noah, for being a member of
New York Roadners. Now, it's time for today's Med Minutes.

Meb (01:09:22):
If you've got a friend or family member who's thinking
about running, help them get started. Don't overwhelm them with
gear or mileage. Keep it simple. 20 to 30 minutes, a few
miles or a few days a week, encourage them to
run, even if they have to walk if needed. Invite them
to local races or just for a short loop around

(01:09:43):
the neighborhood, let them know they're not alone. Community is
a big part of what we make running so much special.

All right. Becs, that does it for another episode. I've set the
pace. And what an episode it was. Thank you for
hosting us here at Peloton.

Becs Gentry (01:09:56):
You are so welcome. I am honored that we got to
do it in my second home.

It's been phenomenal. And again, welcome to all of you out
there watching us on YouTube for the first time. It's
been great to have you. What a first episode on
YouTube it was with the great N.O.R.E. We will see you
on next week's episode. We'll be right back here. Not
sure we'll be in such a fancy place. But you'll
be able to see us. So thanks for joining us.
Enjoy the miles. We'll see you next week.

Becs Gentry (01:10:21):
Take care.

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