# @nyrr on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CwiVV8-reBX
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/8412357-nyrr-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/247e588a92.jpg
- **Posted:** 2023-08-29T17:13:06.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** New York Road Runners (@nyrr) — https://gondola.cc/nyrr

## Caption

“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go with your team, your community.” 💙🧡

Meet NYRR member Kevin Phipps, a #RisingNYRR program lead at MS 127X Castle Hill in the Bronx, where he has worked as a school counselor since 2022. When he was asked to start a Rising New York Road Runners program for 7th and 8th graders, Kevin was all in—it reminded him that he missed coaching track. 

“I thought about the connections I made with athletes in the past,” he said. As a counselor, Kevin also knew that bringing kids together for any group activity has huge benefits. “It’s group therapy for them.”

He tells the kids at MS 127X that the mental health benefits of running are as vital as the physical benefits. “It teaches them so much—how to face challenges and just be comfortable in the moment and with yourself,” he said. “I didn’t understand that until I became a runner.”

The students have taken part in Rising NYRR events at Central Park, Times Square, Icahn Stadium, and Coney Island. For some, it’s their first time visiting these iconic NYC locations.

“Some kids never see ‘our city.’”

MS 127X has no track, and practice times are limited, but Kevin is unfazed. “We practice where we can—hallways, fields,” he said.

Kevin is a runner himself and so are his children. In 2019 he signed up for the #TCSNYCMarathon and has been running NYRR races ever since, including the 2022 and 2023 NYRR #Queens10K with his son who is a Rising NYRR athlete. Kevin also ran the 2023 #RBCBrooklynHalf. He’s on the leadership team of his club, YonkersRunningProject, which includes youth runners. 🙌

“Knowing you have a group out there waiting for you, counting on you, that gives you accountability.”

Read more of Kevin’s story on our blog at the link in bio.✍️

#MemberMoment

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Image description: NYRR member and Rising NYRR program lead Kevin Phipps smiling after finishing the NYRR Queens 10K with his child.

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## Tags

queens10k, membermoment, rbcbrooklynhalf, risingnyrr, tcsnycmarathon

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