Anthony Ramos Says Running Hurts Like Hell—Here’s Why He’s Doing His First Marathon Anyway
Since rising to fame up in 2015 after playing both John Laurens and Philip Hamilton in Hamilton (yeah, that Hamilton), Anthony Ramos has been doing the most. He’s dropped his own album (The Good & the Bad), popped up in A Star Is Born, danced through In the Heights, and most recently saved the world in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.
Now, he's tackling one of his biggest challenges yet: running the New York City Marathon. For the first time ever, he’s running all 26.2 miles—and in true Ramos fashion, he’s doing it with style (and probably a great playlist). We caught up with him, in partnership with Brooks Running, to talk training, why on earth he decided to do this, and what’s keeping him motivated when the miles get long.
Brooks Running
How Anthony Ramos Got Into Running
While Ramos played sports all throughout high school—baseball being his main jam—running long distances was never really his thing. Sure, he’s done his fair share of sprints, burpees, and mountain climbers to prep for roles, but clocking miles just for fun? Not so much. Then one day, seemingly out of nowhere, Ramos woke up and thought, “Why the hell not?” Maybe it was boredom. Maybe he just needed to shake up his routine. Either way, he's all in now.
“I wanted to do it because I just think I had never done a marathon before, and I don't remember the last time I pushed myself this hard," he said. "I've trained for movies and stuff, but I haven't had to push myself like the way I have to for this. I just had a random day this year, and I called my manager and was like, ‘Yo, I don't really know how to get into the marathon, but like can you help me do this?’”
Finding His Stride (Literally)
So, with a little extra pep in his step and that classic "why not?" energy (because let’s be real, the guy’s already hustling nonstop), he’s diving headfirst into running his first marathon. His agent hooked him up with the Brooks crew, which scored him coach Des Linden, a pro marathoner and Olympian, who’s been helping him find his stride.
Whether he’s sprinting around his neighborhood in L.A. or cruising through his old NYC stomping grounds, Ramos is learning to power through all the curveballs this hardcore training throws at him. And he's doing it all in his Glycerin Max shoes.
“It’s just like—it’s super meditative,” he said. “I forgot how much I enjoy it, you know? Except for when it hurts in the beginning…you know, everything aches and your legs feel heavy. You’re just like, oh my gosh, why am I doing this sh*t right now? But once you get past that first little initial schlep, you’re like, oh, okay. Yeah, we’re in it. We locked in.”
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