New Yorkers know that Marathon Sunday is one of the most joyful days of the year in the city—there is nothing quite like the New York City Marathon. But what spectators and runners alike may not know is that the man who makes it all happen is a Westporter: Rob Simmelkjaer.
Rob is the CEO of the New York Road Runners, the nonprofit behind some of New York’s iconic races, from the marathon to the 5th Avenue Mile to the Brooklyn Half. Rob joined NYRR nearly four years ago, after stints across sports media, including at ESPN and NBC Sports. “I’d never worked at a nonprofit, but I am always looking for ways to give back and make a positive impact,” Rob tells Westport Lifestyle. “Road Runners ties together a lot of what I’ve done in my career: it combines my executive experience with my desire to do something positive.”
Rob is also a lifelong runner: he remembers “always being one of the fastest” kids in elementary school Field Day races, and ran cross country in high school. He took up recreational running while at Harvard Law School, and was inspired to run his first marathon, the New York City Marathon, in his final year of law school after taking in the famed Boston course as a spectator. (He’s since completed four more, including Berlin, Tokyo, and Chicago in 2024 and 2025.)
But the New York Road Runners is so much more than just race days. “Since I’ve become CEO, one of the first things we did was focus on redefining our mission,” Rob explains. “And that’s to create healthier lives and stronger communities through the transformative power of running. Anyone who’s run knows that running can really change a person’s life.” He’s especially proud of initiatives like the NYRR’s youth outreach, including their presence in NYC public schools, where they help teachers instruct more than 100,000 kids on how to be physically active, and their 20+ kids races, including the first-ever TCS New York City Marathon Kids Kickoff in 2025, which featured 2,200 kids running in Central Park.
While Rob’s work centers on N.Y.C.’s running community, he loves to run here in Westport, too. “Westport’s a great place to train for races with hills,” he says, citing the area north of the Post Road as his usual routes. He also runs the Minute Man race every year, and frequently runs with the Jogger’s Club at Compo Beach. “Westport has a really great, vibrant running community,” he says. “Before I got to Road Runners, I mostly thought of running as something you did by yourself. But it’s a group activity. People are getting together. Running clubs are exploding—there are more than 600 running clubs that are part of the NYRR ecosystem. It’s such a great way to do [the sport] because you’re meeting new people, you’re making new friends, and you’re also being active.” The communal spirit of running—whether in a world major marathon or around a Connecticut neighborhood—is infectious. “It’s pretty spectacular to see the impact that running can make.”
To learn more about Rob and the New York Road Runners, visit nyrr.org