Atalanta NYC Runners Share Inspiring Stories in 60-Min Class
Atalanta NYC, the nonprofit professional running team founded by Mary Cain, takes center stage in a new 60-minute Peloton class with Becs Gentry. The Set the Pace class went live on demand Tuesday, September 29, at 12 a.m. ET (5 a.m. BST).
To hear Cain tell her story in her own words, listen to her Set the Pace interview with Rob Simmelkjaer. That conversation sets the stage for everything Becs and the Atalanta NYC team discuss here. The class is an audio version of an episode of NYRR Set the Pace Presented by Peloton, the official podcast of New York Road Runners. It is the second half of a two-part series. In part one, NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer talked with Cain about her memoir, This Is Not About Running. In part two, Becs meets the people who carry out the mission of Atalanta NYC every week.
What Mary Cain Built With Atalanta NYC
Becs describes the team as the opposite of the system Cain went through after she was named the fastest girl in America at 17. Atalanta NYC pays professional women runners to chase their own goals, and in return, they mentor high school athletes across New York City.
Cain is now in her second year at Stanford Medical School. She sits on the board and does not take a salary. Allyson Felix also serves on the board, which puts two of the biggest names in women’s running behind a roster of three professional athletes.
Meet the Atalanta NYC Guests
Four members of Atalanta NYC join Becs for the Set the Pace class:
• Devon Martin, Executive Director • Emily Richards, 800-meter runner • Susan Aneno, middle-distance runner representing Uganda • Leah Anderson, 400-meter runner representing Jamaica
Together, the Atalanta NYC athletes have five world championship appearances, a Jamaican national record, a Ugandan national record, and an NCAA Division III All-American finish.
Three Runners, Three Different Pressures
Emily switched from sprints to distance as a freshman at Ohio Northern and earned All-American honors that same year. When she got home from nationals, few of her teammates even mentioned it. She told her coach she wasn’t sure she could keep going without a community behind her, but she chose to put running first.
Susan grew up in Uganda, where she says sport was often seen as something for boys. Her father thought running was a waste of time, and she watched talented girls quit because they didn’t want their bodies to change. To avoid comments, she used to train before sunrise. Today she runs at 8 a.m. and invites local girls to come along. One showed up in a skirt because she wasn’t allowed to wear shorts.
Leah says only the top sprinters get real recognition in Jamaica. After one national championship heat, a cameraman crouched right in front of her to film the winner. She promised herself the cameras would be on her someday. Last year, she ran 50.7 and went on to compete at worlds in Tokyo.
How Atalanta NYC Talks About Bodies and Fueling
Devon says the team steers clear of comments like “you look so fit,” since they can suggest weight loss. There is no scale and no ideal weight. Instead, the focus is on strength, fueling well, and long careers. In Devon’s words, food should bring joy.
That approach helped Susan after a workout where she fell well off her usual pace. Blood work showed low iron, so Atalanta NYC executive director Devon walked her and Emily through ferritin, supplements, and iron-rich foods. Emily passes the same mindset on to the high school girls she coaches. She tells them their period is “a gift” and a sign that their bodies are healthy and strong.
Mentoring High School Runners in East Harlem and the Bronx
Every week, the Atalanta NYC athletes coach at the Lehman High School campus in the Bronx, which houses six schools under one roof. They also work with a newer partner, the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in East Harlem. Lehman only has a straightaway, so the team gets creative. When the weather is nice, practice moves to Pelham Bay Park at the end of the 6 train.
The results are showing. Susan remembers a borough championship where a single Lehman girl earned two medals. This year, nearly the whole team medaled and scored the most points in school history. Devon says showing up every week matters most when life gets hard. She pointed to how the team rallied around one athlete after her father died.
How Atalanta NYC Funds Its Pro Team
Devon credits grants from the New York Giants, the Lululemon Foundation, and the Women’s Sports Foundation, along with gear from On, Bras for Girls, and Aerie. The Lululemon Foundation grant is what made it possible to hire Susan. NYRR charity bibs for the New York City Marathon and the New York City Half provide steady support as well. Long term, Devon hopes to land multi-year corporate deals or build an endowment.
For the athletes, that stability changes everything. Before joining, Leah worked 12-hour shifts at Dunkin’, and Emily was coaching in Ohio on a $12,000 salary. Susan says Atalanta NYC kept her from quitting the sport. She had never had a female coach before.
How to Take the 60-Minute Set the Pace Class
Find 60 min Set the Pace: Mary Cain with Becs Gentry in the Outdoor category of the Peloton app. The Set the Pace class is audio-based, so you can press play and head out on your own route at your own pace.
The Set the Pace class opens with Becs previewing the Speedgoat 50K, a 32-mile mountain race at Snowbird with about 11,800 feet of climbing. She admits she is at peace with the idea of a possible first DNF. It’s a natural follow-up to the episode where Becs Gentry opened up about her return to trail running earlier this year. Her work off the platform, including the Becs Gentry AttnGrace partnership, reflects the same focus on women’s health in sport.
Rob puts it simply at the close of the Set the Pace class: Cain didn’t fix the sport, but she built one corner of women’s running where things work differently. With salaried pros, health insurance, no scales, and weekly mentorship, Atalanta NYC is a working model, and this class gives Peloton members a full hour inside it.
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The Clip Out is an independent Peloton news site with reporting, analysis, and community insights. We deliver breaking updates, feature reporting, and expert context on the stories driving the community and the industry. Our weekly podcast offers deeper conversation and perspective, and you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, TuneIn, and YouTube Music. You can also follow us on our socials on Facebook, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky, and YouTube. See something in the Peloton universe that you think we should know? Visit us at theclipout.com and submit a tip.
Becs Gentry sits down with three professional runners and the team's executive director in an hour-long Set the Pace class, now on demand.
Atalanta NYC, the nonprofit professional running team founded by Mary Cain, takes center stage in a new 60-minute Peloton class with Becs Gentry. The Set the Pace class went live on demand Tuesday, September 29, at 12 a.m. ET (5 a.m. BST).
To hear Cain tell her story in her own words, listen to her Set the Pace interview with Rob Simmelkjaer. That conversation sets the stage for everything Becs and the Atalanta NYC team discuss here. The class is an audio version of an episode of NYRR Set the Pace Presented by Peloton, the official podcast of New York Road Runners. It is the second half of a two-part series. In part one, NYRR CEO Rob Simmelkjaer talked with Cain about her memoir, This Is Not About Running. In part two, Becs meets the people who carry out the mission of Atalanta NYC every week.
What Mary Cain Built With Atalanta NYC
Becs describes the team as the opposite of the system Cain went through after she was named the fastest girl in America at 17. Atalanta NYC pays professional women runners to chase their own goals, and in return, they mentor high school athletes across New York City.
Cain is now in her second year at Stanford Medical School. She sits on the board and does not take a salary. Allyson Felix also serves on the board, which puts two of the biggest names in women's running behind a roster of three professional athletes.
Meet the Atalanta NYC Guests
Four members of Atalanta NYC join Becs for the Set the Pace class:
• Devon Martin, Executive Director • Emily Richards, 800-meter runner • Susan Aneno, middle-distance runner representing Uganda • Leah Anderson, 400-meter runner representing Jamaica
Together, the Atalanta NYC athletes have five world championship appearances, a Jamaican national record, a Ugandan national record, and an NCAA Division III All-American finish.
Three Runners, Three Different Pressures
Emily switched from sprints to distance as a freshman at Ohio Northern and earned All-American honors that same year. When she got home from nationals, few of her teammates even mentioned it. She told her coach she wasn't sure she could keep going without a community behind her, but she chose to put running first.
Susan grew up in Uganda, where she says sport was often seen as something for boys. Her father thought running was a waste of time, and she watched talented girls quit because they didn't want their bodies to change. To avoid comments, she used to train before sunrise. Today she runs at 8 a.m. and invites local girls to come along. One showed up in a skirt because she wasn't allowed to wear shorts.
Leah says only the top sprinters get real recognition in Jamaica. After one national championship heat, a cameraman crouched right in front of her to film the winner. She promised herself the cameras would be on her someday. Last year, she ran 50.7 and went on to compete at worlds in Tokyo.
How Atalanta NYC Talks About Bodies and Fueling
Devon says the team steers clear of comments like "you look so fit," since they can suggest weight loss. There is no scale and no ideal weight. Instead, the focus is on strength, fueling well, and long careers. In Devon's words, food should bring joy.
That approach helped Susan after a workout where she fell well off her usual pace. Blood work showed low iron, so Atalanta NYC executive director Devon walked her and Emily through ferritin, supplements, and iron-rich foods. Emily passes the same mindset on to the high school girls she coaches. She tells them their period is "a gift" and a sign that their bodies are healthy and strong.
Mentoring High School Runners in East Harlem and the Bronx
Every week, the Atalanta NYC athletes coach at the Lehman High School campus in the Bronx, which houses six schools under one roof. They also work with a newer partner, the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in East Harlem. Lehman only has a straightaway, so the team gets creative. When the weather is nice, practice moves to Pelham Bay Park at the end of the 6 train.
The results are showing. Susan remembers a borough championship where a single Lehman girl earned two medals. This year, nearly the whole team medaled and scored the most points in school history. Devon says showing up every week matters most when life gets hard. She pointed to how the team rallied around one athlete after her father died.
How Atalanta NYC Funds Its Pro Team
Devon credits grants from the New York Giants, the Lululemon Foundation, and the Women's Sports Foundation, along with gear from On, Bras for Girls, and Aerie. The Lululemon Foundation grant is what made it possible to hire Susan. NYRR charity bibs for the New York City Marathon and the New York City Half provide steady support as well. Long term, Devon hopes to land multi-year corporate deals or build an endowment.
For the athletes, that stability changes everything. Before joining, Leah worked 12-hour shifts at Dunkin', and Emily was coaching in Ohio on a $12,000 salary. Susan says Atalanta NYC kept her from quitting the sport. She had never had a female coach before.
How to Take the 60-Minute Set the Pace Class
Find 60 min Set the Pace: Mary Cain with Becs Gentry in the Outdoor category of the Peloton app. The Set the Pace class is audio-based, so you can press play and head out on your own route at your own pace.
The Set the Pace class opens with Becs previewing the Speedgoat 50K, a 32-mile mountain race at Snowbird with about 11,800 feet of climbing. She admits she is at peace with the idea of a possible first DNF. It's a natural follow-up to the episode where Becs Gentry opened up about her return to trail running earlier this year. Her work off the platform, including the Becs Gentry AttnGrace partnership, reflects the same focus on women's health in sport.
Rob puts it simply at the close of the Set the Pace class: Cain didn't fix the sport, but she built one corner of women's running where things work differently. With salaried pros, health insurance, no scales, and weekly mentorship, Atalanta NYC is a working model, and this class gives Peloton members a full hour inside it.
The Clip Out is an independent Peloton news site with reporting, analysis, and community insights. We deliver breaking updates, feature reporting, and expert context on the stories driving the community and the industry. Our weekly podcast offers deeper conversation and perspective, and you can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, TuneIn, and YouTube Music. You can also follow us on our socials on Facebook, Threads, Instagram, BlueSky, and YouTube. See something in the Peloton universe that you think we should know? Visit us at theclipout.com and submit a tip.
About the Author: Jen Kern
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