908. Karla Bruning, New York City Marathon Finish Line Announcer

"I don't want to just read names and countries the whole time. That gets boring. I like to talk to runners, too. 'If this is your first New York City Marathon, throw your hands in the air!' And then half the hands go up, and you're like, 'Oh my gosh, this is so amazing!' I don't know why after all this time I'm still surprised they're listening to me!"

Even if you don't know her name or her face, you probably know her voice. Karla Bruning is one of the longtime announcers and emcees for the New York Road Runners, and has been hyping up runners at the New York City Marathon since 2010, when she not only ran the race for the first time, but also sang the National Anthem at the start! In this conversation, Karla talks about how she has become one of the voices of the TCS New York City Marathon, and what the road to life on the mic has looked like. In addition to being a marathoner, a triathlete, a mom, a wife, a journalist, and a race announcer and event emcee, Karla and her husband also own Dovetail and Co., a hotel group with seven properties in locations including Bermuda, Waikiki, the Catskills, and Newport, RI. Life is good for Karla, who is booked, booking, and busy!

FOLLOW KARLA @runkarlarun

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IN THIS EPISODE:

• What's making Karla happy today, and what she's into right now (4:05)
• How Karla's spends her days off the run (8:00)
• Karla's road to becoming a race announcer at the New York City Marathon (14:15)
• What it was like singing the National Anthem at the New York City Marathon start line in 2010, and how Karla started working races after that (19:30)
• All about being a start line announcer, and what runners don't see (24:20)
• The view from the New York City Marathon finish line, and what it takes to be a finish line announcer (27:50)
• On learning how to pronounce all those names (37:45)
• Karla's most memorable finish line moments (41:30)
• Karla's jam-packed marathon week schedule (45:30)
• The parts of the job that Karla says are the most stressful (53:40)
• Karla's take on the changing landscape at finish lines (1:02:50)
• On Karla's relationship with running right now (1:05:35)
• Karla's advice for this year's New York City Marathoners (1:09:20)

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