A local run club based in Southeast Queens celebrated its first anniversary on Monday, Aug. 5, with a 5K run through the St. Albans neighborhood.
The Monarchs Run Club ran through the historic Addisleigh Park neighborhood and various landmarks in St. Albans. A group of 25 runners took in local sights like A Tribe Called Quest Mural on Linden Boulevard and Daniel M. O’Connell Playground on Murdock Avenue.
Maalik Murray, 35, founded the Monarchs in August 2023, aiming to share his love for running with the local community. “It was just a fun way for me to have a team, and continue my running. I have friends who also run who are from the neighborhood,” he said.
Monday’s event signified a significant milestone for the Monarchs. “It was really cool just seeing 25 people running up and down Linden and Murdoch and Farmers. I ran races with these people, trained with these people and just hung out with these people, so it was like a nice full circle,” said Murray.
Murray said there is a core group of five runners, with many more enthusiasts coming to their weekly Monday evening practices. “Some days, we’ll have five [runners], and some days we’ll have ten [runners], so it all varies,” the St. Albans native said.
Murray said the come-as-you-are attitude of the group enticed members to join “the old school way.”
“Sometimes we’ll be running in the street, on Merrick, Farmers, Springfield or Linden [Boulevards], people will drive by or see us on the corner and say ‘hey, where do you guys run?,’” he said.
Club members meet up around 7 p.m. at the St. Albans Long Island Railroad station, and from there, they hit the pavement, cruising through the neighborhood. “We’re the only [run club] in southeast Queens, so we just like to represent and put the neighborhood on,” Murray said.
Murray’s interest in running began in 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said it was a good way to stay active and a welcomed stress reliever during an uncertain time. He quickly became dedicated to his new passion, training six days a week, varying from weight training sessions to track work in Brooklyn. Sundays are strictly for relaxation. “I’m usually exhausted on Sundays. I usually just nap,” he said.
His intense schedule is in preparation for the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K and the Netherlands’ Amsterdam Marathon in October. Murray said he is excited to run in an international marathon for the first time. “I’ve been outside the country before, but I’ve never raced outside the country. So this is gonna be new and exciting,” he said.
The Amsterdam Marathon is not his first rodeo; since 2020, he has completed two NYC Marathons, the Philadelphia Marathon, the Boston Marathon and numerous half marathons and 5K races.
As for the Monarchs, Murray said his goal is to have his club participate in the six major marathons based in New York, Chicago, Boston, London, Tokyo and Berlin. “I’d like to have at least one of us become a six-star finisher, someone who finishes all six major marathons. That would be nice,” he said.
