NYCRUNS Brooklyn Experience Half Marathon 2026

I sit across from a young woman, hands clasped in her lap. Our knees nearly touch in the small exam room, and I can feel her leg bouncing, nearly imperceptible, as she explains the reason for her visit. She needs prescription refills for her asthma inhalers and her EpiPen, she needs her yearly flu shot, and she needs STI and cervical cancer screening. She has waited weeks for this appointment. Then she waited several more hours in the waiting room, all to receive primary care. Near the end of our conversation, I show her the price of her EpiPen, discounted with coupons. As she doesn’t have health insurance, it will cost her nearly $200 even with the discounts. Though she’d relaxed over the course of our conversation, I see her visibly tense when she hears the cost. She tells me she won’t need it after all. Nightmarish scenarios flash through my mind – an accidental peanut at a potluck, her throat swelling, gasping for air… I excuse myself from the exam room. I know we have a budget for patient prescriptions, but I need to double-check with the administrators for a prescription this expensive. After a quick call, I get the okay. We’ll be able to cover this patient’s EpiPen, and she’ll leave the clinic with all her healthcare needs addressed. 

I have volunteered with the Brooklyn Free Clinic throughout my four years of medical school. The service within this clinic has given me some of the most meaningful experiences from my training. We provide healthcare for uninsured members of our community, filling a gap created by an industry rooted in inequity. We connect medical trainees with the community, and we connect the community with the means to take charge of their health, regardless of their employment status, housing status, immigration status, or ability to pay. In a time of rising inequity and rising healthcare costs, I’m proud to be a part of a movement for free and high-quality healthcare for all.
 

I am also a runner. Early morning, after dark, rainy, snowy, steamy sticky summer heat —running has been my solace through medical school. Running was there in my first year when the enormity of my studies hit me like a train, it was there when my boyfriend broke up with me two weeks before finals, it was there every time I felt frustrated with a broken system, it was there when I lost my first patient. At risk of sounding cheesy, running is an outlet that’s kept my breathing steady and my feet on the ground through my four years of medical school. I’m excited for the opportunity to use this hobby to support a cause so close to my heart!