It was a moment 10 years in the making for Black Roses NYC member Danni McNeilly. When she crossed the Chicago Marathon finish line at 2:59:33 in 2023, she became the newest Black American born woman to join a very exclusive list. With her accomplishment, Danni joined Black Roses teammates Sharada Maddox and Erica Stanley-Dottin. On the first episode of season four, Danni shares how long distance running became her passion, her dislike for the Boston marathon, and why running New York City and Chicago marathon courses remain her favorites.

Tom O'Keefe started his non-profit Stride for Stride in 2018, and to date the group has secured bibs for over 500 runners into the New York City, Boston and Miami marathons, the NYC Half, the Falmouth Road Race in Cape Cod and many other races across the country. The bibs to date, are over $138,000. With $54,000 this year alone, when the yearly average is $46,000 a year. Tom stumbled into running by having a very popular twitter account dedicated to Boston. From his experience, he recognized that a major hurdle to running is financing, and that has become his motivation for running. Stride for Stride creates a space for minorities, immigrants, and low income people to find themselves in the frontline of races. Running helps build communities, and it's that community that now will support Tom as he waits for a kidney transfer.

Mwangi Gitahi would be the first to tell you that he is naturally gifted as a runner. Growing up in Kenya, where long distance running is as common as apple pie, running is what everyone did. So excelling in South Kingstown High School in Rhode Island, was a no brainer. The unexpected challenges came when he picked up the whistle to be a coach. The red carpet that was laid out for him as a runner, didn't translate to being on the other side of the track. With his coaching career in bloom, he is set on challenging race directors to make races more accessible and inclusive.