My best friend Ciara Kelly came to town to run the NYC Marathon. We’ve been besties since 7th grade, through high school and college, and stayed that way as we’ve built our (gay) lives on opposite ends of the country—she in San Francisco, and I in New York. Cheering for her on Sunday filled me with a joy that kept a smile on my face and tears in my eyes all day. To start this week’s newsletter, here is my Q&A with Ciara about her 2026 NYC Marathon experience.
Christiana: First things first. How do you feel physically today?
Ciara: I’m in pain. I can’t walk downstairs, I can’t sit down, and it feels so good. That type of soreness that just makes you kinda proud.
Christiana: I’m so curious about what your inner world was like during this experience. What was going through your head?
Ciara: I felt at ease in a weird way, I didn’t get too nervous. At the end of the day, I knew I was just going for a really long run. I was trying to live in the moment and take it all in, from Frank Sinatra playing at the start gun to the thousands of people on the streets; I wanted to soak it up. I thought about where my friends were, how I both couldn’t feel my legs at all, but at the same time they were hurting from the start. I listened to my friends’ texts come through Siri each mile, I thought about how amazing it is to do this with 60,000 other people, and how I’m appreciative that my body is capable of these things and I know that’s a privilege. I thought about when the hell it was going to end and that I didn’t want it to end.
Christiana: Not wanting it to end…you’re crazy for that (positive). What made it so special for you?
Ciara: I smiled for more than half of this race, and I wouldn’t necessarily say it was easy at any point. From the beginning, it was such a community moment; doing something with 60,000 other people is not a common experience. You could feel that from the moment it began on the ferry at 5:45 AM. I also was so grateful to do it with so many friends on the sidelines. From my girlfriend running around the city to see me in three spots, to her besties popping up and calling my name, to my besties flying in from SF, to, of course, you and Sabine cheering me on in your magical city! It was truly incredible, and I felt so loved by all of you and all of the strangers.
Christiana: So you’re really fast. You PR’d at 3:24:37. You told me you didn’t really have a goal other than getting under 3:30 again, as you did in your first marathon in SF. What did it feel like to realize you were on pace to PR?
Ciara: I knew I was on pace to PR from the beginning, so it was mostly about keeping that going for the entire 26.2. But my girlfriend texted me around mile 20, “Just a heads up, you’re projected to finish at 3:24:50. Boston qualifying is 3:25 but no pressure.” (I asked her to do this, she’s not toxic.) So that was the moment I set my mind on that goal, and there was no looking back. I had some out-of-character moments at the end and got the crowd going to give me some extra boosts of adrenaline and just kept pushing.
Christiana: You’ve always been athletic and super active, but you only started running two years ago. What has running come to mean to you?
Ciara: It’s my pick me up, it’s my happy place. I don’t always love it, but it feels so good. It helps my mental health, it helps me wake up, and although I’m not in run clubs or anything like that, it brings me a sense of community and shared experience that I love.
Christiana: I hate running but I want to like it. Any advice?
Ciara: I think my biggest piece of advice is that you can run at any speed. I feel like there’s this myth that you’re not a runner or you can’t run unless you’re running at the fastest speed possible. Just go at whatever speed and for as long as you feel good. Also get a drippy outfit, that always helps.
Christiana: Another highlight from this weekend: Your Valkyries won the WNBA Championship. What’s your standout memory from this season?
Ciara: The Valks bring sooo much joy to the game. They really do look like they’re out there having a good time and doing it for each other every single game. My highlight is bringing Gabby Williams to the team, seeing Kaitlyn Chen jump up and down for every point scored, and becoming champs in year two of the franchise! I was heartbroken to go to bed at halftime during the final so I could wake up for the marathon, but they did it!
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Thank you, Ciara, for indulging my questions and for being Good Sport’s biggest day-one believer. You heard about this idea years ago, and your support and feedback have meant the world to me. You are very fast, and you are a very, very good friend. Congratulations, love you 4ever!
Now, here’s the rest of this week’s newsletter.
On the Good Sport podcast: This week, I’m chatting with the writer behind WNBA Rough Notes and Valkyries fan-in-chief Maya Goldberg-Safir. We’re talking the big Valkyries win and the 2026 WNBA season as a whole. Hitting your inbox by Thursday.
NYC women’s sports news & culture
Here’s what you should know this week.
The Valkyries win the 2026 WNBA Finals. Just two years into franchise history, the Golden State Valkyries brought a championship home to the Bay. No matter who you rooted for in their series against a formidable and star-studded Atlanta Dream squad, the Valks sealing the deal makes for an amazing story. Tiffany Hayes said it best on the court after their win: “This is what happens when you invest in women’s sports.” In 2023, Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber paid a $50 million expansion fee to acquire the team. Golden State opened a dedicated training facility in Oakland, and Lacob promised “unlimited resources.” Team president Jess Smith led an effort to break away from a Warriors-led brand, building a new identity made for the Valkyries, centering the players and local fan community. Ballhalla became one of the best stadium experiences in sports, selling out 22 regular-season home games this year.
Today, they are the first WNBA team—and the first women’s pro sports team—to exceed $100 million in annual revenue, according to Sportico. CNBC’s 2026 franchise rankings put the Valkyries at a $1 billion valuation, making them the first women’s sports team ever to reach that mark. That is a 20x return on the expansion fee paid three years ago. And to top it off, they won it all, with a team accused of having no stars, with a head coach in only her second year at the helm. They did it while being themselves, keeping it fun, and standing up for inclusion. Finals MVP Gabby Williams is a vocal trans rights advocate, and she continues to use her platform to represent and shine a light on the LGBT+ community. It was an epic end to a remarkable 30th WNBA season, and I can’t wait to do it all again next year.
Meme credit to Miles Goodman Gotham FC secures the franchise’s first NWSL Shield. Genuinely go girls! The NWSL Shield is awarded to the team with the best regular-season record. We clinched it with a 2-0 win against Utah Royals FC this past weekend. The award comes with a big shiny trophy and a $15,000 bonus for each eligible player. Perfect little morale boost heading into playoffs. Sunday was Gotham's 18th victory of the season, a new club record. We’ve got our first playoff game at home this Sunday against the Seattle Reign. Go bats!
Photo credit to VERSUS and Gotham FC Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya wins the NYC Marathon. She did it in 2:24:36. It’s beautiful to think about how she ran 26.2 miles in that time, while I sometimes struggle with conceptualizing doing one errand AND making it to the gym in an 8-hour period. This was Chepkirui’s second title in three years. This article from letsrun.com (nice) outlines the field for the top women’s runners this year. American Jessica McClain finished second, ending an eight-year American Podium Drought(tm). I can hear an eagle’s caw just typing that…
What to watch this week
Sunday 11/8
⚽ Gotham FC hosts Seattle Reign FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium in their NWSL playoff quarterfinal. Kickoff time is 12:30 pm ET. Watch on ABC and ESPN Deportes.
And that’s a wrap…
Thank you for reading! If you liked today’s newsletter, I’d love it if you shared it with someone. See you next time.
yeah so I teared up reading this. lucky to know you miss ciara kelly
not me getting chills reading this…….