LALV with The Speed Project

Once a year there is a race, a race that is one of the biggest yet most quiet spectacles in the running community. There are no advertisements, no commercials, no big promotions, not many sponsors, just good ole word of mouth from fellow runners that may have heard of it or ran it themselves. I remember a few years back I heard about this race through the grapevine from a fellow run club here in the NYC area that ran it, and it piqued my interest. From there, the following year came and that interest returned for me. A race that is so large but so unknown, a race so challenging, so exciting yet no crowds, a race so exhausting yet so rewarding. This month we are feeling so excited to talk with a couple of the founders of The Speed Project, Scotty and Nils, as they give us a peek into this race, what's involved and most of all HOW “if you’re serious enough” can sign up and register. 

MSM: Welcome to Mid Strike! For this publication, we love to cover races of the unknown but most of all the people who drive these types of events. For our readers, let’s get a little introduction to a few of the founders.

Nils: Blue Benadum and I founded The Speed Project back in 2013. Scotty came along a few years later to do a story on the race, and -

Scotty: it was basically a blind date that turned into an all-nighter that turned into a marriage.

Nils: Yeah. Both of our backgrounds are in creative production. I started a creative agency and Scotty worked in film and tv, so we brought the elements we enjoyed most from those industries into designing TSP and Make Running experiences and storytelling.

MSM: Let’s chat a little bit about your background. How long have the both of you been running and what have been some of your favorite races over the years?