At the 2022 New York City Marathon, runners passed by a special American Sign Language cheer zone hosted by Brooks and PS 347 at mile 19. The cheer squad was in honor actor Lauren Ridloff, who is Deaf and completed her first marathon that day with a finishing time of 4:05:48.
Lauren, who you probably know from The Walking Dead and starring as Makkari in the film The Eternals, partnered with Brooks to run for charity, raising money for PS 347: The American Sign Language and Lower English School where she was a teacher pre-acting career.
Days after the race, Lauren—wearing her finisher medal—sat with Runner’s World for a video interview recapping her race.
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Runner’s World: You must still be tired after your race.
Lauren Ridloff: Actually, surprisingly, I’m not. I can’t believe that I’m not tired. I’m not sore, I’m not stiff. It’s kind of wild.
Okay. That’s awesome. You’re a rarity!
Yeah. On the way back here to Austin from New York, I was on the plane and I could see who was part of the marathon. The way that they were walking, they had this waddle. Everybody was waddling. So yeah, it was amazing.
How did you feel after the race?
I won’t lie. Right after I crossed the finish line the walk back to the hotel was agony. I felt like I couldn’t take one more step. Somehow, I made it back to the hotel. And then, after a burger and fries, then a good night’s sleep, I was golden.
Oh yeah! That is a really good postrace food. One of my favorites. I know you used running to prep for your role for The Eternals. Were you always a runner or was that new to you?
I’ve been a runner for a long time, but just for recreational purposes. I started in high school and by the time I was part of The Eternals, I had a personal trainer and he asked me to not run so much. So, I made an agreement with him that I would run once a week. But they wanted to really focus more on strength training to build muscle so I would have the physique of a sprinter. Makkari, my character, is the sprinter, the long-distance sprinter.
When did you decide to run the New York City Marathon?
Well, a friend asked me if I would be interested in running for a charity, for PS 347. And I was like, “Of course, yes!” I felt like they asked me at the right time. I felt like my running had become aimless at that point, and I wanted to have some intention to my running. And after my experience doing Pilates and strength training with very specific goals in mind, I realized that I need that also for running. I felt like the reason to run for charity, for PS 347, was the best reason for me. It was around that time that I just so happened to have a collaboration with Brooks. When they decided to match whatever I was able to raise for PS 347, I thought, “Yes!” It was the best thing that could have possibly happened.
How did training go?
I really was very lucky to have Kevin Hanson. He was my coach. He was a contributor of the book Hansons Marathon Method, so I was so lucky to have him as my coach. And I just followed his program. I already at that time was running and I was doing some training before I started working with Kevin. He had me gradually increase my mileage every week. And so, I ran five times a week and then I had two days of rest. Kevin really emphasizes fuel in terms of water, calories, and gels. And I think that was the new thing for me. And I felt because of that, and of course of all the physical training that I did, you know, it’s the big reason why I feel so good three days now after the race.
So, you were smart about your training.
Well, it’s interesting, I'm the kind of student who has to satisfy my teacher. So, whatever Kevin told me to do, I followed it. And it was really challenging at times because I travel a lot. I feel that his approach really worked for my schedule. I still had to do long runs, but they weren’t as much as some of the other programs required.
Tell me about PS 347. I saw some photos of the pep rally.
My relationship with PS 347 goes way back. I was the teacher there and I moved from California to New York City. And I knew no one, nobody at that time. I feel like that was in 2002. And it was the first community that I felt connected to. I felt welcomed and included. And that was PS 347, the school where I taught kindergarten and first grade for almost 10 years. This program welcomes in Deaf students, children who are children of Deaf adults, which is the acronym CODA. You might be familiar with that now because of the movie that won the Oscar last spring.
So basically, the first language is sign language at home, and that’s their native language that they use in the house. The school also welcomed in local hearing students from the neighborhood who knew no sign language at all. And from kindergarten, it’s just ideal for those students. They’ll come into the classroom to learn their ABCs, their numbers, and also sign language all at the same time. It’s a wonderful environment where Deaf students always felt a part of the classroom. And that was really unique because a lot of Deaf children who are placed in a school where the settings are usually mainstream. A lot of the other students don’t know sign language. The teacher doesn’t know sign language. They would have an interpreter brought into the classroom and that could be really isolating for a lot of Deaf students. But that doesn’t happen at PS 347. Everybody signs.
But to continue that kind of program they need more funding. A lot of the families that are part of that district have moved to America from other countries to find that specific kind of education for their children, which means Deaf parents from Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic who maybe lack that educational upbringing that they have. And they don’t want that to happen to their children. So, they moved to New York City and placed their kids in PS 347. A lot of those students are underserved, and the teachers, the PTA, the staff really have a lot of heart. When I taught there, I spent so much money on my kids because I loved them. It’s a wonderful community and so, it was a no-brainer for me to run for them.
How did your race go?
I had two special moments. Of course, the starting line—I couldn’t believe I was there. All that training that I’ve been doing since May, and now it’s that time when I’m actually going to apply everything that I’ve learned. It was a big moment. I cried at the starting line. I did not cry at the end of the race. But mile 11 I saw my mom cheer for me. And for me, that was such a big moment because my mother has Parkinson’s, and right now it’s just really hard for her to stand upright and to be mobile and to see her make that effort from her home to the street, that is a marathon for her. And she made it there to cheer for me. That was really inspiring to me. And that took me to mile 19, to see PS 347, all the old faces from my first community in New York. And I also saw The Walking Dead fans were there, which was amazing. It was awesome. And then the finish line, which was, it was tough.
Do you have any goals for another race in the future? I know that you grew up in Chicago; are you looking to race there next time?
I’m very interested, yes. After the race, I texted Kevin, my coach, and I was like, “Okay, exactly how do I start training again?” I’ve already asked him before, but, you know, to give me more specifics, I wanted to know. And Kevin then repeated what he told me before: Completely rest and then reverse taper, slowly build up your mileage again and just start at 20 percent. And then the next day, Kevin texted me and said, “You know what? I can’t believe you asked me that question right after the marathon!” So, I’m so excited about my next one.
Lauren’s Marathon Look
Brooks Glycerin 20
Brooks Drive 3 Pocket Run Bra
Brooks Method 5" Short Tight
Oh, that’s so great! I heard that you trained mostly in Austin, so I guess the heat didn’t really affect you that much.
The heat, yes. I really think that that actually was my advantage in running this past marathon. Because you know, it was near a record high. And it didn’t affect me because nothing compares to training in 110 degrees.
Yeah, when you have that as a comparison, that totally makes sense. Were you able to find a community of runners who were also Deaf? Was the rest of the running community welcoming?
I think one of the main reasons why I was so happy to have this platform through Brooks and by running in the marathon was just to show the Deaf community in general that we belong. We belong here. We can claim that space.
There have been other Deaf runners at other marathons before me, of course, but not a lot of spotlight on them. There aren’t enough Deaf athletes that we can look up to, so I’m really happy to be here. And since I’ve started sharing my experience as a runner and training for the marathon, more and more Deaf runners have reached out to me. It’s really making another community through this experience, through sharing. I am finding that there really truly is that community of Deaf runners.
What shoes did you run in?
I used the Glycerin 20, so no blisters, which is great. I tried several different Brooks and I just found that the Glycerin was the best match for me. I was pretty surprised because I’ve always liked the thin-soled sneakers for running. But when it comes to running on pavement for more than an hour, the thicker Glycerins were like pillows for my feet.
Last question: Do you have a message for fellow Deaf runners?
I think my message would be from Brooks: Run happy. Truly.
Amanda is a test editor at Runner’s World who has run the Boston Marathon every year since 2013; she's a former professional baker with a master’s in gastronomy and she carb-loads on snickerdoodles.
