NYC race sends runners from gym to gym with workouts at every stop and no set route

Eight miles, three gyms — one race through New York’s streets.A rainy Sunday morning couldn’t stop over 200 athletes from running through the Meatpacking District up to Midtown Manhattan, then across the bridge to Williamsburg.But this wasn’t your typical 5K.Instead, Urban Iron competitors ran between some of the city’s most iconic gyms and fitness studios, stopping for a workout at each one.On September 12, competitors started at Rivian (one of Urban Iron’s sponsors) in Meatpacking, then headed to their first stop, The Training Lab on West 39th.There, they used a SkiErg, did overhead presses and carried a water jug up nine flights of stairs.Next, it was across the bridge to The Yard Gym in Williamsburg for another sweat session.They finished with a jaunt over to True North Training’s Domino Park location to get in some time on the rower accompanied by wall-balls and sit-ups.After crossing the finish line, racers head to Rivian Williamsburg for a post-race party with live DJs, ice baths and podium ceremonies.For some, the toughest part wasn’t completing box jumps or weighted walking lunges after sprinting down Broadway.

It was that there was no set route between gym stops.“Unless you’re local to the city, the challenge is trying to navigate to get to the stops you need to, which makes it super dynamic and exciting,” Dylan Crutchfield, who drove 6 hours from Pittsburgh for his fifth Urban Iron, told The Post.While participants are sent a suggested route beforehand, the streets they take are ultimately up to them.“Race participants are required to really think about and understand and plan how they are going to complete the race ahead of time,” Urban Iron co-founder Jake Schonberger told The Post.“Some people show up and wing it.

Others plan with their friends how they’re going to run from gym to gym.”The exercise-meets-urban adventure brings together the city’s various fitness tribes, from runners to lifters and functional athletes...