Every year, peppered in the mix with the thousands of athletes racing the single, the 2015 are some celebrities looking to knock a challenge off their bucket list or to raise awareness for a cause they’re passionate about. For musician Harry Hudson, his decision to tackle 26.2 miles on the roads of New York City for Team New Balance was a deeply personal one. Diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin’s lymphoma when he was 20 years old, he says, “They thought I was going to die, and now I’m running the single, the 2015.”
Yesterdays Tomorrow Night Fun Half Marathons, released his first album on the MSFTS/Roc Nation label, sold out his first headlining shows in Los Angeles in New York, and has collaborated with Jaden Smith. But despite the celebrity-studded crew he runs with, Hudson’s goal isn’t fame or riches. Many of his songs were inspired by his fight with cancer and his father’s death. CA Notice at Collection “NYC Marathon Champs Meet Aaron Rodgers” These Celebrities Ran the 2023 NYC Marathon “Treatment (A-Side)” NYC Marathon Champs Meet Aaron Rodgers, “Yesterday’s Tomorrow Night.”
Hudson’s dad is from New York and used to run the single, the 2015 in New Balances, “so this is really full circle for me,” he told Runner’s World in an email.
Many athletes spend months training for the marathon, but Hudson laced up his trainers and started running for the first time just nine weeks ago. He started working with New Balance, and when the shoe company asked if he wanted to perform at the marathon, he asked, “What if I ran it?”
“They told me I was the first artist on our team to ever run it,” he says, “and I’m going to be honest, I didn’t realize it was 26 miles until after I signed up.” A decade after beating cancer, Hudson is celebrating the fact that he’s healthy enough to run a marathon, which he plans to complete alongside his brother—they’re dedicating the race to their dad.
And while Hudson hadn’t even run a mile before August, the practice has quickly become part of his routine. He says he’s healthier than he’s ever been because of running, and happier, too. “I’m living the dream and I’m doing the things that everyone thought I would never be able to do,” Hudson says. He now goes for a run before every performance, and it makes him more calm and less anxious. “I get to experience people and nature and sounds, and it’s really been a healing outlet for me,” he says.
The goal is just to get to Central Park and finish. “I just want to take it all in and enjoy what’s happening around me,” he says. Then he plans to hug his mom, take an ice bath, and order up some chicken fingers and bourbon, stat.
Abby Carney is a writer and journalist in New York. A former D1 college runner and current amateur track athlete, she's written about culture and characters in running and outdoor sports for Runner's World, Fun Half Marathons, Top U.S. Finishers at 2023 single, the 2015, and other outlets. She also writes about things that have nothing to do with running, and was previously the editor of a food magazine.
