807. Darcy Budworth, Founder of Take the Bridge

Ali on the Run Show

Ali Feller

Run, Health & Fitness, Women, Inspiration, Runner, Entrepreneur, Sports, Fitness, Health, Running

4.9 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 6 May 2025

⏱️ 94 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

"We don’t do things the easy way."

Ten years ago, Darcy Budworth was feeling burned out on running and racing in New York City. The interior designer felt a pull toward something beyond the classic weekend morning road races in Central Park. Enter Take the Bridge: an unsanctioned urban race through city streets and over bridges, navigating traffic, pedestrians, and bike messengers, all at night, in the dark. In this conversation, Darcy talks about building the thing she thought was missing from the running community. She talks about how Take the Bridge has grown and expanded beyond NYC to 27 cities and nine countries. She talks about how they've stayed true to TTB's roots, fostering community, connection, and exciting racing — and about what they're doing to celebrate the event's 10th anniversary this summer. (Register now to be a part of it on July 25, 2025!)

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In this episode:

Have you run today? (2:25)
What Darcy is looking for on the run right now (4:20)
All about Darcy’s job as an interior designer (7:00)
How Darcy found running (12:15)
What running looked like for Darcy in the mid-2010s in New York City — and how Take the Bridge was born (16:45)
What it’s like participating in an unsanctioned race (23:40)
What it’s like running Take the Bridge (32:15)
When Darcy knew she was building something special (41:50)
How Darcy has stayed focus on her original mission as Take the Bridge has expanded to 27 cities and 9 countries (43:40)
How a Take the Bridge race actually works (49:15)
How Darcy has seen the NYC running scene and community evolve since the mid-2010s (53:15)
The best bridges: which ones Darcy has loved the most (58:15)
How Take the Bridge will celebrate its 10th birthday this summer (1:08:40)
Darcy’s advice to anyone afraid of taking a big risk (1:15:30)

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Allie on the Run show. I'm your host, Allie Feller, and this is where I talk with people who are doing exciting things on the run and beyond.
0:13.1	From professional athletes and celebrity runners to the everyday, amateur, and back of the pack runner, we are here to celebrate everyone and anyone
0:22.3	who enjoys a life on the run. So whether you are running towards something big or away from
0:27.4	something that has been holding you back, I am here to hold your hand and help you pick up the pace.
0:32.8	My guest today is Darcy Budworth. On Instagram, you've seen her as Darcy Budd. She's a heck of a runner.
0:39.8	She's an interior designer, and she is the founder of Take the Bridge. Our conversation today is
0:45.7	mostly about that, about how, roughly a decade ago, Darcy was feeling burned out on running
0:51.7	and racing in New York City. She was feeling a pull towards something
0:55.2	different, something beyond the classic road races in Central Park. Enter, take the bridge.
1:02.7	Unsanctioned urban racing through city streets and over bridges, navigating traffic, pedestrians,
1:08.6	and bike messengers, all of it at night.
1:12.3	Darcy talks about how Take the Bridge has grown to an incredibly popular event that is
1:17.0	expanded beyond New York City to 27 cities and nine countries.
1:22.5	She talks about how they've stayed true to their roots, fostering community, connection,
1:28.6	and really exciting racing. Darcy grew up in Portland, Oregon, and now lives in sunny coastal California. This
1:35.1	summer, Take the Bridge is going big for its 10th anniversary. 10 miles. Feel spitting. You can sign up
1:42.7	now for the New York City event on Friday, July 25th.
1:46.4	It is going to be a night to remember.
1:48.6	So check it out.
1:49.6	Get your spot.
1:50.3	And please enjoy this conversation with Darcy Budworth.
2:00.5	All right. A woman that I have been following on the internet for at least a decade now.
	...

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