A Brief Introduction to Robin Arzon
Robin Arzón is a best-selling author, ultramarathon runner,
and running coach. Discover Robin's approach to mental strength.
Robin Arzón is Peloton's Vice President of Fitness
Programming and a head instructor. She has reinvented herself over the last two
decades, accomplishing massive athletic feats along the way. She has completed
more than two dozen marathons, including three fifty-mile ultramarathons and a
hundred-miler. (In 2010, she ran five marathons in five days, covering a total
distance of 130 miles.) Robin motivates thousands of fitness enthusiasts at
Peloton to raise their game and achieve new heights of excellence. On the
fitness platform, Robin has a cult following that she refers to as her
"wolf pack."
5 Facts About Robin Arzón
See how Robin's life experiences shaped her career as an
author, runner, and coach.
1. Robin's love of running was inspired by a traumatic
event. A gunman kidnapped Robin and about forty other people at a wine bar in
New York City's East Village in 2002, while she was an undergrad student at New
York University. The armed man sprayed kerosene on the hostages, threatened to
set them on fire, and held people at gunpoint. To communicate with the cops, he
used Robin as a shield. Two customers eventually tackled the man and freed the
hostages. A year later, she spontaneously signed up for a 10K race, which
marked her first race and the beginning of her healing.
2. She wrote two books. Robin is the author of the New York
Times bestselling books Shut Up and Run: How to Get Up, Lace Up, and Sweat with
Swagger (2016) and Strong Mama (2022).
3. She worked in law before switching to fitness. Robin's
father is a lawyer, and she attended Villanova University for law school,
graduating in 2007 and working for a law firm for seven years.
4. She suffers from Type 1 diabetes. Robin was diagnosed
with cancer in 2014. She led the Beyond Type Run at the New York City Marathon
in collaboration with Beyond Type 1, an organization founded by Nick Jonas to
raise awareness about their common type of diabetes.
5. She has completed more than 50 races. Robin completed her
first marathon in New York in 2010 and has since completed 27 marathons, three
fifty-mile ultramarathons, and a hundred-mile race. In honor of her mother, she
once ran five marathons in five days for MS Run the US.
5 Highlights from Robin Arzón
1. Your differences are a source of strength. "Nobody
remembers normalcy; normalcy is an invisibility cloak," Robin says,
emphasizing how her difficulties and differences have made her stand out.
"When you're attempting to leverage difference, and when you're discussing
elements of swagger and reinvention, you want to leverage difference."
Utilize the ways in which you are uniquely magical in the world."
2. Jealousy can help us realize what we really want. Envy
can help us understand how we desire the goals of others, which can help us
chart a course forward. "We should be aware of jealousy." Jealousy,
if it manifests itself, is certainly something to be avoided, but "little
flashes, little moments of, 'Gosh, I wish I had what that person has,' are
glimpses of what we want," Robin explains. "We should absolutely
investigate and question that." We can question our fears. We can question
our dreams. We can investigate these jealousy feelings. They're fleeting, and
whether we indulge and act on them is another matter."
3. Inspiration for greatness. Robin fuels her athleticism
and overall success with food. "I think of foods as having vibrations, so
I eat plant-based," she says. "I like to eat as fresh as possible and
follow the 80/20 rule: 80% of the time, I'm fueling for greatness, and 20% of
the time, you're going to have dessert”you're going to have cake at a birthday
party." A seventeen-ingredient smoothie and protein banana bread are two
of Robin's favorite power foods. "It's a protein-filled, plant-based
banana bread with all-natural ingredients that I eat on a weekly basis,"
she adds.
4. Consider your desires and act on them. Robin discusses
the significance of being courageous, changing habits, and discovering your
purpose, even after years of living another life. "So I was a corporate
litigator in the thick of it in New York City, eighty hours a week, making
really good money," she explains. "By all accounts, [I] succeeded.
And I realized I was leading a divorced life. "I was discovering that the
majority of my hours were neither joyful nor purposeful."
5. Transform your pain into power. Scars can become armor,
making people stronger over time. "Pain is power”period," says Robin.
"I mean, it's not palatable right now when we're going through it." I
don't think anyone enjoys pain, but when you consider the thousands of times
you've been cut and healed, the most likely response to tragedy, trauma, [and]
discomfort is self-repair, resiliency, [and] tenacity."
