Bronx Native Prince Royce Wants to Break 4 Hours in the NYC Marathon
The Latin music star will run his first 26.2 in the city he loves.
By Dana Meltzer Zepeda
We spy @PrinceRoyce at the #NBBronx10M finish line! pic.twitter.com/26h7zSua7d
— New York Road Runners (@nyrr) September 24, 2017
In the past five years, Prince Royce has earned nine Latin Grammy nominations, 21 Latin Billboard Awards, scored 11 number one hits and garnered 33.5 million Facebook followers. But the Bronx-native isn't the type to rest on his laurels. Instead, he hopes to dance circles around the competition at the NYC Marathon on November 5 by finishing his first-ever marathon in under four hours.
"This is my first marathon so it's going to be difficult," Royce says. "I know it's not a game. I know I might struggle so I'm just trying to get my pace up. I'm trying to get my legs strong. I'm really focused on being an overall athlete right now."
The 25-year-old is prepping for the big day by working with two trainers, as well as running with his cousin, a marathon enthusiast who he credits with convincing him to sign up for the race.
"He's been running for a while," Royce says. "He kept bugging me and bugging me, so it was kind of like a challenge. I decided, 'If my cousin is doing it, I can do it!'"
But family ties weren't the only reason that Royce decided to run this year. He's also lacing up to raise money for The National Kidney Foundation and Change For Kids, a non-profit which raises money for New York City elementary schools.
"I grew up in the Bronx and I could see the marathon from my window where I used to live," he says. "I haven't been in my old neighborhood for a long time, so this is definitely going to be very special."
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Surprisingly, Royce —who loves to listen to Drake, Calvin Harris and Kendrick Lamar on runs—hasn't always been a big fan of fitness. "I used to hate anything physical," he admits. But the singer changed his tune after his cousin introduced him to long-distance running two years ago. "It was kind of like a battle within myself," Royce says. "I'm running to prove if you set your mind to something, you can achieve anything."
To stay on track while touring, Royce relies on apps like Nike + Run Club, MyFitnessPal, iHydrate and Spotify to help him stay motivated. "Everything is so convenient," he says. "Nowadays, you can monitor everything from what you're eating to your heart rate to how many ounces of water you need. I've been finding out a lot about my body, so it's been a cool experiment for me."
Not only is the singer in "the best shape of my life," he's also noticed a big difference in his endurance when he performs. Rather than being exhausted, he feels energized, thanks in large part to running. "I'm jumping around literally everywhere onstage," he says. "I do a two-hour show and now, after I'm done with the two hours, I feel like I could do another two hours."
Of course, that's not to say the singer never has any moments where he wants to trade his sneakers for a Segway. But, Royce knows hitting his stride is just as much about training his mind as it is training his body. "Mentally, it's crazy," he says. "There are times when I'm done doing ten miles, no problem. Then, the next day, I'm tired by mile five. You have to have a strong will to keep going. It's both relaxing and brutally frustrating."
But, in just over a month, Royce will see the fruition of all his hard work. "I hope I can say I ran all five boroughs," Royce says. "When I was a kid, our neighbor's son ran and didn't make it to the finish line. I'm trying to do it in under four hours but, really, my goal is just to make it to the end."
Dana Meltzer Zepeda Dana is a freelance journalist who covers a variety of subjects for health and fitness publications.
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