Robin Arzon

Robin Amelia Arzón is an American ultramarathon runner and author of the book Shut Up and Run. She is also the VP of Fitness Programming and an Instructor at Peloton.

Robin Arzón
BornSeptember 20, 1981
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationVP of Fitness Programming at Peloton
Runner
Author
Fitness instructor
Years active2012-present
Notable work
Shut Up and Run (2015)
Spouse(s)Drew Butler

Early life and education

Robin Arzón was born in 1981 in Philadelphia to a Cuban refugee mother and a Puerto Rican father. Her mother is a doctor who taught herself English by watching PBS. Her father is an attorney and former law professor.[1][2]

As a child, she was encouraged to focus on education and family. Athletics were never part of her life growing up.[1]

Arzón attended New York University where she graduated magna cum laude. Afterwards, she went on to attend Villanova University School of Law.

Career

Law career

Arzón graduated from Villanova University School of Law in 2007 and spent seven years as a corporate litigator at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP.[3] She was inspired and encouraged by her father, also an attorney, to pursue a career in law.[1]

Beginning of fitness journey

In the summer of 2002, while an undergrad, Arzón was taken hostage with 40 others in a wine bar in Manhattan's East Village. "A man, armed with three pistols and a samurai sword, shot three people, doused the group with kerosene and threatened them with a barbecue lighter. He grabbed Arzon by the hair and held the gun and lighter to her head while using her as a human shield to communicate with police. Two patrons eventually tackled the man, giving police the opportunity to enter the bar and subdue him."[1]

This trauma inspired Arzon to begin running for the first time in her life. A year later, in 2003, she saw a flyer for a 10K race at a bank on a Friday afternoon and spontaneously decided to join the run the following morning.[1] This 10K would be Arzon's very first race and first athletic endeavor of her life.[1] She said of the whim, "I had no idea how far the 10km distance was in miles."[2] After the race, she began running 2-3 miles at a time in between her law school classes.[2]

Over the course of the next decade, while pursuing law, she fell in love with running, health, and fitness and began to prepare for a career change.

Arzon has since run over 50 races, including 25 marathons, three 50-mile ultramarathons, and one 100-mile race.[1] She ran her first marathon, the New York Marathon, in 2010.[4] She once ran five marathons in five days for MS Run the US in honor of her mother, documented in the documentary Run It Out.[5] She completed her first 100-mile race at the Keys100 - a race that begins in Key Largo and ends in Key West, Florida - in less than 30 hours in 2016.[6]

Transition to health and fitness career

In 2012, Arzon began a career in health and fitness after leaving her job at the law firm. She began this time as a freelance sports reporter, writing for publications like Newsweek and New York Magazine. She did sports reporting from the London Olympics in 2012.[7]

Arzon wanted to be closer to the athletics and wanted to show others that there is an alternative way to be an athlete.[7] She reached out to John Foley, CEO of Peloton, and in 2014 she joined Peloton in New York City as an instructor.[8] In 2016, she was promoted to Vice President of Fitness and Programming of Peloton.[9]

In 2013, Arzon co-founded the fitness movement Undo Ordinary and the print publication Undo magazine[10] in 2013.

She was one of 20 elite Americans to trek the Serengeti in National Geographic Channel's, MYGRATIONS, in 2015.[11] The series, which aired in 2016, showed 20 people trekking the journey of the annual wildebeest migration that happens every spring from the Serengeti Plains to Maasai Mara in Kenya. The cast members, who were formed of survivalists and athletes, were given no maps or weapons and carried only food and water.[12]

Arzon is a global Adidas ambassador. She starred in their Here to Create campaign commercial in 2016.[13]

She is also a Road Runners Club of America-certified running coach.[14]

Personal life

She was diagnosed as a Type 1 Diabetic in 2014 and is currently on the Leadership Council of Beyond Type One,[15] a nonprofit organization focused on raising awareness about Type 1 Diabetes founded by Nick Jonas.

In 2019, Arzon married investment manager Drew Butler in Tulum, Mexico. She and Butler met at a speakeasy bar in Manhattan’s East Village in 2016. Their four-day, immersive wedding experience was inspired by their mutual love of Burning Man.[16]

Bibliography
  • Shut Up and Run: How to Get Up, Lace Up, and Sweat with Swagger (June 2016) ISBN 9780062445681
gollark: Oh. Just… iterate over all the adjacent cells and add them?
gollark: Confusing how?
gollark: ⁡s/gibson/an army of bees rapidly approaching
gollark: Do not, they are either small or accursedly expensive.
gollark: Well, you could get a laptop then duct-tape the screen on top of the keyboard.

References
  1. "How Robin Arzon, a former non-athlete, became the face of fitness for cycling superpower Peloton". ESPN.com. 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  2. "Introducing Robin Arzon - An Ultra Marathon 'BridgeRunner' Running 130 Miles In Five Days For MS Run The US". This Womans Word. 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  3. "Attorney Search - Captcha". iapps.courts.state.ny.us. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  4. Lindberg, Sara (2018-11-12). "Surviving a Near-Death Experience Motivated This Woman to Start Running". Runner's World. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  5. "The Film". Run It Out. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  6. LoRé, Michael. "Robin Arzon's Journey from Lawyer to Marathon Runner & Fitness Guru". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  7. ""Shut Up and Run" - Robin Arzon (The VH Interview)". VultureHound Magazine | Entertainment & Wrestling. 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  8. Lindberg, Sara (2018-11-12). "Surviving a Near-Death Experience Motivated This Woman to Start Running". Runner's World. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  9. How Getting Held at Gunpoint Inspired Robin Arzon to Quit Her Law Job and Become a Trainer, retrieved 2018-03-19
  10. "UNDO-Ordinary Magazine - Sophia Chang Design & Illustration". esymai.com. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  11. ""Shut Up and Run" – Robin Arzon (The VH Interview)". Vulture Hound + SteelChair Magazine - Music, Film, TV + Wrestling. 2016-06-07. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  12. "Mygrations: Watch a human herd of 20 people try to outrun lions". reality blurred. 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  13. "adidas AF". Office Magazine. 2017-11-05. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  14. Hutcheson, Susannah. "How I became Peloton's VP of Fitness Programming: Robin Arzon". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  15. Beyond Type 1 (2017-08-28), Robin Arzon's T1D Diagnosis Story, retrieved 2018-03-19
  16. Chen, Joyce (2019-04-09). "Exclusive: See Robin Arzon's Wedding Photos From Her Tulum Ceremony". The Knot News. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
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