When Amanda Hughes and Joel Tse realized they booked their wedding on the day of the 2017 Brooklyn Half Marathon, they did what any runner in their situation would do: they signed up for it anyway.
The 39-year-old Brooklyn residents met in 2009 when they were both training for the New York City Marathon on behalf of Team in Training, a fundraising program for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“We saw each other a lot and really got to know each other,” Hughes told Runner’s World by phone. “When you’re training, you see your running buddies almost more than you see your other friends.”
After five years of logging miles together around the city, the two finally began dating, and it wasn’t long after that when they moved in together.
“We were on a run that August when we discovered the seriousness of our relationship,” Tse said. “We started talking about how much time we spent in each other’s apartments, plus Amanda’s cats needed more attention, so we decided to move in together.”
Running continued to be an activity for similar conversations to take place, and although the proposal didn’t happen on a run, they did discuss the idea of getting married on one two years later.
“Soon after we talked about it, I ordered an engagement ring,” Tse said. “It came on a Monday, and I proposed that Friday at Newark Airport when we were on our way to visit her parents.”
Tse and Hughes didn’t intentionally plan their wedding to coincide with the Brooklyn Half Marathon, although they did always want running to play a part in their nuptials in some way.
“We were going to organize a fun run, because without the running community, we never would have met,” Hughes said. “But the way it worked out was perfect because all of our running friends were going to be in town anyway.”
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Aside from working at an art insurance firm, Tse is also a coach, so he sent out their wedding invitations in the form of a training schedule since many of the guests attending were new to distance running.
“Hearing about everyone’s progress reminded me of my first half marathon, and we felt so thankful that they were willing to train for four months,” Tse said.
On May 20, 2017, about 60 people joined the bride- and groom-to-be at Prospect Park to run the 13.1-mile race. Hughes and Tse maintained an easy 10 minute per mile pace so that they could run with all of their guests and take photos.
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After the couple crossed the finish line in 2:13:00, they made a mad dash back to their house to eat, shower, and get ready for the ceremony and reception.
“I can’t think of a better way to spend our wedding day. We had so much more time to spend with our guests than at a typical wedding where you make your rounds and only see each person for two minutes,” Hughes said. “I feel really lucky that so many people wanted to run it with us.”
