Start Line Stories: For Atlanta’s James Ro, Eugene is All About Reigniting his Reason for Running

Earlier this year, Atlanta Run Club founder James Ro was having a moment with running – but not in a positive way. An activity that had once brought him joy and purpose and an escape from the outside noise, was a source of his stress. For someone who’s life is wrapped up in the running scene of one of the South’s biggest metropolitan cities, it made sense. Running was keeping him very busy. But James wanted to remember what running was like before the stress, and that meant finding a place and a race where he could go and let running be what it once was.

Enter Eugene.

“I’ve been feeling a need lately to reignite the first reason that I started my running journey and I’m hoping that happens in Eugene,” Ro said. “Running is such a powerful metaphor that reflects my core principles in life. It’s about people living their life according to what running requires of you: with discipline, hard work and motivation. If those things can be embraced, then running can change your life.”

Read James’ full Start Line Story below:

Name: James Ro

Age: 32

Where are you from and where is home now? 

I was born in Los Angeles; but I grew up in Atlanta and that’s home.

Why did you choose to sign up for Eugene in 2024? 

I’m pretty busy in the running scene here in Atlanta and I really wanted to do a race for myself; to go somewhere I can escape, and that meant going across the country. I’ve been feeling a need lately to reignite the first reason that I started my running journey and I’m hoping that happens in Eugene.

What is currently motivating you to get to the start line in April?

Right now, it’s all about personal health, mental health, and experiencing the gratitude of running. Lately, I feel like I’ve been complaining a lot about running and I just want to go back to a time when running wasn’t stressful. I also learned a couple months ago that my brother is having a child, and that has made me start thinking more about family and about connecting again to my core beliefs and to why I started my running journey. So I’m going into Eugene with an open mind; I’m intentionally not looking into too many details about the course, but I imagine it to be a lot of nature and I’m looking forward to that.

What type of training plan are you following and do you have a specific goal for the race? 

I have a couple coaches that are helping me through this – two of the captains in the club here in Atlanta. And I’m just chipping away.

Do you have a specific goal for this marathon?

I’m really just trying to go out there and have fun. I ran a 3:23 in my last marathon in Korea, so hopefully I’ll be close to that in Eugene.

How many marathons have you completed and what was your first marathon and/or road race?

Eugene will be my third marathon, and I’ve also done three half marathons. I really got into the running scene when I got into the lottery for the NYC Marathon in 2019; that’s when I started running more seriously. So NYC was my first marathon and my first road race was in 2017. It was called the “Lutzie Road Race” and was held in memory of my high school classmate Philip Lutzenkirchen, who tragically passed away from a car accident. Those two races are definitely my most memorable ones.

Why run? 

It all goes back to mental health and personal reasons. Running liberated me in a lot of ways, it was always a time to myself where I wasn’t thinking about the outside noise. More recently, with Atlanta Run Club, I have the opportunity to take my positive experience with running and share that experience with others.

Running is such a powerful metaphor that reflects my core principles in life. It’s about people living their life according to what running requires of you: with discipline, hard work and motivation. If those things can be embraced then running can change your life.

In 2018, I had the opportunity to start Atlanta Run Club and that expanded the sense of excitement to progress the sport of running for our city and the greater community. The passions that I felt in running evolved within that community. And I hear this consistently from other runners: it’s the power of connection. Whether that’s friendship through running or connection to the city, which you don’t get any other way then when you run in a city every day.

My favorite word is connection and that is the most common testimonial that I hear across the board – how much of an increased sense of connection (through running) has changed people’s lives; because no matter how fast you are going, when you’re going for a run there’s always a common goal that we strive for and that’s to finish.

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Keep up with James and all the great work he’s doing in Atlanta in the lead up to the race on Instagram: @jamesro_. And be sure to wish him good luck when you see him at the start line on the last Sunday in April.