A Pivot to Storytelling: Marnie Kunz on What’s Next for Runstreet
What started as a blog about running and training evolved into a coaching and events business. After a short hiatus, Marnie Kunz is reinventing Runstreet by leaning into her passion for video-first storytelling.
While attending college in Illinois for an English writing degree, Marnie Kunz took a trip to New York City with a group of students and her journalism professor.
“I realized, ‘Oh, I love it there. I want to move there,’” Marnie recalls. “I really wanted to be a writer in New York.”
But her move to NYC didn’t happen right away. After graduating college, Marnie moved back home to St. Louis for a journalism internship, then to Atlanta and New Jersey for jobs at local newspapers.
She finally made it to the Big Apple in 2012, where she worked as a freelance writer and dog walker. Marnie continued writing for a blog she started called Runstreet, where she published training articles as a certified running coach. Inspired by her new city, she began posting her running routes and the street art murals she found throughout the city on Runstreet and her social media channels.
As Runstreet grew, Marnie took on more coaching clients and organized and led street art running tours. She also grew the online side of her coaching business with virtual training program development, standard downloadable training plans, and a free weekly email newsletter.
Finding Clarity Through a Career Detour
After years of immersing herself in the virtual and NYC-based running community and building her business around content, events, and coaching, Marnie took a step back to explore other career paths.
Removing the creative aspects of her work, however, left her feeling unfulfilled.
“I missed telling stories and connecting with people,” Marnie explained.
To fill the void, she created social media accounts for her new crested gecko and began documenting Toshi’s life in the city. But soon enough, the break from creating content provided clarity on the work she most enjoyed.
Marnie decided to return to Runstreet and pivot her focus to visual and video storytelling.
“I like to tell stories — tell people stories, tell the story of things going on in the city, or things going on in the running world,” Marnie says. Sharing human-first stories is her vision for the next chapter of Runstreet, and it’s something AI can’t replicate in today’s world where creative work is often threatened.
Refocusing on her love of content creation also led to a new business opportunity with friend Marques Jackson. With Marq’s professional photography and videography expertise and Marnie’s writing and content strategy experience, the two are working with NYC-based businesses on social media branding and storytelling projects.
Below, Marnie shares more on what inspired her to start writing about running, Runstreet’s business evolution, and why she loves to be the storyteller.
What inspired you to start Runstreet?
Marnie Kunz: I wanted to do a blog, and I had different ideas. I started a makeup blog, and it didn’t really go that well. I didn’t have that much to say.
I realized I really like running, and I started Runstreet. Then I got certified as a running coach because I wanted to do a lot of training articles and help people. At the time, I was really into obstacle course racing, so I would post some of those workouts.
When I moved to New York, I started posting stuff in the city that I found on my runs — the murals — and that’s what Runstreet became known for. I started a running group and that morphed into Art Runs. People were asking me so much on social media, ‘Oh where’s this mural?’ And then I thought, I can do a guide and show you where, or a guided tour run.
Runstreet’s had different versions of itself over the years, but I do try to keep up with the training side of it. During the pandemic, I got certified as a personal trainer, and I like to add that element into it with strength training because I feel it’s helped me a lot with injury prevention and just feeling good, feeling stronger. So, I put strength training articles on Runstreet.
How did the coaching side of the business evolve?
Marnie Kunz: Once I moved to New York, I started picking up clients — people training for the marathon or just people who wanted to stay in shape and they needed to be accountable, someone to run with. I have trained a lot of people, and also, especially during the pandemic, I started doing more virtual plans. People would need a marathon plan and have a certain time goal or something, and I would create a plan for that. I still have done a little one-on-one coaching, but most of it now is remote, where I’ll make the training plan or do check-in calls.
I really enjoy it. I had one client, she’s in her 70s and she trained for her first marathon. I made her a training plan, and that was so cool to see her progress, and then when she did the marathon. She became a repeat client, where I’ve made plans for her for other races. I really like doing it and seeing people reach their potential with running or just building confidence and doing new experiences. I think it’s really a neat way to meet people and also see running from different perspectives.
What is your vision for the future of Runstreet?
Marnie Kunz: Runstreet has evolved, but I would say I definitely want to keep up the spirit of Runstreet, which is encouraging people to be healthy and to get out and explore.
It’s going to be more in a visual, video-first format going forward, and less of the in-person events …. I do want to tell a lot of local stories. So, showing different local running routes, telling the stories of runners, people training for the New York City Marathon and following them on marathon day. I want to pull in different themes, maybe that I haven’t done as much of before, like mental health and also aging as I get older.
I think, for a while, I stepped away because I felt like, ‘Oh I’m getting too old.’ I’m really hard on myself sometimes. I don’t want to see myself getting old on social media. But I think focusing on, in general, not the aesthetic side of getting older, but as an athlete and as a runner — things people can do to help prevent injuries and ways they can train smarter …. We can’t train the way that we used to, say, 10 years ago.
What is it about storytelling that you enjoy most?
Marnie Kunz: I feel like you can learn a lot from people. And also, you can relate to people better …. You learn more than what you just see when you’re walking down the street or running by. And I guess, I’m curious. I like to know stuff.
[I also want] to inspire people. Marsha, the older runner [who ran] the marathon in her 70s — I think her story is so cool because it’s inspiring. She had never run a marathon before, and she decided, it’s never too late. She started training, and now she’s done two marathons.
Sometimes, when you’re at a point where things can be difficult, it encourages you. Where it encourages me: ‘Oh well, if Marsha can do it, I can do it.’ I think it brings out a positive side to people.
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“Runstreet has evolved, but I would say I definitely want to keep up the spirit of Runstreet, which is encouraging people to be healthy and to get out and explore.” – Marnie Kunz
