Start Line Stories: A 2026 Update from NYC’s Yasmeen Elsakary
Last spring we caught up with New York City runner Yasmeen Elsakary, who took up running during the pandemic, went on to complete six marathons from 2022-2024, and had just realized that the opportunity to break the Egyptian National record for the women’s marathon was a possibility.
Yasmeen, who is a dual citizen of the US and Egypt, went on to knock 11 minutes off of her PR at the 2025 Eugene Marathon — running a 3:45 — to edge herself even closer to her ultimate goal time of 3:21 (to break the record). And this year, she’s shooting to get even closer, with a goal of crossing the Hayward Field finish line in 3:30.
We were able to catch up with Yasmeen just as she’d completed (hopefully) her final long run on the treadmill this winter.
Read more about Yasmeen’s journey back to Eugene in her Start Line Story below:
Name: Yasmeen Elsakary
Age: 32
Where are you from and where is home now?
I’m from New Jersey and I currently live in Queens, NY.
What’s your local run club or training group and tell us about it?
I’m still running with the World’s Fair Run Crew out of Flushing, NY. And I’m still training with my coach Julia Lucas. This cycle I’ve done a lot more solo running and treadmill running (due to all the snow). I am trying to amp it up a bit more, but it’s been a lot of treadmill running so far… I’ve only done one long run outside this winter.
Why Eugene 2026?
I really enjoyed it last year and I ran a huge PR. I ran a 3:45, which knocked 11 seconds off my PR. It was also my first time doing a non-major marathon, and the smaller-style race ended up being a great fit for me. Before every other marathon I did before Eugene, I would cry every time on race day and at Eugene last year, I didn’t; it was just so much easier and less stressful.
Current Total Marathon Count:
7
Favorite road race or racing experience?
Last summer, Bandit did a Grand Prix concept race in Brooklyn, and it was super unconventional. The first part was a 5K, then you’d advance to the next race, which was a 3K. I PRed in the 5K and moved on to the 3K final. Part of the race was also that you run through an open warehouse, so it was just really different and fun.
What kind of training plan are you following and do you have a specific goal on race day?
My training plan this year is just increasing my mileage; we’ve gone up probably 10% over last year. So I’m just trying to get more volume under my belt and as for a goal, my dream day would be hitting 3:30 in Eugene.
Finish the sentence: What I love so much about running is _____
__the challenge and the grind.
Why the marathon?
I was actually just talking to my therapist about this, because she asked what my “why” was when it came to running marathons. I’ll tell you what I told her: what I enjoy about running is that the reward comes at the finish line; you may have PRed or not, but you know at the finish line that you’ve put in the work beforehand to get there and that is gratifying. Running is Type B fun and I don’t know if the marathon is my favorite distance, but this ties to my goal to break the Egyptian National Record in the marathon.
The goal itself has not changed. It’s still 3:21. And now I’m officially a citizen, all the paperwork is in place, so I just need to get faster.
I’m registered to run Valencia next December, so, depending on how Eugene goes, we’ll maybe go for 3:21 in Valencia. But Julia is a one-race-at-a-time kind of coach, so we’re just gonna see how Eugene goes.
What started your running journey?
This is the same as last year, though I will add that running right now is less a part of my social life. When I started running, it was about the social aspect, but right now it’s a solo endeavor.
Here’s Yasmeen’s answer to this question from last year’s Start Line Story:
I started running during COVID and not too long after that, I joined my first run club run and it was ironically on the day of a long run. I didn’t think I could do it, but I did and it was just really inspiring to run with others and that’s when I really caught the running bug. Then, last summer at the kick off event for the No Name Run Club, right before the Olympics in Paris, I ran into Coach Julia. She was flying to Paris and in passing I told her about my goal to break the Egyptian National Record.
When she got back from Paris, she said: Yasmeen, can I talk to you? She had met an Egyptian running coach in Paris and she learned that there was going to be a push in Egypt for running, especially for women’s running and that there could be a real possibility to not only break the record but to compete for Egypt in the 2028 Olympics. That just blew my mind.
How has running impacted your life?
Running has brought much needed structure and discipline to my life. And, I know it sounds cliché and cheesy, but I didn’t grow up doing sports and I never saw myself as an athlete, so running marathons has allowed me to see myself as a runner and an athlete.
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Be sure to wish Yasmeen good luck on race morning, and give her a follow on Instagram: @callmeyasmeen2