Newlywed T.J. Holmes says "nothing has changed" following his September nuptials.
"Amy Robach and I are, like we always were, together and planning to spend a life together," he says. But the newsman still finds reason to be "scared to death": running in the upcoming New York City Marathon.
“It takes such a commitment to get to race day,” Holmes, 49, says of the annual marathon helmed by New York Road Runners, a local non-profit putting on 60 runs annually. “I honor and applaud anybody who starts the New York City Marathon. The hell with finishing. If you start it, you have made a commitment.”
On Nov. 1, Holmes will join more than 50,000 racers at the starting line, as he’s done three times before. Holmes played basketball in high school and college.
Later, he ran for cardiovascular health and did enough strength training that he felt comfortable while shirtless at the beach. These days he stays in half-marathon shape, after being bit by the marathon “bug” in 2022, when he first trekked 26.2 miles through each of the city’s five boroughs.
“Robes” as Holmes calls his wife, “told me when she helped me get ready for my first-ever New York City Marathon in 2022, she said, ‘When you cross the finish line, you're going to be one of two people: The ones that say, 'Ain't no way in hell I'm doing this again,' or the one that says, 'I can't wait. Sign me up for the next.’ And I was in that latter group.”
Holmes also completed the New York City Marathon in 2023 and 2024, the latter just weeks after receiving medical attention due to injuries at the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 13, 2024. Holmes “had to stop cold” after a fellow racer paused on a curve in the course, which caused “an Achilles issue on my left foot” and Holmes to pull tendons.
“I haven't fully recovered from that yet,” the host of the “Morning Run” and “Amy and T.J.” iHeartPodcasts says. "Even after I recovered, I have tight tendon tissue that needs to be loosened. So for the last about two months, I've been going in every two weeks to get a shot in my foot, an injection that's supposed to help loosen up that tendon. But it is really, really painful.”
“And so that is my problem right now,” he adds. “Sometimes it can be loosened up, and I can run a 10, 15 miler. Or other times, it's so tight that I can't make it two miles without having to stop.”
While Robach was instrumental in taking care of Holmes in Chicago − and chose not to complete the race to do so − he’ll run solo on Nov. 1.
“This'll be the first marathon I've ever run that she wasn't right next to me,” Holmes says. “It does help to have a running buddy, somebody going through that pain with you. You're supporting each other. You're pushing each other when you feel like you can't make it.”
As for why Robach, 53, decided to sit this one out, Holmes says she "just wanted to take a break."
"It's so hard on the body," he notes.
But Robach, who ran the NYC Half Marathon in March, has "major FOMO right now," Holmes says. “You see people getting ready for the New York City Marathon, so she feels like now she's on the outs.”
They plan to run Las Vegas’ half marathon in February, along the city’s iconic Strip. But before that, Robach will be her husband's biggest cheerleader as he runs 26.2 miles through New York City. This also means she'll be carrying his treat of choice: Twizzlers.
“That's how I fuel during a marathon,” Holmes says.
At the race's start, Holmes will have to come to accept that he might not cross the finish line. He hopes to avoid letting others’ expectations get to him.
“I can't let that get in my head,” Holmes says. “But I'll be honest with you, I'm scared to death. I have no idea. Really. I can't predict what the foot is going to do day in, day out. There are good and bad days. I just don't know. But I will be there.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: T.J. Holmes 'scared to death' about NYC Marathon. Amy Robach has Twizzlers ready | Exclusive
