Running in the halls is usually a big no-no and something I often find myself getting reprimanded for. However, this past Sunday, I had the opportunity to not only run in the halls without being yelled at but even earn a medal! For the first time ever, the Westfield Garden State Plaza (GSP) Mall hosted an indoor 5-kilometer race around the second level, where 300 runners got the chance to compete for the gold.
As any runner will tell you, running in the winter can be quite challenging. The sun goes down earlier, the air is bitterly cold, and there are far fewer races to compete in. While the invention of treadmills has helped mitigate that issue by providing a comfortable running environment, it is not the same as running toward a destination. It is a lonely life for runners in the winter, and it was no different for me as I tacked on more mileage by myself without the companionship of other runners, alone on my treadmill.
That was until last week when I was scrolling through my emails and noticed an excited email headline: “The First-Ever GSP Indoor 5K—A Race Like No Other!” Just from that title, I knew I was in, but I thought it would be too good to be true. For the past few years, I have been yearning to run an indoor race in the spectacular American Dream Mall, but for some reason, the only race there is only open to female runners! (This year’s American Dream race titled “RUN 24.7” will take place this coming Sunday, March 2 at 8am and requires a $1,200 fundraising requirement with the money being donated to Chesed 24/7.) While I could throw on a skirt and pretend to be a girl, I would prefer not to go that route. Thankfully, the Garden State Plaza race was open to all genders and only required a $49 entry fee, a very affordable price considering it comes with a dry-fit t-shirt, medal, drinks, food, personalized bibs with a tracker, and the cost of setting up the course with music, security, and medics on standby.
Excited, I asked my wife Ahuva if I could do the race. The one issue was that the night before, I had already signed up for the Keter Torah annual basketball tournament, so I was not sure if she would let me leave her and Koby for two events in a row. Fortunately, Ahuva thought it would be a great way to spend our Sunday, where she and Koby could cheer me on at a local event. So I signed up and shared the link with a few friends, including Jewish Link’s David Roher (who couldn’t attend the race due to him already having signed up for the Central Park Half Marathon, to David—you’re a brave runner to face that cold) and the TABC track team.
I was surprised to learn from the email that the race was scheduled to take place in just four days, which is very little time for marketing. I was worried that not many people would sign up in time and that it might get canceled. On the day of the race, after a night of pizza and basketball at the Keter Torah basketball tournament (which I lost in the first round, no surprise there since I am not very good at basketball), I checked back on the website to make sure the race was still on. To my surprise, not only was it happening, but it had completely SOLD OUT!
Ahuva, Koby, and I got into our car and drove to the Garden State Plaza Mall. The roads were mostly empty since it was 8:30 in the morning, and we made it to the mall in just over 10 minutes, with less than 20 minutes until race time. Driving up to the mall on a Sunday was a strange sight. The often bustling mall, where it is usually difficult to find an open parking spot, was completely empty. As I continued driving along by the entrance of Nordstrom, I noticed a few dozen cars parked near a glass door entrance to the mall. I parked by those cars, and we were able to enter the mall through that entrance.
Once inside, we asked a security guard where the start of the race would be, and he told us that we first needed to sign in on level 1, where we would pick up our bib and t-shirt. Not wanting to risk missing the start of the race, which was going to begin in around 10 minutes, I split off from Ahuva and headed downstairs. I signed in, put on my bib, and met up with my YU Cross Country co-captain and now Bergenfield resident, Yosef, who had signed up for the race with me. Yosef and I headed back up the escalator to level 2, where a giant red arch prominently displayed the word “START.” In the background, pump-up music was blasting from speaker systems, adding to the hype of the race. Just before the race began, someone on a loudspeaker announced that the circuit would be seven laps around the floor. Then the announcer counted down from five, blasted a horn, and the race began!
In most races, I often find myself starting out too fast and going out a little too hot for my expected pace due to the jitters and excitement of starting a race. In this race, held in the relatively narrow halls of the mall, I found myself in the opposite predicament: I had started out too SLOW. The GSP 5K was only open to 300 runners, which is relatively few compared to some larger outdoor races that can attract thousands of participants. However, many of the runners who had signed up were starting at a much slower pace, some even walking, so I found myself focusing more on weaving through the crowd rather than pushing the pace too quickly.
For lap 2, I managed to find several runners who were running at a pace I felt was a good, comfortable race pace and tailed them. This lap, I was able to run my fastest lap at 3 minutes and 14 seconds. Over the next five laps, I kept within a very tight range of 3:20-3:24, which I was very proud of since it meant I ran consistent race splits, a sign of a well-run race. Since the course was a loop, the highlight for me was near the start line, where I saw Ahuva and Koby cheering me on each lap, along with Yosef’s family, who had come out to support him as well.
What I liked about the race was that with each lap, I learned my surroundings better and better and knew when certain turns or obstacles, such as vendor stands blocking the hallway, would appear. It was also unique getting to see many different types of runners all in one race. Usually, in outdoor races, the elite runners are so far ahead of me that after the starting horn blows, I no longer see them again, except maybe one other time if there’s an out-and-back part of the race where runners need to run on opposite sides of the roads at different miles of the course. The same goes for slower runners, whom I usually blow by at the start of the race. In the GSP 5K, though, since the course was the same loop repeated multiple times, I came across the same slower runners multiple times, and the top two finishers actually lapped me. I remember hearing from behind a man in a red t-shirt yelling at everyone in his path, “On your right,” as he tried to weave his way through the hoard of runners. Quickly, it was my turn, as he and another runner right on his tail told me to move aside as they lapped me.
After crossing the finish line, exhausted but feeling elated with satisfaction at completing the race, I soon met up with my family and Yosef’s family. Yosef proudly told me that he had come in 5th place overall in the whole race! Since the race was tracked, a text message was sent to any registered phone numbers after each lap, so my family was able to follow along with my progress. Initially, I checked my results and saw that I had come in 21st place due to my delayed start, which had caused lap 1 to be a minute slower than my other laps. Later that night, the system updated lap 1 to adjust for my actual start time, bringing it more in line with my other laps, and I bumped up to 12th place overall!
With our medals in hand, Yosef and I took a celebratory picture. Yosef told me that he had tracked the course as being longer than a typical 5K, which is usually 3.1 miles, and he had measured around 3.5 miles. I had experienced a similar situation on my running watch, so most likely, the course was longer than it was supposed to be.
My friend Joshua, an avid Teaneck runner, and Aden, the star runner of the TABC track team, who had also signed up for the race, soon met up with Yosef and me. Joshua told me that he had invited his friend Yoel, who would be doing the Atlanta marathon with him the following week, to the race. Yoel was actually one of the runners who had lapped me and took second place overall! For his efforts, Yoel, along with the other top 3 male and female runners, each received a giant trophy. Aden had a similar issue to me: since he arrived at the race about 5 minutes late, his lap one time was about 4 minutes slower than each of his other lap times, as it was based on when the race started. I also bumped into my friend Michelle, who told me that she was in a hurry to leave because she had a dance class to get to, even though she had just run a race. (Now that’s commitment!) Following the race, Ahuva, Koby, and I headed down to level 1, where I had received my bib and shirt, to enjoy some post-race refreshments such as bananas and water bottles.
Running in a mall is certainly a unique experience, and I highly recommend anyone sign up for the race, whether it’s your first time running or you’re a seasoned runner. Personally, this race has revamped my competitive spirit, which I hope will carry me through the rest of the winter as the weather warms up. The course was very flat, there was a lot of music playing in the background, and the constant weaving through runners all helped make the race fly by. I saw many children running the race, including one Jewish father running with his son, so it is a very family-friendly event.
I certainly hope to run this race again next year. Hopefully, they’ll work out the kinks so that it is a proper 5K distance this time. It’s always cool to be part of the first of something, and I am glad to have participated in the first-ever indoor mall race at Bergen County’s very own Garden State Plaza.
Admission for race: $49
Address: 1 Garden State Plaza parkway Paramus, NJ US 07652
Date: Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 9am.
Sign up here: https://runsignup.com/Race/NJ/Paramus/RacefasterThroughTheMall?rsus=200-500-819b6026-97a8-4065-b13c-60a775d55c6e
Zachary Greenberg has been an avid reader of The Jewish Link since 2015 and a member of the staff since February 2022. Zachary is currently looking for a new full-time role in a business or data-related field. Beyond writing for The Link, he works part-time as director of the Keter Torah teen minyan for boys and as the TABC track coach. Zachary recently finished Cobra Kai on Netflix. Although Zack likes running in malls, he hates shopping in them. Please email him at [email protected] if you have any suggestions. Be sure to follow his Instagram page @funzacktivities for more content!
