Joe DeAngelo says he has nothing against burritos, but he couldn’t tell you the last time he ate one.
So one might wonder why throughout January he dove head first into NYC’s chapter of
@burrito.league , running 2,254 laps around a 0.3-mile segment in Central Park over 23 days—29 miles per day—to take home the crown and earn a year’s worth of free burritos, among other prizes.
Part of the motivation was some of those other prizes, including an Othership membership Joe wanted to win for his girlfriend. But mostly, he says it was ‘the idea of pushing yourself beyond what you thought was possible.’
The Pennsylvania native had never done any ultras before Burrito League but has had ‘ultra marathon dreams’ since he was a kid, inspired by childhood runs with his uncle, who retired from the Navy last year and has run several 100-milers. His uncle’s retirement party and the memories it rekindled are actually part of why Joe returned to serious running in 2025, joining
@manhattantrackclub and taking second place in both Take the Bridge 10 and OSR’s Prototype Race.
Joe’s Burrito League title didn’t come without its challenges. He had to call out of a few of his classes at Manhattan School of Music, where he’s currently earning his master’s, and shift some lessons around with his own violin students. New York City also experienced its most brutal January weather in years, closing out with single-digit temperatures and a blizzard. And during Burrito League’s penultimate night, when Joe was 81 miles deep into an 100-mile attempt, the cops kicked him and his competitors out of Central Park as they passed the 1am curfew.
Nonetheless Joe overcame all obstacles for the win, narrowly edging Roland Mann, who totaled an impressive 2,040 segments in his own right. Now, Joe says he’s trying to rest a bit this week before resuming normal training, hoping his thousands of burrito-shaped laps will serve as a solid base for the Washington Heights 5k and OSR30 in March.
We spoke with Joe to discuss his running background, what attracted him to Burrito League, how his motivations evolved during the challenge and more.
Read the full interview at the link in bio.
📸:
@greenlight_711 
