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Tim Downey, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS

@timdowney_dpt

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Sports Rehab • Run Coaching • Strength Training
NYC Based | Midwest Raised

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🦊 Meet the NYRA Coaches! 🦊

Next up: Tim Downey (@timdowney_dpt ) 🌽🚜

Hailing from “The Greatest Midwest Collab: Illinois x Michigan“, Tim started coaching in 2014-15 as a performance strength coach for athletes before bringing on run coaching in 2016. His expertise lies in integrating training & strength, helping athletes understand not just what they’re doing, but why they’re doing it.

🔥 What he loves about coaching:
“My favorite part of coaching & PT is helping athletes put the puzzle pieces together—implementing training & strength, and educating them on what they’re doing & why they’re doing it.”

🏃‍♂️ Favorite workout to prescribe:
“Good for the systems and soul: 1600 / 4x200 / 3200 / 4x400 / 1600 / 4x200.”

🌆 Favorite places to run in NYC:
“They’ll disagree til they run them: The triple crown—Newtown Creek to Cemetery to McGolrick Park (#1 park in the boroughs).
Highly underrated: LaGuardia ↔️ Wegman’s.”

📍 Where can you find him when he’s not running?
“Eating pizza with the Glue Factory, at concerts or live sports games, or deep dive reading on existentialism, biomechanics & physiology (or working 😅).”

💬 Have a question for Tim? Drop it in the comments! 👇

#NewYorkRunAcademy #NYCRunning #MarathonTraining #RunNYC taken in New York City, USA by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

New Year. Same Watch.
Thank you @sayvillerunning for hosting a nice 10 mile rust buster with a pure taste of some quality hometown racing vibes. Enjoyed sharing some nice miles with some Dredgers til I kindly offered (got dropped) to take the caboose. 10/10 would do it again. taken in Center Moriches, New York by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

Excited to announce Run Strong. An injury prevention workshop for runners led by @timdowney_dpt

Join two Doctors of Physical Therapy with expertise in running coaching and strength and conditioning for this interactive 60-minute workshop designed to help runners of all levels stay healthy and perform their best. Learn the most common causes of running injuries and how to prevent them through proper training techniques, strength exercises, and mobility strategies. The session will include practical tips, demonstrations, and a Q&A to address your specific concerns. Whether you’re training for your first 5K or your next marathon, this workshop will equip you with the tools to run stronger and smarter.

🗓️ Feb 5, 2025 7:15pm
📍 Session Greenpoint 65 Kent St
Sign up via mindbody (link in bio) taken in Greenpoint by @timdowney_dpt

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My guess is by the end of 2025 more people will be doing strength training than not in running / rehab space - the question then becomes how do you incorporate it to make it most effective and progress appropriately. With running continuing to grow, and more people wanting a performance edge, I think we’re finally going to see a shift towards quality strength that’s been missing for years in the broader population

You can only run off natural talent and hammering miles and buying super shoes to make you faster and using KT tape to “fix” your mechanics for so long

You can only get so far with time healing your body, but the rate of injury recurrence is high if you don’t load the body for the demands you want to get back to

If you’ve never done strength before, or are looking for something more in depth than the general 6 exercises you get at the start of a block, or simply want your strength to build with your training, winter is a great time to start introducing that ahead of spring, summer, and fall racing. Don’t overcomplicate it, just make it effective - 🐎 taken in Wherever You Are by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

Short of sounding like Chris McCandless; a recap of my frequent thoughts over this year & people who made it

What’s the point of anything? To do more? To help more? To make more? To go further? To go faster? To go higher? I’ve slowly come to terms - and I know it has to mean more to self than any external validation could possibly offer

In my head, it’s to go into the unknown. To separate mind from body. To feel something you cant control, only by controlling the part of your brain that tells you to stop. It’s enticing. Its addicting. It’s liberating. It’s unsettling. It’s a chance to feel something, then feel nothing at all as your body floats while burning. To push out the mundane of day to day and for a brief moment, enjoy living

My brain thrives on the existential. And after my 100 miler, I’ve enjoyed sitting with it, largely in part because no goal or standard is inherently fulfilling in itself. What’s the point of running, or life - I’ve talked in circle with those close to me the last few weeks, and it probably sounds like it’s all spinning wheels. I’m sure my screws seem loose on societal standards. But the alternative sounds boring & fake

I know what I do for work means a lot to a lot of people, and I love what I do. I’ve worked with collegiates & pros, amateurs & coaches, to come back from injury, break big time barriers, and complete local 5Ks to world majors. I myself have run some respectable (and completely blown up) times from the mile to 100. I love it all - it’s all amazing. I look forward to continuing to help others, while searching for whatever my own goals are

I’m sure I will devote some time to continuing to pursue arbitrary goals on the road, but after the last 3 years crossing off time / distance goals I had written from the mile to 100 mile, I’m looking forward to doing more ridiculous shit, that means nothing without a purpose, and grateful for the people in my life who support my ridiculous ideas

Maybe it’s selfish. Maybe it’s inspiring. Maybe it’s a death wish. Maybe it’s living. All I know is that it’s the sharing the times I feel something with people I love that really light me up

🏔️🏜️🌊🌲🏰 by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

Sunrise, Sunset, the Afters (a Conor Oberst remix)

I wanted to prove to myself I could come back post surgery. I wanted to go a distance that challenged me again. I wanted to know what it’d feel like to break. Pretty sure I checked them all

I think a lot of training can be overdone these days - I kept it simple and effective. I took what I could do & progressively overloaded it. I didn’t have fancy recovery tools or supplements or do any formal workouts. I wore NB 1080s for 99% of the miles this fall. There wasn’t crazy volume, I was limited in able to handle any true speed work, so I spent time in the gym - I focused on strength + cycling for cross training, & consistency with running

It doesn’t matter the distance - for some it’s a 5K, or half, or marathon. For me, it was 100 miles. It posed the same nerves as my first marathon in 2017 - the physical distance was the barrier. And I wanted to know where my body could go on 2 feet, and where my mind would go when it felt like quitting

100 miles was so different than any of the 50s or marathons for me though - You can lock in to a pace. You can cramp. But to have to continually get yourself back out to running after stopping (change, get warm, and refuel) knowing you have hours to go - it’s something that I admittedly expected would be hard, but never comprehended how hard til I was in it. I finished because I started. I knew I could recover and warm up later.

All I said to myself when I was in it, keep going til the wheels fall off. And then, keep going a little more. Running is so much mental and that’s the allure to me. My family and friends know this wasn’t the end - looking forward to bigger things coming in 2025 by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

Proud & Painful - Glue 100 Miler

Top 10 words that come to mind for these 10 pictures.
Proud, cold, grateful, dark, happy, miserable, fortunate, broken, determined, painful

Thank you to those who helped me achieve this - because there is 0% chance I’d have finished without their support both in person and virtually. I had a goal to rip 100 miles. I got hit hard early and had to fight for much longer than I anticipated. But for my first crack at a 100 miler, I’m very pleased for finishing under 20 hours still.

Global warming decided to pause so we got to enjoy a bleak wintry day without much sun on the course. I was unable to move my legs at 62. I couldn’t feel my face at 70. I didn’t remember which way was back at 75. And with 16 miles to go, I couldn’t fathom 3-4 more hours. I ate McChickens and fries and snickers and gummies and pop tarts and bagels and coffees and bone broth and granola bars. I finished with wrecked quads and 2 blisters - and a big smile, an open mind, and beyond grateful for the amazing people in my life who believe in me

I am quite certain this won’t be my last go, but it’s gotta be warmer than 30 and sunny for the next one

100 miles - 19:58 by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

I set a goal on June 13th for myself while laying in the recovery room to go from crutches to a 100 miler before December. I’m less than 2 weeks away from getting wrecked on purpose. I don’t know how long you get to put comeback season on your resume, but I think it’s safe to say we’re nearing the end of that excuse

After 8 weeks of rehab and relearning to walk, my training nobody asked for consisted of what will be 14 weeks. From run walks to 6 days a week running building weekday runs from 40-60-105’, one long bike, & 3 lifts. The past 8 weeks had 5 marathons, a 50k, and a 52 miler for long runs. The biggest takeaway from rehab and training - consistency. A lot of people want quick fixes - they want recovery to be solved with 2 hours a week of work. They want fitness to build off of 2 days a week. There isn’t anything special about me getting to this point: I set a goal, I rode the waves, I did what I could with my time and symptoms, and on November 30th I get to put myself directly in the pain cave and ride until these wheels fall off one more time for the year as a happy guy (and ready to take a break or get broken)

Of the 25+ marathons or ultras I’ve run, most have not been of the formal concept, but just opening the door and going out for a long run. There’s not much you get for those but a big meal after with your family & friends, but I love the feeling - you can separate your mind from your body, you let your legs do the talking, and sometimes you have TBS blast in your ears as you reminisce about 2006

I’m proud of how I did my rehab. I’m proud my consistency with finding moments to train. And I’m proud of the people in my life who’ve supported my juggling act of work, training, and being a human and having fun outside of this sport. I’m looking forward to us touring 4 boroughs in 10 days - if you’re around, feel free to come eat fruit snacks and pop tarts with me along the way. I’m certain it’ll be hard. But it will be exactly what I love about distance running - No frills. No easy way out. No way to quick fix your way to success. And truly, no glory

Til the wheels fall off - 11/30 taken in New York City by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

I don’t think there are one or two best exercises for runners (whether healthy or in rehabbing) but here are some things that are worth keeping in mind for best practices that would help from mile to marathon to comebacks plus a song I like to lift to

Multidirectional exercises. Explosive exercises. Plyometric exercises. Isometric exercises. Eccentric exercises. Concentric exercises. Stability exercises.

That’s kinda all the options if you didn’t realize. Because they all play a part. The kicker is load management - When to do them. How often to do them. How much volume to accumulate. How much intensity to move with. How much recovery to take.

Your strength should complement your running. If you can answer those 5, then you can put the pieces of the puzzle together and build a neat body that can handle the demands of training. If you can’t answer those 5 then you could greatly benefit from finding someone who can by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

When most of your training is solo, it’s hard to beat a long run with friends - that’s the best part of NYCM and running here. Everyone is out, friends you may not get to see as often you get to share a moment and re-connect over a quick chat. And then you finish and see more friends. And then you go to a diner and try to decide between pancakes or eggs and have some of both. And then you finally get home and realize you’ve been up for so long. Overall a great day

I have no clue what will happen during 100, but I’m pretty sure I’ve sorted out what I like to eat during long runs at least taken in TCS New York City Marathon by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

Wild horses 🐎

You never know what you’ll get running nyc. But you know you’re going to get your friends to run with, friends and family on the sidelines, and painful climb to the finish

This marathon may be my favorite. The city came out. The weather hit. The amount of athletes and patients who got to the start and finish line goal, the big PRs, and the first timers - and I got to share mine with some of my best friends and family

Went in wanting to be tired. 4 marathons in 5 weeks will certainly check that box. But the approach to this build is different - I commute on a bike, I run when I can between patients, I lift 3 days a week, and when I go for my long runs, I think mostly existentialist thoughts, listen to amazing 90s and 00s emo / punk / indie sleeze playlists and remind myself all the days I wished I could run over the last year

The final 2 weeks of the build are here
TAKE ME TO A PLACE WHERE BLIND MEN SEE by @timdowney_dpt

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2 years ago

Meet our new physical therapist, Tim!

Tim is a doctor of physical therapy who also boasts 8 years of strength and conditioning and run coaching. As a PT, his focus has been on sports rehab to help clients return to activity and sport through appropriate load management and progressive strengthening to lower risk of injury, address deficits and functional capacity to return to sport, and improve overall performance during training.

Outside of his work as a physical therapist, Tim enjoys training for long distance races. He also likes spending time out on the water and in the mountains. Although he holds true to his Midwest roots, he loves experiencing and learning about other cultures and has spent time living abroad in Austria, New Zealand, and China.

We’re very excited to have Tim join our team! Hit the link in bio to schedule an appointment with him.

Shout out to our photographer
📸 @akiakiwumi
Shout out to our models:
@sarahdimbert
@oscar.y.arana by @timdowney_dpt

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