Former Gamecock Tackles New York City Marathon

Former South Carolina quarterback/receiver Jay Urich is going the extra mile. Actually, he’s running 26.2 miles in the New York City Marathon on November 1 while raising money for Empower, a Boston non-profit that mentors children and young adults who have lost a parent.

“I’ve never been to New York, so I’m really excited about that,” said Urich, who played for the Gamecocks from 2017 through 2020, earning a bachelor’s degree in public health and later a master’s in higher education. “I’m very passionate about a lot of things, including my non-profit (Original Design) and my for-profit organization, Banner Player Development.”

Before training for his first marathon about a year and a half ago, Urich had never run in a distance event.

“I never ran in a 5K or anything,” Urich said. “In high school, I ran track but that was the 400 meters and the 4 x 100 meters. When I was at Carolina, we did sprints and focused on speed and five second bursts. My former roommate is an ultra-marathoner who was running 100-mile races. After some smaller runs with him, he inspired me to try long distance running.

“It’s a big shift for the body. It’s a new challenge for me, which is something I really love. I enjoy having new goals and to be able to use what I learned at Carolina in playing quarterback and receiver to have a new challenge to look forward to.”

Urich ran his first marathon last December in Kiawah, South Carolina in three hours and 32 minutes. Then he decided the New York City Marathon would be his next challenge.

“You have to have a really good time to qualify for that, and my time isn’t there yet, but you can also do it if you raise money for a charity that is approved by them to have access to run in the event,” said Urich.

That’s where he found Empower, and it made sense to align himself with that non-profit as it was similar to his own non-profit, Original Design, which he founded as a senior at South Carolina.

“I’ve been operating Original Design for seven years, and it helps children in Columbia through faith, mentorship, and athletics,” Urich said. “It centers around helping children know their original design and know how much God loves them and empowers them with life skills through athletics, public health, and mentorship. Empower of Boston mentors children who have lost a parent. That grabbed my attention because we’re doing a lot of the same work here, but maybe in a different way. I need to raise $4,000 for Empower to help children in Boston who have lost a parent so that they can have a solid mentor in their lives.”

After graduating from South Carolina, Urich spent a couple of years working in the Athletics Department’s Student-Athlete Development office. He went on to found Banner Player Development a year and a half ago.

“That is focused on empowering high school athletes to thrive after sports,” Urich said. “I partner with the high school athletics directors and do life beyond sports workshops. It’s important for these high school athletes to have some sort of identity beyond sports because 99 percent of them aren’t going to play past high school.

“I’ve had so many people pour into me my entire life, starting when I was young. I just have this passion for the next generation because that’s where I know our hope lies. They need to know how much they are valued and how much the Lord loves them.”

While still a novice in the marathon world, Urich has done his homework on the New York City event, which notoriously starts with a one-mile incline.

“I’ll have to learn to start off strong, but not too fast,” Urich said. “With all the hype and everything going on, if you start too fast, you’ll be gassed and still have 25 miles to go. They say that New York is one of the most exhilarating marathons you can run. I think there will be close to 60,000 runners.”

In addition to raising the money for Empower, Urich has other goals in his run on November 1.

“My goal is to run the marathon in sub three hours,” Urich said. “That would be a 32-minute personal record for me, which is a very aggressive goal. I’ve been training non-stop since my last marathon to continue to improve and be the best that I can be.”

Regardless of his time, Urich’s effort will be a winning moment for more than just himself.