Bronx Burners blaze trails of opportunity across generations

The Bronx Burners Run Club and its co-founder Shaquille Roberts are out to "fill any gaps that we can." The positive influence shows up on multiple levels, on and off the track.

One gap the club bridges is generational, having members "from four to five years old all the way up to 60-plus. We had a race on Wednesday and we had a couple grandmas out here racing! You can't put a price on that," Roberts said.

The group recently partnered up with the NFL for its PLAY 60 initiative, a program aimed at getting kids active for at least 60 minutes a day. Activities include traditional football training and drills like the vertical jump, 40-yard dash and tackle dummies. In addition to the special event, the league made a contribution to Bronx Burners' scholarship and inclusion fund.

The club's scholarships give young people in the community a hand with the financial demands of a quality education. Ikram Dara says the support helps, "pay for my tuition and I can pay for my books, as well, and it's a huge help."

A scholarship made the difference for Isaiah Slater. He remembers when he met Roberts and other runners and, "something in my head just told me to go with them." Slater became one of the club's early members as well as its first scholarship recipient. Now he's earning his degree and setting records at SUNY Oneonta. "I actually broke my school record for outdoors literally the last meet of my season, so it's just been a blessing," says Slater.

Isaiah's achievement is fulfilling for Roberts, too. "Part of that makes me want to cry, He has definitely taken advantage of the opportunity," he said.

Roberts and his Bronx Burners co-found Rob Dalto met entirely by chance when Rob was making social media videos for the New York Marathon in Central Park. Dalto appreciated Shaquille's story and "a vision he had for a better Bronx community, especially around the sport of running."

For Rob, the investment has paid off by helping the club find "a tremendous amount of purpose. We can invest in the community and it's invested right back in us."