'Running Cult' The November Project Helps New Yorkers Get In Marathon Shape

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) --- Many spectators watching the TCS New York City Marathon Sunday inevitably will wonder if they could ever be fit enough to do it themselves.

As WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported, a group on the Upper East Side is helping people reach their fitness goals.

With music blaring, the November Project meets at 6 a.m. at Carl Schurz Park.

It's been described as a running flash mob.

"It's also a running cult. ... We've been called many names," said John Honerkamp with the New York Road Runners, one of the group's leaders.

"We're having a good time, and again, we're sweating, we're getting fitter, we're encouraging each other, we're holding each other accountable," he said.

Paul Leak, who greets all members with a hug, is part guru, part task master.

"These people are going to work out for 35 minutes straight doing stairs and burpees, and yet they will still be smiling at the end of it," he said.

The free fitness group is now a movement across 26 U.S. cities and towns. It was started by two guys in Boston as a way to stay fit in the winter months.

It has become an addiction for Amir Figueroa, of Harlem.

"A lot of new people come in, and we welcome them with open arms, and we just have good fun," he said.

For more information, visit http://november-project.com/new-york-ny.