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[0:00] Joel Crump: Welcome back to The Weekly Dose of Joel. It's me, your host Joel Crump, and today I'm joined by the incredible Patina Miller, Tony and Grammy Award-winning star of stage and screen. You know her from Pippin, Into the Woods, Sister Act, and Power Book III: Raising Kanan. But today we're talking about something a little different: running. Patina has been mentoring young women through the New York Road Runners’ Run for the Future program and recently ran alongside them in the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K during Harlem Week. She's also gearing up for the very first Broadway Mile on September 7th. We get into how running has shaped her as a performer, how it fuels her stamina on stage, and how she's using it to inspire the next generation. Now let's dive in.

[0:40] Joel Crump: Hey you guys, today I'm here with Patina Miller. I'm so excited to be chatting with her about all things running and the club that she's a part of. Patina, how are you today?

[0:49] Patina Miller: I am good. Happy Monday.

[0:51] Joel Crump: Happy Monday. It's Monday morning. To start off, you've been mentoring through the young women's program at NYRR, the Run for the Future program. What is it like running with them and mentoring them through this journey?

[1:04] Patina Miller: I mean, it's been incredible. You know, I always love being able to lend my voice, my platform to empower young women. That's really been a part of my thing for a long time. And so running, being something that I'm very passionate about, it just really made sense for me to want to mentor young girls at the start of their journey. I mean, my journey with running started only like what, three or four years ago? So I was so excited to offer, you know, any sort of advice or just be there to listen, help them because I was in their shoes, and I know that like, you know, doing things that are hard, being supported by people means the most. So I was happy to do it.

[1:57] Joel Crump: When did your journey with running start? I know for me, I'm also a runner. I run cross country.

[1:57] Patina Miller: Yes. I love to run. So when did your journey with running begin?

[1:59] Patina Miller: So my real journey began three years ago. No, actually almost four. Good lord, time's flying. So I ran my first half marathon by just someone telling me, a trainer of mine who said, you know what, you should just sign up. And I admired her because she was running through the pandemic. She ran the marathon. And I was like, oh my God, I can never do something like that. And so I was training with her, and we were really just like training hard. And she just said one day, hey, you should maybe run a half marathon. And I did it, and it was crazy. And then I signed up for a marathon because she pressured me again. It's gonna be on your birthday. Why not? Who can say, like you ran a marathon on your birthday, do something hard.

And I always love doing things hard, whether it's on Broadway, you know, pushing myself, training for Broadway, you know, like that's just been me since I started my career is just meeting the physical demands of what I do. And I always wanted to be strong and do things that push me past my level of comfort. And this was one of those things that made me get out of my comfort zone. You know, you fail at it one day, you try again the next, and it's all about getting out there. So I fell in love with that. I fell in love with pushing myself to be better. And then I started getting mental clarity, and then, you know, juggling being on Broadway and doing a TV show at the same time. Yes, it was very hard to train for a marathon while doing both of those things, but it kind of became sort of this moving therapy for me. So since that, I've just been running.

[3:45] Joel Crump: Absolutely. And how does the running impact you as a performer and an actor? I'm sure it helps with breath support.

[3:53] Patina Miller: Hello. Yeah. Talk to me about that.

[3:53] Patina Miller: Stamina, hello. I mean, I luckily with the theater work that I've always done, I've always known that like I need to train, right? Because it's eight shows a week. And I've always said that Broadway performers are athletes. And doing a Broadway show, doing any show is a marathon, right? And so for me, moving my body and being just sort of really in tune with my body allows me to make choices on stage. It allows me to be comfortable on stage, breath support, all of those things I've always done, whatever kind of training. But running kind of started to amp that up a bit because, you know, you're using your lungs in a different way. And so all of that running stuff really just supported my entire run of Into the Woods. And yeah, I'm so grateful for it.

[4:50] Joel Crump: Absolutely. So there have been a few exciting events recently that you were part of, and one that's coming up. But talk to me about the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K. What was that like? I know it was a big part of Harlem Week. What was it like honoring the legacy of Percy Sutton and being with the community for that run?

[5:06] Patina Miller: Oh my God. I mean, it was so amazing to be out in the community. I mean, I've run a lot of marathons, and I have had the opportunity with New York Road Runners. What I love is the races really just, you know, they really are very specific and intentional about reaching out into the communities and, you know, running events for everyone, right? And so for me to be able to participate in the Percy Sutton 5K with these girls, you know, as a celebration of the hard work, you know, not only were they celebrating their hard work, but it was also celebrating Harlem Week, celebrating, you know, all of the cultural institutions, the, you know, what Harlem Week is all about, which is really about a celebration of Harlem and its cultural impact and the community.

And so to be a part of it, to see, you know, I saw some AKAs out there running, I saw like older people out there running. Everybody was so freaking excited to be in the streets of Harlem dancing, celebrating. People were walking, they were running, you know, the crowds were just, it felt just so good. It felt really good to be a part of that. And I was really just so happy to have my entire family out there just soaking it all up and celebrating how amazing this event was. And so yeah, it was really, really, really cool. And you should do it since you're a cross-country runner, you have to do the Percy Sutton 5K at some point.

[6:36] Joel Crump: I have to. I run many 5Ks before, you know, for our races. So next year I'll have to be there for that one.

[6:41] Patina Miller: Oh, it was fun.

[6:42] Joel Crump: Yeah, and I think I read somewhere that your daughter ran with you that day. What was that like having your daughter with you on her birthday, just like you ran a marathon for your birthday?

[6:51] Patina Miller: Yeah, it was like having her there. First, I was like when I just sort of mentioned it to her to see what she would say because, you know, she wants to run now too because she sees her mom and her dad running, and you know, she has her run shorts, her run shoes. And so now she's like, oh, well, maybe I'll do it. So it was so fun the morning of she got up as early as I did, and she was ready to like excited to put her paint on, you know, the glitter that everyone wears, and she like had my sister braid her hair. She was so proud to run in her little half marathon. And my nephew came out, and they were excited to run together. And seeing all those young kids just inspired me, you know, doing it, just like daring themselves to get out there and just have fun and do things that were hard.

It was so inspiring, really, honestly. And when she crossed that finish line, poor baby, like ran her little heart out. And it was on, you know, she it looked like she wanted to like cuss me out when she crossed the little finish line, but she loved it.

[7:56] Joel Crump: I love that. So, what advice do you give to your mentees when you're preparing for races?

[8:07] Patina Miller: Well, I say the biggest piece of advice that I got in my career was this. It was to not be afraid to fail, right? Like not being afraid to jump off the deep end, and like what that means is to just, you know, being fearless takes courage, right? Like, just like doing it and not worrying about what's gonna happen on the way down, but the act of just freeing yourself up to go for it to take a chance that's the power, and that's something that I have taken with me is to do things that are scary, you know. Just because it's scary, you know, doesn't mean we don't do it, we do it, right? Like, we learn something from it. And if you're not doing things that scare you, I don't know. I don't know about that.

Like, right? Like, like you know, and I just told them with the race to just find your why, like why you're out here, why you wanted to start your running journey, why is it important? Who are you running for? Like, what in yourself are you, you know, grappling with? Like, find all of those things. Cause when you get out there on the line, you're running for yourself. You're not running for anyone else. And it is a, it is a it is a race for you and whatever is going on in here. And just give it and enjoy. Like it's a blessing. It's a blessing to be able to move our bodies and get out there in motion. And um, I think that I just wanted them to like not be afraid. Like, okay, it's a 5K. We gotta walk, we gotta walk, but we're gonna push through. Right? You know, it's uncomfortable, but that's how you find out what you're made of when you're uncomfortable. And so that was what I tried to um give to them.

[9:53] Joel Crump: Well, talk to me about the upcoming NYR uh race event, the Broadway Mile that's happening.

[9:58] Patina Miller: Oh yes. Talk to me about it. Well, you know, the Broadway Mile uh is happening September 1st. Um, there's the Fifth Avenue mile, there's like a back to school mile, and then there's a Broadway mile where they are partnering with um B uh, I think oh my God, you know what I'm talking about. Broadway Cares like three five six. Yes, honey, Broadway Cares. I've done that speech so many times. It's the morning. It's the morning. It's it's Monday morning. Come on, yeah. It's Monday morning, baby. I love Broadway Cares um so much, but I love that they are partnering with uh New York Roadrunners for this event where all the Broadway shows get to come out together and run a mile. And listen, I think it's so awesome.

There are so many from what I've heard. There are a lot of people that run on Broadway, and that's just not actors, that's just people behind the scenes, dressers, um, crew. So, you know, September 1st, we're gonna get out there and we're all gonna be running. It might be a little competitive. Um, I'm not in a show right now, but I'm still gonna be out there doing my thing, representing for the actors who are not in shows. Um, my friend Sarah Boggus, you know, we're running together. There's just so many incredible people that are getting out there. And um, I think it's just a fun event. It's kind of, you know, it's one mile, push yourself all out. Some people will be there for the vibes, you know. We're all competitive in a way, and so I'm sure the shows will be uh competing against one another, you know.

[11:24] Joel Crump: Yeah, absolutely. I'm gonna have to get us journalists to create a team.

[11:28] Patina Miller: Oh my god, there we go. So we have to run. We have to. I'm I'm gonna talk to them when I get to the red carpet. I'm gonna say which one of you run because we have to be out there for the Broadway Mile. How dope would it be for you to run and do some, you know, just audio at in the middle of the race. We have to talk about it.

[11:44] Joel Crump: Maybe so. Absolutely, absolutely. Well, you know, I I I recently had somebody ask me, what do you think about when you run? And that's such an interesting question because it's hard when you're running what what goes through your head to keep that stamina. What do you think about when you run?

[12:03] Patina Miller: Um, I think it depends, right? So, like when I'm just out there running every day, I I tend to use it now. I've gotten to the place where I can be a little bit more free with my thoughts. Like when I first started running, it was about okay, okay, can I do this? Can I do it? So it was a lot of pet. I had like I was my own little like, you know, cheerleader, like, okay, girl, you ran, you ran two blocks. Okay, now we're gonna walk. You know, it was a lot of like cheer, cheerleading for myself, those first um, like the first year of running and checking my watch all the time and really just like you could do this, you could do this, you know, or cursing myself. Like it was a lot of different things.

But now in my running journey, I've allowed my mind to sort of like be free to go where it wants to go, depending on what I'm feeling in the moment. And so when I'm on my training runs, I use that as a time for reflection sometimes, depending on what I'm going through. Um if I have anxiety, which you know, I do and a lot of us do, it's a way to calm me down. Uh it it clears my head. So I think about everything. I think about the people that I love, I think about goals for myself. I think about what I want to do next. I sing, I memorize lines, I belt it out. Uh, you know, I do it's my time, it's my me time, it's special. And even when training for a marathon, when it can get really hard and like, you know, those speed workouts, you can't really think only thing you're thinking about is not stopping.

Right? But on the glorious long days and the runs that are easy, I just like to try to think about things that keep my heart rate down. And so for me, that's about my daughter, love and music and um, yeah, I do a lot of planning as well on those runs.

[13:55] Joel Crump: Follow-up to that. What's on your what's on your playlist when you're running?

[14:00] Patina Miller: No, what my playlist is stacked. Um, stacked. If you would have told me, like, if you would have asked me this like last week, I would have had, I would have probably said like Kendrick Lamar is on there, Drake is on there, like I got like hardcore hip hop, I got some Cardi B, I got some Meg, I got my broad, I got my Beyonce, obviously. Um every album, but I'm really into Cowboy Carter right now, probably because I just went to the concert. Um but I'm vibing. I'm vibing right now into the Beyonce uh album and Victoria Monet. And you know, whenever I need a little, you know, I still listen to my Broadway to show tunes as well, but you know, Lil Hamilton will always be in there. Yes. Um you know, I uh there's so many of them.

Little into the woods, a little sister act. I mean, it's on everybody else's exercise playlist. It might as well be on mine as well, right? Like Fabulous Baby, Take Me to Heaven. Yes. When I'm out there, I'm listening to Raise Your Voice. I'm like, Ray, it's a good one, isn't it? It that's a banger right there. It is with that one. Absolutely. It's definitely it's a good one.

[15:10] Joel Crump: Yes, well, thank you so much, Patina. It's been a pleasure being able to talk about the two things I love running and rocking.

[15:16] Patina Miller: Yes. And oh my god. Yes, and and I love that vision. I love the message you're spreading. It's very inspirational. Thank you very much. What a pleasure to talk to you this morning.

[15:27] Joel Crump: You too. Have a great Monday. And I'll see you at a race.

[15:30] Patina Miller: I'll see you at a race. I'll be there, absolutely.

[15:33] Joel Crump: That was Patina Miller on The Weekly Dose of Joel. From Broadway stages to marathon starting lines, she's proving that strength, discipline, and community can carry you across any finish line. Be sure to check out the New York Roadrunners Broadway Mile on September 7th and follow Patina's journey as she continues to inspire through both her art and athleticism. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe and share it with a friend. I'll see you next time for another weekly dose of Joel.