The Team

Who we are and how to contact us

We hear you asking the question, right through your computer, who are those people racing through the woods, faster than a speeding groundhog, more powerful than a fawn, leaping small rocks in a single bound? And spending their time putting this shindig together?

Glad you asked. While we will have about 200 volunteers on race day, these are the various Poobahs to contact if you have questions about volunteering, registration, sponsoring, or logistics. Especially the sponsor part, because without them we couldn’t put on this community event at an affordable price:

Eric Turkewitz:

Race Director, Grand Poobah, runner | CONTACT

Eric is the race founder, having run 100+ loops of the course before he lost count, using it as a personal marathon training ground (24x NYC; 2x Boston). A description of how he put the race together over six years can be found here: History of the Trail and Race. You can read Eric’s Race Recaps here. Often seen in late November running races in a turkey costume. Real job: Personal injury attorney.

In 2026 he was honored by the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence, which produced this video about him and his creation of Paine to Pain.

Greg Stern:

Assistant Race Director, Volunteers/Logistics, runner | CONTACT

Greg places our 200-plus volunteers at strategic road and trail junctions on race day, and is involved in the day-to-day planning of this event from soup to nuts. If the Race Director should be struck by lightning — and he doesn’t plan on that, thank you very much — Greg will pinch-hit. Real job: Producer and Director of documentaries and the cool sporting events you fantasize about attending – including the Olympics, NFL, World Series, boxing and the Reach the Beach Relay. This Poobah is also the winner of 12 Emmy awards as both a producer and director.

Matt Lewis:

Assistant Race Director, Registrar, cyclist, duathlete | CONTACT

Matt takes care of all registration issues. He’s a one-man, back-office, number-crunching machine, and was part of the troika in past years with Greg and Eric that got P2P off the ground with such great success. This Poobah also predicts in August how many runners will show up in October, with startling accuracy. And if you’re begging and pleading to get into the race after it’s closed because you think you’re fast enough for the Olympics, he’s the man to talk to. Real job: Senior Managing Director at New Oak Capital LLC.

Arun Kristian Das:

Chief Technology Poobah, runner, hiker | CONTACT

Thank goodness for Arun, as website maintenance is not exactly the long suit of our technologically clueless founder. (You can report broken links and typos to him.) Real jobs: writer/web designer and tour guide.

Marissa Frusciante:

Sovereign of the Start Line, runner | CONTACT

Marissa has ruled the start corral of Paine to Pain with her team of volunteers with an iron fist and a warm smile since 2013. She takes care of the entire start line area, ensuring every runner has their bib pinned correctly, knows where the start line is, and swoops in to rescue panicked racers from last-minute race-day snafus. A lifelong Westchester resident, this Poobah previously served as President of NewRo Runners, proving she knows a thing or two about herding endurance athletes. Real jobs: Teacher in the Tuckahoe Union Free School District, cross country and track and field coach, and travel agent with ET Family Travel LLC, where she helps clients pull off magical vacations without breaking a sweat.

Tara Varbaro:

Sponsorship Coordinator, runner | CONTACT

By day, Tara works in the NBA, coordinating events and hospitality. She brings those same skills to Paine to Pain by building relationships with the sponsors who help make the race financially feasible. When not working or running, she volunteers with animal rescue, but disclaims all responsibility for releasing the unicorns and flying monkeys onto the course. As a runner and P2P veteran herself, she loves being part of an event that brings the community together! Want to be a sponsor? Contact Tara.

Nina Steinberg:

Chief Trail Pixie, runner | CONTACT

Nina ran the first 13 iterations of the race, and routinely took engraved tankards for age group awards.

Supervising her troupe of Trail Pixies, she insures that 13 miles of flags are placed the day before the race, and that those flags have been swept after, as we strive to leave behind nothing but footprints. Real job: Part time teacher, running store employee, mother to four wild boys, and pretty much a Jane of all trades still trying to figure out what she wants to be when she grows up.

Wayne Rubin:

Water Maven, runner | CONTACT

Want to run a race without water? Didn’t think so. Wayne oversees our water stops at miles 3.8 (Mamaroneck), 7.5 (Scarsdale) and 10.8 (Eastchester). He was a critical member of the organizing committee for the Westchester Triathlon, and for many years, was captain of the Masters’ Division of the Westchester Track Club. His motto: No Race Director ever got yelled at for having too much water. Retired legal eagle.

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Want to be a Poobah? Impress your friends? Frighten your kids?

Races like this don’t magically happen. It takes people who want to volunteer a few hours of their time creating an event for a community. If you would like to help out — and we have many places where we could use help making this event bigger and better — please contact either Eric or Greg.