NYC Marathon’s non-binary champion balances running with drag to find success

More than 100 non-binary runners and countless other LGBTQ athletes participated in the New York City Marathon on Nov. 3, capping a 26.2-mile journey that kicked off in Staten Island, crossed over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge through Brooklyn, continued to Long Island City in Queens, shifted west into Manhattan, turned north to the south Bronx, and concluded back in Manhattan’s Central Park.

It was no small feat for Sofia Camacho Ferral, an out trans and non-binary runner who was crowned champion of the non-binary division at the 2024 New York City Marathon. Ferral beat 119 other non-binary participants in a race that featured more than 55,000 people — including 24,731 women — who embarked on the arduous trek throughout the five boroughs. It was the world’s largest marathon and featured the most-ever women and non-binary participants in the 55-year history of the New York City Marathon.

Ferral, who finished in two hours and 31 minutes, is the fourth such winner of the non-binary division, which was formed in 2021. Ferral finished with an eye-popping pace of five minutes and 47 seconds per mile, good enough for 149th overall. Abdi Nageeye, the marathon winner, finished in two hours and seven minutes. 

Ferral didn’t necessarily enter the race with many expectations, but they were, at the very least, angling for a strong performance. 

“I wasn’t planning to run 2:31 — that was more of a surprise — but I was kind of trying to snag a win,” Ferral said in a post-marathon interview with Gay City News. 

There were also other bright spots for LGBTQ inclusion at this year’s New York City Marathon. The charity team for Point of Pride, which offers financial aid and direct support to trans and non-binary individuals who need health and wellness care, made history by fielding the first all-trans team of participants, the organization said. 

In addition to Point of Pride, several other LGBTQ organizations serve as official charity partners of the New York City Marathon, including the Audre Lorde Project, Ali Forney Center, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, Men Having Babies, and the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, according to New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon.

Ferral’s love of running is evident by their other work as a running coach, but it wasn’t always obvious that this was Ferral’s destiny. 

Ferral started running during their final two years of high school, but that experience was negatively impacted by an inappropriate coach who preyed on Ferral and was ultimately fired. Fast-forward to their college years, Ferral wasn’t recruited like many others, but they walked on at Barnard College and ran Division 1 for four years.

Still, Ferral entered the 2024 New York City Marathon with only one marathon under their belt — on flatter ground in California. 

What drives athletes to thrive in their respective sports varies by individual. One notable motivating factor behind Ferral’s success is something completely unrelated to running: drag. Ferral works as a drag performer, and they say their drag work has grown significantly — to the point where they had to reject some gigs in October as they prepared for the marathon. 

 

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Juggling drag, coaching, and running has required Ferral to make some sacrifices, but it reflects Ferral’s approach to life: If you love something, such as your job, find a second thing that you love either just as much or almost as much.

“Because for me, it’s definitely art and drag and running,” Ferral explained.

Ferral’s success comes against the backdrop of an endless stream of transphobia engulfing the sports world. Lawmakers in numerous red states — and even in Long Island, New York — have aggressively pursued policies banning transgender athletes from participating in sports in accordance with their gender identity by pushing baseless and outright false rhetoric to frame inclusive sports policies as unfair to women and girls. The Trump campaign spent much of the 2024 campaign disparaging trans athletes in blatant displays of transphobia. 

Ferral, for their part, has felt the political tension firsthand. Some people, for example, believe that Ferral is “biologically male” — a term that is often employed falsely in such a way that dehumanizes transgender individuals and makes assumptions about an individual’s gender.

“It’s been tough,” Ferral said. “There’s not even a lot of debate, but rather interesting comments.”

There are mixed feelings about whether a non-binary division is even needed. Ferral, for example, finished in what would have been 16th place in the women’s division and 149th place overall, proving that they can make a difference regardless of how they’re categorized. 

“I always like letting people know that with running, you have to sacrifice things,” Ferral said. “It is possible to have fun and you can perform at an elite level.”