Let the Boston countdown begin
Hi everyone!
First: thanks to all of you for reading and supporting this project. There are already many more of you here than I was expecting. It’s exciting to realize that so many other women (and a good number of men, too) were also looking to read something like this. I have some other formats and ideas cooking for future issues, but for this week, here’s another round of quick hits.
Boston, baby
The elite American field for Boston was announced this morning. Des Linden’s return is old news now, but I’m so excited to see her come back to defend the title. (Though once again, I’ll be running and won’t be able to watch. I may need to task some friends with shouting on-course updates as I run by.)
Jordan Hasay is also planning to race, after pulling out at the last minute last year with an injury. (And then pulling out of Chicago after that.) I was so looking forward to Jordan’s run in Boston last year, and I really hope she makes it to the starting line healthy this year! Ahead of Boston 2018, I co-edited this profile of Jordan by writer Katherine Laidlaw. In my humble opinion, it’s definitely worth a reread now that she’s gearing up for the race again. Even though the field, and Jordan’s injury record, have changed leading up to this year, it’s a nice window into her relentlessly positive personality and athletic drive.
Shalane is absent from the list, though it sounds like (according to LetsRun) she may still be undecided. As much as I’d love to see her keep racing, I’m also really looking forward to her eventual next chapter as a coach. It’s about time we had more women in elite coaching!
Not done with Camille yet
I mentioned Camille Herron’s 24-hour record in the last issue, but since then, I edited this Outside interview with her, by Fritz Huber. There’s a lot to love here, but this part got me fired up:
“For me, it’s more about the history that I’m making and being able to raise the bar for the sport and for other women. I want to be remembered years from now. You can’t put a price on that. I want to be able to able to read my name in history books. I think of our sport right now as being like women’s marathoning in the ‘70s. It’s a cool part of history to see women just crushing it right now. I think it’s just going to get better and better. Maybe me being a marathoner moving up in distance will usher in more marathoners to try things like this.”
Start them young
Kara Goucher’s inaugural running camp for high school girls is happening in January and currently accepting scholarship applications. (The scholarship deadline was recently extended to December 30.) It’s great to see that one of the themes of the camp focuses on pre-race anxiety—if only that existed when I was in high school! Spread the word to the young runners in your life.
Called out
Gotta keep ‘em honest. Thank you, ladies.
Drop me a line
What’d I miss? Email me your thoughts about what you want to read more or less of. Also: for a future issue, I want to hear about the women in the running community who you have your eyes on right now—either for their race performances or for other contributions to the running world. Shoot me a note about who deserves a shoutout and why.
Thanks for reading! Enjoy your miles.
Molly