The racing itch returns
It's been too long.
Hello everyone,
I’ve been meaning to send you all another newsletter issue for a while now, but I think we all get a free pass for falling behind in 2020.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve been craving racing so much more in the past two months than I was earlier in the pandemic. I think it’s the season, to some extent. Last year at this time I was tapering for CIM, and for many years before that I was either in the thick of marathon training or coming off the tail end of cross-country season. Now that I’m coming up on a year since my last race, I realized recently that I haven’t gone this long without racing since I was in elementary school. I haven’t gone after any time trials or virtual races during the pandemic, but I may have to cave pretty soon. Every few days I feel the itch for an all-out effort creeping up on me while I’m out on a regular old training run. (I tried to explain this feeling to a non-runner friend a few days ago when she innocently asked me about “how running is going”—I don’t think she got it.) In a weird, cheesy way, it’s kind of a comforting feeling. Left to my own devices, with a million reasons not to think or care about chasing arbitrary times over meaningless distances, that’s still what I actually want to do. Or maybe I’m just far enough out from my last painful racing memories to trick myself into believing that—who’s to say.
This is a long and earnest way of saying: Now that we’re coming up on the end of 2020 (somehow), I’ve been thinking a lot about how my running friends and peers have changed their attitudes about racing over the past year. If you have thoughts on this topic that you’d like to share, I’d love to hear from you! (Possibly for a future issue of the newsletter, TBD.)
Seeking the fastest shoe in the post-Vaporfly era
I recently worked with Alex Hutchinson on this story for Outside about the Canadian marathoner Malindi Elmore and her unconventional approach to signing a new shoe contract. Before joining Saucony, she took the brand’s Endorphin Pro shoe to a lab to test it alongside the Nike Vaporfly and see how they stacked up. I won’t spoil it for you, but it’s an interesting look at all the considerations that many pros have to weigh when it comes to shoe deals. As Elmore told Alex: “I don’t think Nike has done enough on so many aspects of doping scandals, women’s rights, and other social justice issues, so I felt torn between wanting to run in the fastest shoes on the market and not wanting to financially support the company.”
Tracksmith announces their fellowship winners
Last week, Tracksmith announced their first class of fellows, selected from about 350 applicants. The fellows will each receive a one-year grant to pursue a running-related creative project. It’s encouraging to see such a diverse mix of projects and people in this group, and I’m looking forward to seeing the work they produce!
Catching up with Tierney Wolfgram
In another piece I edited for Outside, Fritz Huber interviewed Tierney Wolfgram, the 17-year-old who recently set a U.S. junior record in the marathon (2:31:49!) Fritz and Tierney discussed her record-setting run, along with how her training has evolved over time, and the potential risks of early success for young athletes. “I guess you could say I’d gotten addicted to the success that my running had brought me,” she says in the interview. “That kind of morphed running into being pretty much my whole identity, which is something I would struggle with a lot. When I didn’t have a good run or workout, my whole day was bad just because that was my whole life.”
Running industry mentorship program
Alison Wade, who writes the Fast Women newsletter, recently put together this spreadsheet to facilitate mentor/mentee relationships in the running industry. (The idea is to provide mentorship to women and other people from underrepresented groups, but anyone can sign up to be one of the mentors!) I think this is a great idea, and I wanted to pass it along to the readers of this newsletter, in case you’re looking for mentorship or would like to offer any services as a mentor.
Alison Désir: Outsider of the Year
I had the pleasure of editing this year’s edition of Outside’s cover package on the Outsiders of the Year, which highlights the people who changed the outdoor world in a significant way in 2020. The package features a wide range of athletes, activists, and outdoorspeople—one of whom is the incredible Alison Désir. You can check out Christine Yu’s profile of Alison and the rest of the package here, or in the December issue of our print magazine.
Other news and recommended reading
I loved this interview between Anne Helen Petersen and Emily Contois about gender, food, body image, and much more. It’s not specifically about running, but I think it would be of interest to many people who read this newsletter.
Andrea Huser, a Swiss ultrarunner, died after taking a fall on a run this past weekend. Condolences to her friends and family, and the entire trail running community who knew her.
Keira D’Amato set a new 10-mile American Record at the “Up Dawg” race she created in Washington, D.C.
Kurt Streeter on how his experiences of running while Black have evolved over the past year.
Alison Wade of Fast Women has also put together a list of women’s running books—a great resource for holiday gifts!
Drop me a line
I want to hear from you! Tell me about what you like here, what I missed, and what’s going on in your running life. (You can also follow the Kick on Twitter, and on Instagram.) Thanks for reading, and enjoy your miles.
Molly