From shoes and training to long-form journalism, this is your esoteric dose of all things running, endurance, and OCR.
New articles every Friday.
Were we really Born to Run?
Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run has become a cult classic. But is there any truth to the story?
Note to barefoot running enthusiasts and POSE believers: Proceed with caution.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen versus the internet
From Freddy Adu to Julian Newman, athletic fans possess an unhealthy obsession with cheering for young talents to fail.
Seldom has this phenomenon this been more apparent than with the rise of track superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen. We follow his journey, as documented by the internet.
Attempting a personal best in knock-off Chinese super shoes
Risking life and limb to see if the old adage is true: for quality, always buy wholesale Chinese.
Race Walking and the Elephant in the Room
Hint: They’re not actually walking. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
5 hacks guaranteed to improve your 5k overnight
Beet juice, super shoes, shades, and night running will help do the trick
Budapest to Serbia: Joining the Centurian Club
100 miles in 24 hrs. No running allowed and no finisher medals, just goulash.
A deep dive into the remarkably sketchy world of the successful fitness guru.
Who is the best fictional runner?
Rocky to Ralph, Jason Bourne to Neville Longbottom, we break down performances from some of cinema’s best athletes
Becoming a Pro OCR Racer
Yes, it’s a real thing. No, it’s not super lucrative. Part 1 of our comprehensive guide to making it to the top of OCR
Fitness for the Apocalypse
The ‘Doomsday’ fitness movement is picking up steam. What does it say about us?
Best OCR podcasts
Get motivated on your next run with a list of our favorite obstacle racing podcasts
“If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!” -Rudyard Kipling
A look at some of history’s infamous running frauds and how they reacted to being outed.
I used to work with a guy who claimed to have run a mile in 3 minutes. We were at a work function one evening when the conversation turned to athletics, and for the umpteenth time the coworker brought his mile time up. “Is it possible it was a half mile and not a mile?” I asked him, politely. Because of course 3 minutes for a mile is impossible for a human. His response was to double down.
“Nope, definitely a mile. Listen, I was fast! And that was only in gym class. But the coach hated me so I never joined the team.”
How does one respond to such a lack of critical thought? I actually admired his self-belief and unwavering confidence. Imagine, though, if it were an accomplishment from some other walk of life he was lying about. Say, a degree or work experience. Things would of course be different–he’d have to show proof or risk losing his job.
I’ll admit a part of me would enjoy witnessing such a thing. Imagine, a non-runner toeing the start line of a track, with the boss and jeering employees crowded in lane 2, job at risk if the claimed time cannot be matched. A fitting punishment, in my opinion, for violating the runner’s code of honor.
We all know that person who oversells their glory days, whatever those might consist of. That might be you; it’s certainly been me.
Time has the remarkable ability to soften the rough edges of memories. Running times melt like hot butter and accomplishments mushroom at an exponential rate. Granted, most of the time the boast is harmless and quickly forgotten, and yet, on rare occasions, these skewed recollections, whether ill-intentioned or not, can come back to bite us. The question, then…how to react?
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