Five Things Running: Issue #113
Run more. But read this first!
Heya and welcome back to Five Things Running!
Last week was a week full of too little sleep and not enough running. Somehow I envisioned I could fit in much more running, but somehow the huge OMR Festival with 70k people in Hamburg got in my way. I did manage to get in a nice pre-OMR run with two other runners and then on the second OMR day none of the runners showed up, so I just ran home instead of getting a proper run in. I planned to go to sleep earlier on Wednesday to get a nice run in on Thursday morning, but instead I had to get up at 5 am to drive three hours to give my youngest daughter I ride home from her school trip. The trip was cut short and the kids were put in quarantine, so they couldn’t take the train home as planned. So no running on Thursday either, even though I was on a beautiful island, but I figured it would not be a great parenting move to keep my sick child in the car while going for a run. And on Friday I had an early video call, so also no running. Saturday I also didn’t find time, basically because I finally got some much needed sleep, and then needed to run errands. And on Sunday we had an all-day family thing. Amazing how quickly a week can go by without being able to get a run in… but at least I had some ice cream.
I’m counting on this week to be much better. Oh, and the green ice cream is woodruff, or better known as “Waldmeister” - “forest master”, a wonderful flavor right from the 70s. And through the forests I plan to run next week.
Here’s this week’s Five Things Running!
The internet's obsession with run clubs is ruining running
Run clubs, running influencers, #RunTok, and the concept of running as a trend have gone too far. It's making running less enjoyable.
Am I an old man yelling at a cloud? No! I am an old man yelling at a group of 40 jabronis, dressed in sleek, moisture-wicking, wildly expensive gear. I'm yelling at that very same group, rumbling down the narrow Williamsburg bridge path, three-wide, impossibly jolly, barreling through the solitary walkers and joggers.
How To Train for a Backyard Ultra
At its core, a Backyard Ultra is an endurance event where runners cover long distances over many hours or even days, until they decide that they’ve had enough. That power to choose is what changes everything - until they decide that they’ve had enough. Traditional ultras have finish lines, Backyard Ultras have choices.
The Rapid Rise of ‘Illegal’ Running Shoes
The governing body of running, World Athletics, scrambled to rein in the Frankenshoes. One rule capped a shoe’s sole thickness, or “stack height,” at 40 millimeters—about 1.6 inches.
But recently, something strange has started to happen. Shoe companies started going over that limit, again and again, on purpose. Soles are now rising like cheese souffles, and runners are snapping up the super-sized shoes—even if they carry the risk of being disqualified from races.
Tariffs Are Hitting Small Running Shoe Brands and There Are No Easy Solutions
When the tariffs came down last month, the effect was swift and certain for brands like Atreyu Running with manufacturing bases inside China’s borders. Overnight, a shoe that cost $40 from the factory floor to the U.S. shore could now see that figure soar to $100, and that’s before distribution to a local running store or online shop. For smaller brands, they’d effectively have to sell 75% of their inventory on a run of shoes just to break even on production costs. In effect, an impossible path forward. Even at Vietnam-level tariffs, small brands would have to raise prices by significant amounts, while even larger brands would struggle to please both consumers and investors.
Research Shows Your Running Shoe Color Could Impact Your Speed. Here’s Why
the color of shoes you pick might impact your level of excitement, focus, and even competitiveness.
So don’t feel bad if your eyes wander to those bright pink running shoes on display or you feel a little envious of the slick red trainers your running buddy just showed up wearing.
In fact, lean into your favorite running shoe color to look good and feel good while you train because the right color could make you feel more motivated to lace up, log the miles, and achieve your goals.
I’m grateful for the partners of Five Things Running: Acid Running, New Balance and COROS!
If you missed last week’s edition, you can read it here:
Now, go running!
— Nico
🏃🏻♂️
Mashable guy lost it in the final two paragraphs.