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Summer vacation is approaching rapidly and I am still not in any shape to do longer runs. I do hope to get some nice runs in along the Oslofjord.
Did you catch any coverage of Hardrock 100? Thatâs a race Iâd love to attend, either as a runner, a pace or a spectator. Just like Western States, which I also want to see live. Itâs just that the logistics are a bit insane from over here in Germany, and also Iâd need to get some serious running in before and I do not find the time for that currently.
Whatâs the most expensive piece you are wearing on a run? Your shoes, your watch or your shirt? If it is the shirt, then I do think you have a spending problem, but if it makes you happy, then just run along in your moth-tech shirt!
Enjoy these Five Things Running!
2026 Hardrock 100 Results: Ludo Pommeret and Courtney Dauwalter Set Records
It was with this seemingly carefree attitude that Pommeret, who turns 51 in less than two weeks, toed the line of the race heâs come to dominate in recent years. But donât let his lighthearted approach fool you. As he did in previous years, Pommeret spent a month in Colorado preparing specifically for this race and its unique demands, completing two-and-a-half full loops of the course across multi-day trips known as âSoftrocks.â
He is just a tad younger than I am. Now I feel old. Thanks, Ludo. What an impressive undertaking, yet again! And Courtney Dauwalter is the GOAT.
Inside Western States: How the Oldest 100-Mile Trail Race on Earth Became the Most Sought-After Ticket in Endurance Sports
Over 50 years on from Ainsleighâs pioneering effort, the Western States Endurance Run (or WSER, for short) is one of the most sought-after races in global trail running. With only around 370 bibs doled out each year, runners must enter a lottery to secure a spot on the start line, with some runners waiting for a decade or more before they are finally selected to race. Not only do prospective runners have to enter the lottery every single year, but they must also run one of WSERâs qualifying races, usually 100K or longer, just for the privilege of entering the lottery. In 2026, over 11,000 people entered the lottery. The race is a lifelong goal for many amateur trail runners, but for the pros, WSER is one of the biggest races, if not the biggest race, on the calendar.
(âŚcontinue reading.)
I Love Running Alone. That Doesnât Make Me a Red Flag.
So when I hear the occasional implication that running alone is somehow a red flag, I have to laugh.
A red flag? For what, exactly? Enjoying my own company? Wanting 45 minutes where no one asks me where Iâm going? If anything, solo running is one of the healthiest relationships in my life. Itâs me, my music, my weird little route choices, and whatever emotional support anthem is carrying me through those miles.
Indeed. Run as you like.
The Gym Brofication Of Running
Running feels different lately. Not everywhere, not all the time, but clearly enough wherever the sport becomes visible to a broad audience: filmed, sponsored, clipped, reposted and turned into identity.
For a long time, runners, ultrarunners in particular, had a different aura. Lauchs1, basically. Thin arms, wild tan lines, awkward posture, quiet energy, salt stains everywhere, ten hours of suffering described later as âa good day out.â I say this with love. There was something disarming about a sport where the strongest people often looked like they had never won a fight in their life.
Of course this picture is romantic. The old running world was never innocent. It had plenty of sexism, gatekeeping, male self-importance and a habit of turning experience into ownership. I do not plan to beautify a golden age here.
Still, the vibe felt different, and so did the tone.
Methinks this is part of the growing pains a sport has to endure when it suddenly gains popularity. Still, I liked the old vibe better.
As Seen On Dates, Never On Runs
If I look at a company like Satisfy, spending $200 on running shorts will, hopefully, always feel insane to me. Even as someone who runs five or six days a week and would probably get the full cost-per-wear. Same with another pair of sunglasses. Practical. Useful. Justifiable, technically.
But the jacket feels different.
Because at some point, running clothes stopped being just for running. And once athletic wear becomes clothing â real clothing, outfit clothing, be-seen-in-public clothing â the spending becomes much easier to rationalize.
Running brands are no longer only selling performance. They are selling proximity to performance. The idea that you are the kind of person who runs, or could run, or at minimum has excellent taste in clothing designed for people who run.
Iâm happy for every runner who feels that whatever they are wearing is just the right thing for the moment. For me personally, I donât think I need to overspend on anything else but the shoes. In fact, I am hoping for a revival of tennis socks and a white cotton t-shirt. We have overdone it in the last few years and we do not need the latest and most expensive hot shit to run 10 km around the local pond, unless of course it makes you feel better.
If you missed last weekâs edition, you can read it here:
Now, go running!
â Nico
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