How to restore your faith in humanity (when it feels like the world is on fire)
In Other News #64 // Celebrating nonpolitical stories that bind us together - and stories of everyday heroes making a difference in our world.
As you’re reading this, chances are, I’m running a marathon.
I hope you are snug as a bug, maybe enjoying a warm cup of Sunday morning coffee, as a major snowstorm is expected to hit the east coast as you’re reading this.
Meantime, hopefully as forecasted, I’m out of the fray, in the warm but not-too-hot Florida sunshine, running in my fourth-ever marathon.
It’s an escape for sure – on several levels. First, it’s definitely an escape from January’s cold and snow. But running is also an escape. And, simply being in the atmosphere of a marathon is oh-so-positive, whether you’re a runner or spectator.
Kathrine Switzer once said, paraphrasing here, that if you’re losing faith in humanity, to go out and watch a marathon. (Switzer is one of the OG pioneers of women’s running: She is most famous for being the first woman to run the Boston Marathon at a time when women were not allowed to enter. She helped pave the way for women like myself to become runners, over the past 50 years - fairly recent history!)
What’s so special about the atmosphere and scene at a marathon?
Imagine seeing runners struggle and triumph over the challenge of crossing the finish line, powering themselves to a 26.2 mile victory. Some of them are doing it for the first time. Others are completing and repeating the feat of a marathon. It is never an easy accomplishment. At the finish line, you will see anguish, sweat, tears and lots of emotion. You can’t help but become swept up in it - inspired, moved, emotional.
And maybe we all, as a society, need a little bit of that right now.
(See one of my previous newsletters, “He just ran his 398th marathon. Yet I was only one of five people to witness it.”)
As I mentioned, I’m approaching this weekend as an escape, on many levels. My workdays are spent on the radio, hosting Central Pennsylvania’s NPR station’s “Morning Edition.” The news is tough these days. The world is on freakin’ fire. But running helps me escape, as well as process. It’s movement and meditation, training and therapy, all wrapped-up-into-one. There are days when I have truly lost faith in humanity, and yet running helps restore my faith, time and time again.
But this post is not “all about me.”
This training cycle, there are some special people who have powered me to the starting line. My family pulled their resources together to hire a running coach as my birthday present last September! Coach Abby of Marathon Training Academy designed a training program that has built up my strength and running mileage over the past four-to-five months. I feel stronger at the start than my three previous marathons!
For every athlete on the starting line of every marathon, I wonder how many have coaches providing the wisdom and training that have powered them to that point. They could easily be considered some of the unsung heroes of every marathon.
From her home in the Chicago area, Coach Abby has been an MTA coach for more than four years, and in total, she’s coached runners to success for nearly 10 years. She was even recently named MTA’s head coach. For Abby, the beauty of coaching clients virtually is that she’s able to touch runners’ lives around the globe. In addition to my location in Pa., she’s coached runners from California to Germany and many other points in between. In addition to the wide range in geography, her runners also span the full range of abilities and paces. She’s currently coaching about a dozen runners, but she’s coached as many as 20 at a time.
Here we are, on our last pre-marathon coaching call, via Zoom.
“I just really love being able to take the lessons of physiology and exercise and see it work - it’s very satisfying,” says Abby, who holds a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology and Fitness Leadership. She’s also an RRCA Certified Coach, Certified Exercise Physiologist, Certified Personal Trainer and Certified Nutrition Coach - as well as an accomplished runner herself, having completed many marathons over 10 years. She has even earned the prestigious title of Boston Marathon Qualifier.
Thank you Abby for preparing me so well for the starting line… and just like Kathrine Switzer, I am going to savor the experience, the humanity, the emotion and satisfaction of the finish line.
More information: Marathon Training Academy
Substack Spotlight
Lifting up fellow Substackers
I have long-followed Alison Wade and her newsletter Fast Women. Honestly, I don’t know how, week after week, she consistently writes about and summarizes everything that’s happening in the sport of women’s running so beautifully.
Nature Nugget
A quick travel tip and photo, sharing incredible views, trails, or parks
Last weekend marked the final pre-marathon “long run” on my training plan. During the course of those 10 miles, I made sure to take a route that led to one of my favorite views, and I soaked it in… (well, just for a moment - then I had to keep running)!
And here’s what I wrote about this view on social media:
Dear Blue Mountain,
When I’m driving, I don’t see you nearly as much as I used to. Your blue ridge is hidden behind gray blocks of warehouses.
But thankfully, I still know where I can find you.
On the run, taking the back roads, I’m grateful to still see you in the distance. Thanks for the views, for orienting me, for giving me perspective, for watching over me, nearly every week of marathon training for the past five months. Including this beautiful view today, on my last long run, a 10-miler. I’m ready now.
Love,
Me
Luna Lens
Sharing a photo of my fluffy floofy dog Luna… because there’s plenty of fluff to go around.
Luna has been loving all the snowy walks this winter!
Comfort Corner
A great recipe, or a Spotify song. Comfort food or chill tunes. Maybe both.
From one of my favorite cookbooks, Eat Fast Run Slow:
26.2 Trail Mix - mix and match to your heart’s content, in a container/bag:
Nuts:
Pecans
Walnuts
Peanuts
Hazelnuts
Almonds
Cashews
Pistachios
Seeds:
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Hemp seeds
Sesame seeds
Dried Fruit:
Date pieces
Raisins
Figs
Banana Chews
Dried apricots (unsulfured)
Dried apples
Coconut flakes
Other:
Pretzels
Popcorn
Wasabi peas
Sesame sticks
Ginger Molasses Granola
Puffed rice
Dark chocolate chips
Cacao nibs
Fine sea salt and cinnamon (optional)
Thanks for reading… and I hope you have a wonderful week ahead,
Be well,
Karen