I read something the other day (I failed to note it down) about how we dislike winter because we’re hard-wired during childhood to love the freedom of summer. My hot, somewhat sweaty take is that I actively dislike summer. Whether I’m in L.A. or London, it’s simply too much weather for me. I like being outdoors but dislike sunscreen so the searing sunshine makes me stay inside.
Having returned to the necessary constraints of the school calendar via my children, I don’t mind that it takes an extra day for people to reply to an email. I understand why. A few years ago, however, I leaned into how much running in the summer sucks, and I continue to reap the dividends. More on that later, but I’m still making the most of this summer.
London event: The Beautiful People
I’ve organized a community panel event at Runlimited in London Bridge on August 19th. More info after the image. I hope you can make it x
Wednesday, 19th August 2026
Runlimited - Borough Yards
Dirty Lane, Unit 210 London SE1 9PA
Community is the hottest buzzword in running right now. Every corporate run from a shop or teamed up with a crew is being called a “community event” when it’s really just a PR stunt or product launch.
I’ve put this event together to celebrate what community really starts and ends with: the people.
It’s a focus on who the grassroots run community has been and will continue to be built for. It’s an opportunity for you to show up for the people dedicating their lives and livelihoods to making space for those who need it in our sport.
This is very specifically not a brand-sponsored event. There are no t-shirts or hors d’oeuvres to tempt you into the doors of Runlimited. Just people. So come and celebrate a few of my favorite people building community in London.
Jonty Brown - co-owner of Runlimited and advocate for youths with Type 1 diabetes
Harkiran Kalsi - empowering women with her art and Women Make Moves
Iffath Nowrin - advocate for Muslim women with Muslim Runners
Tyler Williams Green - mentoring East London’s youth with The Outrunners
Running is a radical act, and community is what makes it beautiful.
What is run culture??
Somehow the phrase “run culture” is still owned by the fashion side of the running industry.
Imagine if you described Japanese culture as wearing a kimono. You’d be seen as somewhat superficial, no? Add a recreational activity like karaoke and the picture as to what Japanese culture is becomes a little more three-dimensional. You can add color and movement to the idea of Japanese culture with history, traditions, and etiquette — stuff about people.
Take that concept over to running and you can understand running culture very easily.
I explained my evergreen take on what running culture is last year. Take a read of the most popular edition of Running Sucks if you’re one of the 2,000+ readers who have signed up to this newsletter since then.
More detailed thoughts are available in my book, of course.
If you’d like to work with me on a project, please email me at raz@runningsucks101.com
Interviewed by Zappos
I was interviewed by Zappos, the massive American online shoe retailer. They asked me some very good questions. Give it a read, click the love heart.
A couple of you messaged me with a little disdain about companies like Zappos starting a Substack, but I believe it’s a net good. They’re employing talented writers, and encouraging their huge following to read about running.
It’s one of the only parts of society where I believe in a trickle-down effect. Getting people to read is increasingly difficult, so if this helps – and it has to – I’m all for it.
Get your copy of, This is Running
Speaking of which, my book is currently on sale at Amazon, and if you’ve gotten around to reading This is Running, a review would be so helpful.
You can review it on Amazon even if you purchased it elsewhere, and it REALLY helps boost the book’s ranking.
It needs 30 ratings on Goodreads for that number to populate over on Amazon, so that’s really helpful as well.
USA - Bookshop.org US | Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Signed copy (US)
UK - Bookshop.org UK | Amazon UK | Waterstones
Review This is Running - Goodreads
H is for Hot, Hot Heat
My eldest was born – yes, him from the mile race in LA and the Josh Kerr video – in my third year in Los Angeles. It was going to be my third summer of swapping running for pool parties due to the intense Californian heat, but during a night awake with a newborn, I made a semi-conscious decision to run a half-marathon. The email receipts suggest a 3:09am purchase.
It was clear. The race was in the autumn, and if I wanted to enjoy this incredibly expensive race that they quite reasonably wouldn’t refund me for, I had to train during the summer of 2017.
That late-night purchase turned out to be one of the best things for my running, and it could be for yours as well.
Previously, my annual running schedule involved signing up for a couple of 5K and 10K races every month and… running them. Most were not in the summer, which helped, but I wasn’t competing per se. Those first couple of years in LA, I was using the races to get to know my new home, both in terms of driving to a new part of the city, and in terms of running it.
I didn’t like the heat in LA, so I simply didn’t run in it. I wasn’t competing, remember, so I didn’t have that pressure to keep running. For me, it was something I did for my health (both physical and mental), but it was also a way of learning about Los Angeles. I could do other stuff when the sun was at its harshest.
After that summer of ‘17, however, something changed. Sure, having a child meant that I was simply not allowed to sleep in beyond 7am any more. That meant that I experienced the bright-but-cool summer mornings that I maybe didn’t when the only responsibility I had was to nurse a hangover in bed.
Even more than finding a more pleasant way to run in the Los Angeles summer was a deeper understanding of training. The following summer I became a USATF-certified running coach.
Just the same as how I leaned into learning about different meditations when I started running without music back in 2007, the coaching training led me to really start learning about the adaptations your body goes through when encountering various stimuli. I was amazed at the potential benefits of heat training, and it was hot in that classroom. When in Rome…
Your blood adapts to training in the heat by increasing plasma volume by up to 25%, thus relieving stress on your heart.
A higher red blood cell and haemoglobin count allows more oxygen to travel around your body AKA higher V̇O₂ max.
Heat training is commonly seen as the poor man’s altitude training because those blood adaptations in particular are also required at altitude.
Later in the year, when your body doesn’t have to focus its resources on cooling you down, it can use that energy to propel you to the finish line of your fall and winter races that bit faster instead.
I don’t race as much as I used to, but I also don’t have off-seasons any more. I’m a ‘better’ runner in my 40s than I was in my 20s. In my case, ‘better’ means more consistent, more physically resilient (despite last year’s injury), and I’ve generally found more joy and utility in my practice.
However, summer running does involve waking up early enough that my run is done by 8:30am at the latest. That can mean a 5am alarm for a long run because my pre-run routine is a full hour. It sucks having to wake up early enough so I’m not running during the absolute hottest parts of the day, but we never regret a run. Right?
Thanks for reading,
Raz x
ME - Instagram | Strava | email: raz@runningsucks101.com
I couldn’t care less about companies starting a Substack (newsletter, ahem!), but I’m not optimistic many/most of them will keep it up with any consistency, much less invest in it.