Papers, please.
What I'm doing about having run with ID on my person, and also N is for Nutrition.
Running in the Shadows: Run Crews against ICE
We’re two weeks out from the LA Marathon, and I’m very pleased to announce the event that I’ve put together over the last few weeks. Yeah, that’s the name of it.
LAM is not one of the Majors, and doesn’t have the same number of cultural events surrounding the race as Boston, New York or London, but Los Angeles is the kind of destination that means that people fly in from around the world to run LAM.
Last year, I noticed more non-running events and more of those shakeout runs than in previous years. Los Angeles Marathon was gaining a foothold in the international marathon marketing calendar. I wanted to contribute to the LA Marathon’s running culture, but I wanted to do it in my way.
Last November, the L.A. Dodgers clinched the World Series in game seven. It was fucking cool. I really enjoy baseball, and the Dodgers are my local sports team. The problem is that ICE have been allowed to park their vehicles in the Dodgers parking lot, and that is the opposite of cool. While the team gave this city everything, the organization behind the athletes were happy to spit in our faces.
For the past 18 months, when I’ve been running alone (90% of my runs) I’ve been carrying some form of identification with me. Yes, because of ICE. It’s nothing new for me exactly. 9/11 took place when I was 18, the week that I went to university. For my whole adult life, because of my Bangladeshi heritage, I’ve been subject to a greater level of scrutiny and humiliation by American agents whenever I’ve traveled.
What ICE is doing in the USA right now is even more sinister than anything TSA was created to do, of course, but it’s the same Dept of Homeland Security agents of chaos at work. This time, however, they’re also dangerously ill-trained. This all means that I have to carry my papers with me. Even then, I know it won’t be enough to be bundled off the street into an unmarked van.
For the LA Marathon, with the fear constantly hanging over us, I thought I’d get some real heads together the day before, on Saturday, 07 March in Koreatown, and have a little chat about what we can do in the current political climate, and what we can do together.
It’s a moment to share what some of us have already been doing in our communities, but also to look around a room and feel safety in numbers. Everyone in that room will be fighting on the correct side of history, and that is important. I believe this is how we build community.
It’s a heavy topic, but it’ll have many positive outcomes.
You are what you eat (N is for Nutrition)
Last Thursday, I published a piece about how runners engage with their diet. I think Zoe Rom is marvelous – incredible experience as both a runner and as a journalist – so it was a real pleasure to get her insights on this topic. Give it a read, if you haven’t yet had a chance.
Personally, I don’t even carry water for runs under 45 minutes. If I’m doing a leisurely 10k, I might carry a water bottle, but I don’t think about nutrition or electrolytes until I’m into 10-mile territory. If it’s too hot, I usually just don’t run.
For my first half-marathon, back in 2017, I pretty much rawdogged it by 2026 standards. I carried a standard 500ml water bottle, and for nutrition, I had two (2) Reed’s ginger chewy candies. I also had two tiny paper cups of Gatorade from the aid stations. That’s it.
Honestly, I felt fine afterwards. I rewarded myself with a veggie pizza from Lucifer’s in Los Feliz (yes, I had the whole thing to myself, and it was far too much pizza), but my recovery was unremarkably swift.
Over the past few years of running with people who have been super dialled-in with their in-run nutrition and electrolytes, and talk so confidently about the power of these fully unregulated supplements on these long group runs, I decided to try them.
For those longer runs, I have found that electrolytes have been ok for stopping my head getting a bit cloudy (did I used to call dehydration my runner’s high? possibly…), and the nutrition – especially a post-run protein shake – has been great for recovery. Nothing much to evangelize though. Maybe if I was caught up in trying to hit a BQ time or something like that, but that’s not how running fits into my life.
I saw everyone talking about their favorite flavor of energy gels, and which brand doesn’t make them shit themselves mid-run, so I have avoided that. I can’t handle chugging down those gels, anyway. Disgusting texture. I’ve ‘enjoyed’ the Maurten solids but they just feel like expensive rice crispy bars, even if they definitely have a lot of science and technology involved in their packaging..
Running ain’t cheap if you’re trying to increase your distance, for whatever reason. When your running shoes might cost 50 cents per mile, and you’re getting through another $5-10 of nutrition and hydration on a long run, this lovely hobby can get up towards $20 for a long run. It’s worth it, it’s worth it. Especially when you don’t conk out at mile 20 of your big race.
Elsewhere on Substack
I’ve been waiting for Olympic medalist @ Molly Seidel to post on Substack since Nov 2024 and she’s finally done it. Unfiltered opinions on her gear through the lens of an intensely thoughtful person. Why wouldn’t you?
This is Running updates
There is some big news coming next Monday on tour dates. There will be at least one reading before the release of This is Running. Maybe I’ll see you somewhere. Maybe I’ll have some extra goodies, maybe not. Waiting on the publisher for that… maybe forever.
This is Running - purchase links
USA - Amazon US | Bookshop US | Barnes & Noble
UK - Amazon UK | Bookshop UK | Waterstones
I had the pleasure of speaking with Terrell Johnson of the Half Marathoner and Jinghuan Liu Tervalon of Wings & Spikes. Go give them a read if you want a little more insight in the creation of this book.
Housekeeping
BUY ME A COFFEE - Think of it as a tip jar for my writing.
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Trying to find an appropriate response, but lacking the words. Hoping for lots of love and positive outcomes from your meet up.