Which new-wave running brand has broken through into daily lifestyle

+ Community, Chamonix, and Europe’s fascinating lack of ice

London has cooked my brain

I’ve not written a long-read interview for over two months now. Yes, first I was busy on the road promoting my book (decent excuse), and then I watched every match of the World Cup with my son (excellent excuse), but I had planned to get back to it in August.

My next piece with Camille Herron has been transcribed and has been in an open tab on my browser for a couple of weeks now. Two reasons: 1) because Camille’s is a pretty complex story and I sympathize with large parts of it very deeply and want to tell it correctly, and 2) because yet another miserable heatwave set in.

It was “nice weather” at the beginning of this trip, but after just 6mm of rain as part of this wretched El Niño global weather event, the UK suffered the driest July on record. It’s bad. The grass here is not green any more. There are multiple wildfires across the south of England. Enough to call in the army to help extinguish them. There is famously no air conditioning. There are a maximum of two cubes of ice in my drink. I’ve been struggling.

I understand why the Spanish take their mid-afternoon siestas (I’ve been doing the same). I understand why the French have the reputation of taking the whole summer off, but The Brits seem to do the same thing without anyone noticing.

No, I’m not going to devolve into mud-slinging between my basic ideas of what American and European work culture are, but taking a little nap in the middle of the day is absolute anathema to many in the USA. It’s nice to slow down a little. Healthy, even.

Anyway. The weather is somewhat cooler this week, so I’m really going to try and write about Camille and her position in the sport for the end of this week. I’m off to UTMB next week (where it looks actively cold haha), so I’ll try to queue up an extended version of the interview from my book with Catherine Pelotti, co-founder of UTMB next week.

How to buy This is Running

Yes, I highly recommend asking your library or local bookshop to stock This is Running, but we’re here on the internet, so here are the online options.

USA - Bookshop.org US | Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Signed copy (US)
UK - Bookshop.org UK | Amazon UK | Waterstones
Review This is Running - Goodreads

I’m going to Chamonix as a guest of Hoka, so expect some interviews with some of their most very top athletes and insiders from the title sponsor of the biggest trail race in the world very soon, along with interviews with Kilian Jornet, Ryan Montgomery, and Alyssa Clark, and one of the coolest new run clubs I’ve seen.

If you’re going to Chamonix, I’m also hosting an event for rabbit, talking about movement and creativity. There will be some snacks. You will get a copy of my book.

If you’d like to work with me on a project, please email me at raz@runningsucks101.com

What is community to you?

On Wednesday evening, I’m hosting a community panel. If you’re in London, grab a ticket and come down to Runlimited Borough Yards. If you would like to join in from afar, let me know what community means to you or how you’ve seen community be used and abused in the world of running. I would love to read out a few definitions and/or experiences on the night. You, reading this, are my community, after all.

Is Ciele the running brand to break through into everyday fashion?

There are certain places in my life where activewear has a strong presence. In the hardcore punk world, it’s pretty common to see a North Face or Arc’teryx jacket in the moshpit. Stone Island just did a widely-celebrated feature with new Roadrunner Records signings Haywire, who I just saw live for the second time this year.

I’ve been to a few football matches (translation: soccer games) this summer and I’ve noticed several Ciele caps in the crowd. I’ve been wearing the Canadian brand for almost a decade at this point, so maybe it’s difficult for me to perceive Ciele’s popularity outside of running correctly, but it was certainly a surprise to me to see those vibrant, high-contrast hats on the terraces.

If you’ve seen other up-and-coming running brands in non-running situations, tell me which ones in a comment!

F is for Friends

A couple of months ago Janji put me on the spot and asked what I couldn’t live without on a long run. It took but a second to realize that there wasn’t a single product I couldn’t do without on a long run. It was the people.

90% of my runs are solo, around my neighborhood, but if I’m spending 2+ hrs away from the house, I like to run with my friends.

In LA, I’ll run with a run club and specifically arrange to meet someone there. Next week, I’m looking forward to running with friends from around the planet as we converge at Chamonix. I have two long runs planned in London and both are with old friends, with some serious sightseeing along the way.

We’re coming up to issue 50 of Like the Wind magazine, and LtW co-founder Simon Freeman asked me this morning what I think has changed the most about running in the 12.5 years since issue 1. That was an easy one. It’s the people.

Running is exactly the same as it ever was. You want to learn how to run a marathon? There is zero new news about how to do that. You want to solve the problem of how to make friends? Go run with enough running communities until you start to see familiar faces. That’s it. The matching schedule and same interests dictate that they’re your top options to be your new friends. The rest is up to you.

Issue 50 of Like the Wind is being unveiled at the Run Culture event in East London on 4-5 September. Get your ticket now, and come say hi to me. Maybe I’ll pull a pair of Running Sucks running socks out of a tote bag for you.

Thanks for reading,
Raz xx

ME - Instagram | Strava | email: raz@runningsucks101.com