You’ve heard there is a direct line between effort and improvement, between wanting it more and winning. This is a “truth” written by men, based on the experience of boys and men. Your male teammates are bathing in testosterone, a dramatic performance enhancer. You will not. You are about to bathe in different hormones, hormones that, more often than not, temporarily interrupt that promised straight line of improvement.

This girl talk is part of the Wildwood Running Hometown, a program that brings Wildwood Running to different cities in the U.S.. Co-founded by Marie Markham and Robyn McGillis, Wildwood Running aims to “redefine the youth sports experience for female athletes—placing equal emphasis on performance, confidence, mental health, and leadership.”

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Wildwood Running Hometown is a one-day program rooted in the well-being and long-term development of young female athletes. “Moorpark College is our second largest Hometown event so far,” says McGillis, co-founder. “Our largest event so far is in Helena, Montana, where we had 175 registered participants. California is relatively well-resourced, so we were very pleased to see the turn-out today.”

I can’t think of a better way to spend a full Sunday than checking out Wildwood Running Hometown with my 10-year-old daughter, who’s discovering her own athletic potential. There’s always something special about a place created by women, for women. Upon arrival, I am delighted by the number of participants. Per Maggie Shearer, assistant coach at Moorpark and one of the organizers of the event, there are 150 registered participants. They come from both Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. It is also encouraging to see the diversity of the audience, ranging in ages from high school to junior college, and from various backgrounds.

“Wildwood Running Hometown is made possible as a free event to participants because of On’s Right to Run grant,” says McGillis. Many coaches requested to bring our programming to their schools after attending our running clinic in Portland. “Coaches are always asking us if we could bring our Wildwood content to their community. So we developed hometowns with that in mind. We want to create accessibility to athletes and coaches who can’t travel to our traditional clinics,” says Markham, co-founder and Executive Director. “This model helps provide imperative conversations for girls and running while bringing communities together.”

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The conversations surely are imperative, because they cover confidence-building, fueling, performance waves, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) and periods, all of which are critical pillars of girls’ athletic performances, but not often discussed at high school or college.

Anna Hennings, a mental performance coach, led discussions on You vs. Your Inner Mean Girl, and Building Confidence That Lasts, following the school of thought of compassionate accountability and stoicism of control the controllable. Heidi Strickler, nutritionist, discussed RED-S, and fueling strategies pre- and post-exercises. A big part of the conversation is about understanding how athletes have different fueling needs; weight gain is a part of puberty, and is important for both athletic performance and the health of an athlete’s bones and heart. Robyn McGillis leads the performance wave discussion herself with collegiate runners.

Ava Sanders, a sophomore at Moorpark College, says she didn’t know what to expect out of Wildwood Running Hometown prior to joining. “But now I relate so much of what the experts have been saying,” says Sanders. “I learned how to control my nerves on race day… The nutrition piece is particularly informative. Because I have so many allergies to different types of food, I know for sure I’m under-fueling. When I finally hear from a nutritionist who works with athletes, I’ve decided that I’m going to experiment more and fuel more frequently.”

Even the parents who sit in the audience with their daughters admit that they have learned a lot. Jen, a mom from Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, says, “It’s such a good reminder to hear that oftentimes we are our own biggest critics… The biggest insight for me is that self-criticism is our protective mechanism.”

Jessica, another mom from the same high school, says she plans to increase her carbs intake based on the nutrition advice. “It’s good to have my daughter attend these sessions because she learns effectively from experts and her peers. Now I realized that as a woman in my 50s, I probably need to fuel more. It’s such a myth that carbs are bad. We are so conditioned to restrict calories to look thin but this is not what our bodies need.” Together, the two moms bring nearly 60 girls from Mira Costa High School’s cross-country team, along with their coach.

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Even veteran coaches find the sessions helpful. Carol Leandro, head coach at both the girls’ and boys’ cross-country and track and field programs at Foothill Technology, mentions that the sessions give coaches great languages to use in their daily work. “It’s worth noting that in athletics, everyone has the tendency to compare, no matter what level you’re competing at,” says Leandro. “The common comparison is detrimental to confidence-building. And it’s a great reminder that we are not alone.”

Traycie Kephart, a 28-year coaching veteran, head coach at Moorpark College, says Wildwood Running Hometown has something for everyone. “All of the insights are so helpful, even for someone like me, who’s been coaching for a long time,” says Kephart. “The combination of personal stories, science-based nutrition and hands-on psychological tools make Wildwood Running the perfect educational day for young female athletes.” She mentions that even at her tenure, it’s important to continue learning. “We can always do better for our athletes.”

In a time when everybody watches women’s sports has become a catchphrase, it is programs like Wildwood Running that gives evidence that young female athletes are receiving the right athletic and educational development tools for their long-term success.

Follow Wildwood Running’s work here. If you are a coach or a parent, you might want to request the next Wildwood Running Hometown!

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When facing these unpleasant feelings, I tell my mind to pay attention to my surroundings, be astonished by the natural beauty of the world, and tell about it, like Mary Oliver has left us her instruction. So here are the beautiful and fun things I’ve been noticing in my summer runs.

I notice a broken sprinkler on a sidewalk in Pasadena, spraying water to passers-by and leaving a nice puddle on the ground for me to hop over. What amazing levity that adds to my run.

I notice the corns growing on the side of the road in my hometown Xingtai in Northern China. How golden tassels shine in the morning sunlight, the still-growing kernels still wrapped in light-green husks, hidden from an early riser like me.

I notice the huge udder of goats in an open-air food market in the outskirts of Xingtai. This woman is selling goat milk with two goats chained to her scooter. While the warm morning air heats up as the sun rises, she greets her customers and milks her goat with her bare hands into bottles her customers have brought. I run farther away from it to not scare her goats.

I notice the lush blanket of verbenas and Bougainvillea in front of the Santa Barbara Golf Club as I run by. Though it doesn’t invoke awe, the scenery is a reminder of the signature beauty of Santa Barbara: refined beauty and calm elegance, maintained by countless hardworking people behind the scenes.

I notice the ocean on Highway 101 during my drive, glistening without blinding me. The coastline slowly emerges while the salty air seeps into the car. This is when I start to listen to my favorite musicians’ whole albums again: Allison Russell’s In the Hour of Chaos. Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now and Blue. Norah Jones’s Come Away With Me. Then I replay Mary Oliver’s lines in my head over and over again:

“Two or three times in my life I discovered love.
Each time it seemed to solve everything.
Each time it solved a great many things
but not everything.
Yet left me as grateful as if it had indeed, and
thoroughly, solved everything.”

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After finishing her track season, Kosgei sits down with Wings & Spikes to talk about her recent performance and future plans.

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How are you feeling after a very successful season?

This was a long season. After taking some time off, I just started training again. I’m not sure about my next race yet, but a cross-country season is a must.

This is your second year at UNW. How does it compare to your first year?

During my first year, I had no racing experience. I did not know anything about the racing circuit in the US. So when I ran both an indoors and outdoors season, it was a lot for me. When I was back home in Kenya, if I run a race, I don’t race in another two to three months. Here in the US, in two weeks, your outdoors season starts.

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How did you feel about breaking the collegiate record at the Stanford Invitational?

It was a great race for me. My plan was to run well, and if lucky, I wanted to see if I could break the previous NCAA record. I was so happy when Jane (Hedengren) and I did it. It was such a hard race. I told myself, “just try your best.” I knew between Jane and me, the win would be hers or mine. She won at the end, but I’m happy with my efforts.

How do you train for different events, the 5k, 10k and the steeplechase?

The training is mostly similar. My training is still for long distance on the track. I don’t do much specific training for the steeplechase. I have to stimulate my mind a bit more.

You asked about racing here in the U.S.. Last year, I felt good after my 10k. But when I had to run the 5k the next day, my body was so tired and depleted. This year, I know I have another race coming off the 10k. So in my mind, I prepared for it, and told myself, “you can do this.”

I usually train by myself. Before I go for competition, I prepare mentally for the races mentally. If it’s a 10k, I have to do a lot of speedwork and to build up my endurance.

For an indoors season, my weekly mileage is about 110k; outdoors, about 120k. We have weekly speedwork, one on the track and the other on the road. Tempos on Fridays.

Do you train with pacers?

Only sometimes. Most of the time I go alone or with my team.

How’s training different in Kenya?

It’s actually similar to here at UNW. I’m from Kapsait in Kenya, which is hilly and in high altitude.

The only difference is that we do a lot of fartleks in Kenya, for example one minute on and one minute off. We alternate between relaxing and accelerating. Here we do a lot more tempo than fartlek.

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Tell me how you first started running.

I was in primary school when I first started running. You just go run. We had competitions where the students ran through the field, and the coaches would select the top three. I remember at age 12 being selected since I came in second place, and then going to a regional competition. I placed fifth in the regional competition, and didn’t meet the standard for the national competition (top three).

The next year, at age 13, I tried and got to nationals. Same at age 14. At 15, I went to high school, and tried to train. My sister warned me that running was not going to be easy. I didn’t know what she meant.

After spending my first day at high school, my sister signed me up for running. At the school, runners had to get up at 5am. That was my first time going through a formal training. I used to just run and compete, with no formal training. It was so hard for me to get up early in the morning. I didn’t know we had to go with our watches and see the pace. I just followed everybody. If I felt tired, I still had to continue.

In high school was when I increased my training. I followed plans and did track and road races. I wasn’t expecting to be recruited by UNM. I was thrilled when I got my visa. I’ve been focusing on settling myself here and training with my team.

How is your team and your coach Darren Gauson?

Coach Darren Gauson is amazing. He doesn’t force us to do anything our bodies can’t handle. I lift twice a week. We have a lot of teammates, mixed up between middle distance and long distance. Most of the time I run with my teammates. And I’m also comfortable running by myself.

What are your plans for the upcoming cross-country season?

Obviously I’m hoping to win, but cross-country is less predictable. When I visualize my race, I always think about winning. I trust my training. The training itself won’t be much different. I’m looking forward to putting in a great training season.

What makes you a different runner?

I think it’s my strong self-belief that I can win and achieve great results. I listen to my inner voice.

What are your other big goals besides winning the cross-country national championships?

I’m hoping to do well within the NCAA, graduate and go pro. I usually listen to what the coach says and work together with my teammates. Success never comes from the runner him/herself alone. It comes from many people. In my pro career, I’ll probably start with the 10k and eventually try road races like the half and the marathon.

Thank you Pamela for spending the time with me today. Wings & Spikes looks forward to following your outstanding running career in the upcoming years!

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Harris’s advice? Take a rest. Then keep going.

I listened to the interview twice and watched short clips several more times, as her theory and solution really resonated with me. Except, I still experience intertwined fear and fatigue all the time.

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Life with a spouse at stage five of a seven-stage Alzheimer’s is a constant series of micro-crises. Each one might be small and solvable at the moment, but the compound effect of these crises often leaves me drained.

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We moved back to the Pasadena area after spending a year in Arcadia in March. The shift of environment sent my spouse into further confusion. He walked into our new neighbors’ house and into an old lady’s bedroom while she was napping. It caused significant distress to the neighbors. Micro crisis. I called my family that night and booked my dad a flight to LAX. My dad stayed with us. Crisis solved, temporarily.

My spouse called Kaiser a dozen times one day. A nurse noticed something wrong with his tone and his profound confusion, but she didn’t read his chart carefully to understand that it was all part of Alzheimer’s. Out of abundance of caution, she called for a wellness check. Two police cars showed up at my house. Micro crisis. I was at work, in back-to-back meetings. While I saw calls from Kaiser and my dad, I was in one of the higher-stake meetings when a group of us were all preparing for our quarterly earnings calls. When I could finally respond and explain to Kaiser, dad told me the police had already left. Our neighbors told them about my spouse’s Alzheimer’s. (Dad speaks no English.) Crisis solved, temporarily.

One of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s is anxiety and accompanying aggression. Last night, my spouse and our 10-year-old daughter got into an argument. He became aggressive toward her. She got very scared. Micro crisis. It just happened that my daughter’s friend’s parents were hosting a party and a sleep-over. I drove her over. Being around her friends took her mind off of what was happening at home. I called a relative to pick up my spouse so I could spend the night alone and feel safe. Crisis solved, temporarily.

All the recent series of micro crises have been giving me great fear and fatigue: fear of what’s next? How will I afford my spouse’s long-term care? How fast is he declining from stage five? Fatigue of having to deal with the rollers constantly, and anticipating the next one.

Last weekend, I participated in the Griffith Park Trail Marathon Relay with a young and fast team from ARC (A Runners’ Circle). I was a last-minute fill-in, as a friend of mine got injured and needed a replacement. I happily accepted the assignment with my coach’s ok, but showed up on race day in a blue Oiselle top instead of a red ARC singlet. It was definitely less than ideal: I didn’t know any of the runners on the team (except for my friend). I haven’t raced on a trail in a year. I’m not great at climbing. But the exchange of the baton went more smoothly than I imagined. Off I went as Leg Four of a co-ed team in the open division. As I climbed over 500 feet in the first two miles, my mind was singularly focused on each step I had to take. I reminded myself: short strides. Easy up. I counted each runner I was able to pass. By the time I got to the downhill part, it was a breeze. Strides became more relaxed. I counted more runners. At the end where I could almost see the finish line, I had passed 38 runners. I told myself, “one more and you’ll be at the finish line.” I ended up passing two more.

It was a hard run but a fun day. It was a time when my mind was not cluttered with fear. It was a time when my mind counted the blessings from only the good kind of fatigue. The fatigue that comes from pushing your body and not responding to micro-crises.

Aside from the micro-crises, life as a caregiver for the most part is a humdrum routine of managing medications, going to doctors’ appointments, sorting laundry, folding laundry, preparing meals, and scheduling for my spouse’s care. Running has always been my time-away. Now, with a deeper understanding of my fears and fatigue, running has also become my resting place. My place to reclaim my presence.

So I rest. And I keep going.

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“It was hard to believe at first… seeing myself in the mural,” says Cook. Prior to the 2026 Carlsbad 500 race, Cook won the race 12 times. “I started running Carlsbad when I turned 30. In my 30s, I won all of them. The 2020 and 2021 races were cancelled, and I lost the race to Sergio Reyes in 2023, but came back and won it the following year,” says Cook.

While Cook was still in disbelief about seeing himself in a mural, Meb Keflezighi walked over and gave him a hug. “You deserve this,” said Keflezighi. It was then Cook started tearing up. “All of a sudden, I found myself crying on Meb’s shoulders,” says Cook. He was overwhelmed by emotions, thinking about his own running journey, from his college years at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. Sac), his teammates at Cal Coast Track Club, to his late mother and his coaches throughout the years. “The mural made me seem like a bigger deal than I am actually, and it was an unbelievable feeling,” says Cook.

Hours later, Cook would gather his 13th win of the Carlsbad 5000, “the world’s fastest 5k”, in the open and masters’ divisions. “After seeing the mural, I said to myself, I have to win again,” says Cook. Over the years, Cook prides himself as the working class runner. “I train myself. I hang around the races and cheer people on after I finish. I’m not like some elite runners who come to a race to win and collect a check. I enjoy supporting other runners,” acknowledges Cook.

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“Running changed my life”

If someone were to tell the adolescent Roosevelt Cook that his future home would be decorated with Steve Prefontaine posters, Rock & Roll road race medals and first-place awards from hundreds of races, he might not have believed it. “I come from this kind of African American family where I was the oldest of 13 kids. Growing up, I had a stepdad who was in and out of trouble,” says Cook. The young Cook was in a band in high school, and wanted to be a musician. In his sophomore year in 1996 at Ontario High School in Southern California, he started running and had a coach with the same middle name and last name. “It was amazing to train with Coach Dave Cook,” says Cook. He continued to improve in his junior year. By senior year, Cook ran 4:22 for the mile and 2-minute flat for the 800m. “I started to find success in running,” says Cook. Coach Cook also became like family to Roosevelt Cook. “I went to coach’s house often and we’ve become family over the years. I call him my bonus dad,” says Cook.

“The first time Roosevelt introduced me as his Dad made me pretty darn proud,” says Coach Dave Cook. “If you watch Roosevelt run a workout or a race, it is quite obvious that he loves to run!”

Cook ran at Mt. Sac for two years, racing on state championship teams before being recruited by Coach Fraley to Fresno State University. Cook remembers vividly that Coach Fraley wrote out his scholarship offer on an In & Out burger box. “I was at this relay race when Coach Fraley and I decided that I should go to Fresno State,” says Cook. After two years of running and some records at Fresno State (47 seconds for the 400m, 1:51 for the 800s and a 4:01 mile), Cook graduated in 2004. In his post-collegiate years, Cook became a teacher and joined the Cal Coast Track Club, and eventually moved back to the Southern California area in 2010.

Faster as a master

Cook admits that as he gets older, he cares less about his time and place, and more about participating. “When I was younger, I would fuss over a couple of seconds. Now, not at all. I’m just happy to be still racing injury-free all these years,” says Cook. Cook’s best time at the Carlsbad 5000 was 14:43 in 2011. “I have a bunch of 14:50s at Carlsbad,” says Cook.

As a self-coached athlete and a physical education teacher, Cook averages 70 – 80 miles a week, often running before his day job starts. During marathon training cycles, Cook puts in some double-run days. “I have a lot of miles over the years, but luckily my body is very used to it,” says Cook.

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“In my 20s, I was running to stay out of trouble,” says Cook. “I have lots of nieces and nephews, and I didn’t want to have kids too early.” Now in his mid-40s, Cook sees running as his coping strategy through life’s ups and downs. “My mom passed away in 2014. It was very rough. Running kept me going.” Cook has competed in hundreds road races from the 5k to the marathon, and had his first win in the marathon in 2015 with a time of 2:22. Now he enjoys cross-country races too, and plans to get back on some track racing.

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“Every time he calls me to tell me how he did in his last race, I am always amazed and proud. He continues to run and race at such a high level. His ability to out-race athletes many years younger than himself is a wonderful example that he sets at every race!”

Training the Next Generation

Cook coaches a team of middle schoolers in Victorville, California. The program started in 2019, and Cook has been an integral part of training the kids how to enjoy the sport. “I’ve read so many coaching books… one of my favorite is Daniels’ Running Formula, by Jack Daniels,” says Cook. He pours whatever he has learned from his own running and racing experience into his team. “The 6th and 7th graders… are wild and emotional. They have such different personalities and behaviors. This is what makes coaching both fun and challenging.”

“Roosevelt is the type of runner who can run any distance from a 400-meter to a 10k,” says Coach Joe Gonzalez, Cook’s coach at Fresno State. “More impressively, Roosevelt has made a great life for himself with his own running and his ability to influence others.”

Looking forward, Cook has some ambitious plans for the upcoming cross-country season, leading up to club nationals. “I’d like to have a successful season, maybe win a master’s title,” says Cook.

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With Mercy Chelangat bursting into the marathon scene and claiming such an incredible spot, I felt compelled to sit down with her for a conversation on her training, her life and her future plans. Here is our interview.

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JLT: Hi Mercy, congratulations on your 4th place finish at the Boston Marathon! How have you been feeling after the marathon?

MC: I feel good. Recovery has been going well since I haven’t been doing much since Boston. I’ve been hanging out with my niece and nephew. After a big race, I take two weeks off and completely rest. I’ll be starting to run again next week, 2 – 3 times a week.

JLT: How has this past training cycle been? You’ve had such an impressive personal record.

MC: I had to go back to Kenya for this past training cycle for my visa. I stayed there and trained there for four months till March. My visa came along at the last minute. I collected it on the Monday a week before my race and flew out on Wednesday to Boston.

Training in Kenya is different because I could hire two people to pace me at workouts. In Flagstaff, where I have been training with NAZ Elite, I run most of my workouts alone. It’s hard to find partners. But in Iten, Kenya, I could find male pacers who could help me.

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JLT: Boston was only your second marathon, and you came in fourth. What do you think was the biggest contributor to your success?

MC: I think consistency in my training. Coach Jack (Mullaney) wrote all my training, and he incorporated a lot of workouts and long runs on a hilly course to simulate the Boston course. I put my head down and trained. I did get sick three weeks before the race. I had a cough and cold. But I took it one day at a time.

JLT: What was your training like?

MC: I alternated between high mileage weeks (120 miles a week), and relatively lower-mileage weeks (90-100 miles a week). During this past training block, I did two workouts in a week and one long run. I also did some strength training, though it is very hard to find a good gym in Kenya. I had to drive 40 – 60 minutes to get to the gym. Sometimes I went once a week. Sometimes I skipped the gym.

JLT: As a relatively new marathon runner, what do you think your strengths are?

MC: I don’t know! I’ve been told by my coach, during my NCAA years, that I was a pretty strong runner for the hills, since I used to run so much cross-country races. I enjoyed the wet, muddy and hilly races very much. But now I’m very curious to see how fast I can go on a flat course!

JLT: What’s a typical training day for you when you’re in Flagstaff?

MC: I love being on the NAZ Elite team. We have our coaches, gyms, everything is there. In Kenya, people run very early, at 6am. But in Flagstaff, I wake up at 7, or 7:30am, have breakfast with tea, and we meet at 9am at the track. We usually run 10 miles, and meet back at the track for drills. Coach Jenna oversees drill sessions and strides.

After that, I get some lunch around noon. I rest, and go to the gym. The gym sessions are also with Coach Jenna. Most of the days I have to do my doubles, 4 – 6 miles. Then I go home and make dinner.

JLT: Tell me about your running journey.

MC: I started running after high school. My experience is not like most Kenyan runners, who start much younger. My brother Vincent was the one that introduced me to the sport. He said I should give running camp a try. So I went to the camp for a year and five months. We had two groups, one professional runners, and the other group for student athletes who are looking to improve their times to get into the U.S. college programs. I was in the latter group.

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My brother was the first one in the family to get a scholarship to run in the U.S.. He encouraged me to pursue running. I came to the U.S. in 2018 to attend the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Then I transferred to the University of Alabama in 2019.

JLT: How did you go pro after college? What’s been the most challenging part in your running so far?

MC: I never thought I would go pro. I was taking it one day at a time at my senior year. A friend really encouraged me to consider going pro. Coach Ben Rosario of NAZ Elite was interested in me before I finished my college eligibility. I signed with HOKA shortly after. It’s been a surprisingly smooth journey turning pro.

The most challenging part is actually my visa. I had some bumps renewing it. But otherwise running has been great. I’ve been lucky to never have had a major injury. I eat well, and sleep a lot. Training well means listening to my body. If I don’t feel like doing a workout, I’d take it easy. I want to stay healthy for as long as I can.

JLT: What do you do during your free time?

MC: I love reading. I follow BookTok. I love reading fantasy books by Sarah J. Maas. Is sleeping a hobby?

JLT: Where is your nickname Lamborghini Mercy from?

MC: So funny! It’s from college. Some social media people, after my race, would also say “have Mercy!” My mom was the one who named me Mercy, which is a Christian name. Chelangat is actually my middle name but ended up appearing on my passport as my last name.

JLT: What are your big running dreams? And what’s next for you?

MC: I want to win a major marathon some day. Or make the Olympics team. But Kenyan runners are extremely competitive, both on the men’s and women’s side. It’s going to be hard.

My coach and I are still working on a fall marathon plan. We might do some races in between. I’ve been considering Chicago but we haven’t decided on anything yet. But I’m hoping to come to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics!

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Thompson and Pappas have been racing the Boston marathon as a visually-impaired athlete and a guide since 2022, and winning the division in 2022, 2024 and 2025. “My A Goal is 3:39 tomorrow. B Goal is 3:54, and C Goal is to finish,” says Thompson, with infectious joy on her face. “This will be my 14th Boston Marathon.” The pair travelled across continents to run London, Tokyo and Berlin marathons over the past few years.

“We ran four Boston Marathons together,” says Pappas. A proud guide for Thompson for the past 5 years, Pappas has a hybrid role of course navigator and field coach. The pair had just raced the 5k on Saturday, finishing with a time of 25:53. “It was a little wet this morning,” says Pappas. “We used it as a warm-up run.”

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Fifth Time and Counting

Thompson, a realtor in Houston, has been working with many guides over the past few years. “Most of my guides are men,” says Thompson. She’s fast. For any woman to be her guide, she would need to be significantly faster, and that’s hard to find. “Most of the women at Lisa’s pace are running and racing themselves,” says Pappas.

Five years ago, Pappas was exploring other avenues of running. “I was curious about the marathon, but didn’t feel the urge to train for one and compete as an elite runner,” says Pappas. She went to Team with a Vision, and volunteered to be a guide. That’s when she met Lisa Thompson.

“Many people develop bonds with their guides, but the connections are different and varied,” says Thompson. “With Alexi, we just get along so well right away. We’re both different and extremely similar in so many ways.” Since their first Boston together, which landed a podium spot for Thompson, the pair travelled around the globe to compete in many marathons.

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Thompson’s dedication to her training shows up in her willingness to travel an hour outside of Houston to train on hilly terrain. “The Houston running community is amazing. My friends would drive me an hour so that I can do my long runs on the hills in Conroe,” says Thompson. The Heartbreak Hills are usually where Thompson passes her competitor. “Once I get through the Heartbreak Hills, it’s game on.”

This training cycle, however, is an imperfect one for Thompson. “I injured my hamstring and had to take 32 days off,” says Thompson. “I didn’t start training again until 3 weeks ago, on March 28th, which happens to be Alexi’s birthday.” Thompson was initially hesitant to share the injury news with Pappas, but she eventually did. “I’m glad she’s healthy now, and we don’t have to navigate injuries on the course,” says Pappas.

The 10-10-10 Rule

The pair has a simple strategy for the race: splitting it into the first 10 miles, the second 10 miles, and the last 10k. Go easy on the first 10 miles so Thompson wouldn’t give her quads too much stress; get through the second 10 miles, and race the last 10k. Pappas says this rule is how she navigated her 10,000-meter race at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Being a guide has not only allowed Pappas to channel her competitive energy through others, but also given her running a new meaning: being an intimate mentor to a friend over the course of 26.2 miles and more. Pappas has written about her female mentors in her book, Bravey: Chasing Dreams, Befriending Pain, and Other Big Ideas, including her au pair Petra and actress Maya Rudolph. Her podcast Mentor Buffet, is a continuous platform that explores such relationships. Recently, she hosted Olympic Bronze Medalist and fellow marathoner Molly Seidel who talks about mentorship in the form of friendship, and relationship with oneself.

It’s not surprising that Pappas has chosen to give back to running by doing the most simple yet fulfilling things: pacing and serving others. She paced the famed DJ Diplo at the Los Angeles Marathon in 2023. Over the years with Thompson, Pappas says she has learned “when to be a cheerleader and when to be quiet” on the course.

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“I get curious about how I can best help Lisa,” says Pappas. “I’ve been learning how to get the most out of her, and how to run and fuel efficiently with her.” Throughout the process, Pappas says she is becoming an athlete in a different role, a role that is enabling and fulfilling. The pair has become puzzle pieces that fit together.

The Bond is beyond Physical

Guiding a blind runner might appear easy but is a serious responsibility. “It’s a safety issue. We had to learn how to work together,” says Pappas. Over the past five years, the pair learned how to communicate with each other through their tether. “I’m not just her audio book, and not just her field coach,” says Pappas. She describes how she enjoys being Thompson’s eyes and connection vessel to this beautiful earth. “If we feel no tension from the tether, that means she’s too close to me. If there’s too much tension in the tether, Lisa knows she’s too far from me.” The pair adjusts for the perfect tension so that Pappas can describe the outside world to Thompson.

The pair counts many travel stories and finishes each other’s sentences. Before the Tokyo Marathon, they traveled to Nara together, a town 45 minutes south of Kyoto, and visited many temples. “We crawled through the nose of a Buddha statue,” giggles Thompson. It is a tradition in Nara. “It’s supposed to bring you eternal life.”

Perhaps paired for life, Thompson and Pappas will be wearing special bibs that say Blind and Guide that their sponsor, Merrell, produced for them. They both get excited thinking about the possibility of racing on the trails together one day. But for now, they are going for the win again on Boylston Street.

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I carried this book in my backpack throughout our recent move from Arcadia back to an area of Pasadena that borders Altadena. Shorter commute and the ease of transporting my daughter everywhere was why I decided to come back to the area. After checking out 13 rental places, I was quite exhausted by the different options. This backhouse with a lovely red door was just the right size and in the right place. My son came back home from college and spent his entire spring break helping us move. My friends showed up with a pick-up truck, a trolley and muscles to lift many boxes.

The book kept me company throughout this move. I read chapters on Thompson’s time at Andover and at Stanford, his early running years and him quitting running and focusing on his guitar. I read those chapters with constant interruptions from life: sending my son back to college in tears; my spouse walking into the house that our landlord lives and causing distress (since they did not know about his Alzheimer’s); my dad dropping everything and flying over to help me from Beijing; my spouse getting lost in the streets of Pasadena; me getting through intense weeks at my new job (that I adore!)

Thompson’s slow writing of his father’s final years was a kind reminder of a parallel universe I perhaps occupy. With my spouse’s cognitive function going through another drastic decline, I start to wonder more about his mortality and my own. When will he go? When and how will I go? With my 401k beneficiaries, my living well and trust all set, it wouldn’t be a bad way to go if I suddenly had a heart attack at a race.

But I wouldn’t mind living a few more years to work on my own memoir after retiring from my corporate job. Thompson’s book provides an excellent template. I would certainly write about the big highs and lows in my life, including single-parenthood in my late 20s and now my new role as a caregiver. I would write about how I got into running when I first became a single mother, and how I ran through two cross-Pacific moves and a home that burned down in the Eaton Fire. I would perhaps write more about the mundane things that spark tiny joy these days: like the bowl of sweet-rice-and-mung-beans porridge my dad prepared awaiting me after my long run; witnessing my daughter master her flip turn at the pool; getting a FaceTime call from my son telling me new songs his band has been performing. I would write about how, whenever I miss my old life of a perfect house and loving spouse, running grounds me in a new life of a rental house and a uniquely-configured support system of my son and my parents.

After this move back to Pasadena, I carved out a new route by the house. I went back to my son’s high school for track workouts. I even ran the Crenshaw Mile last Saturday and got a 12-second PR. It was a rare moment of triumph these days. To celebrate the new PR, I bought tickets to a day of track and field events at the 2028 Olympics. My son told me the tickets were way too expensive. I agreed but said it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch the men’s 1500m final in our backyard.

I also had the honor and pleasure of hosting my dear friend Raziq Rauf’s book launch with Ezra Weisz at Vroman’s book store this past Wednesday. wrote a collection of beautiful essays into a book called This Is Running. We talked about his own running journey from London to Los Angeles, the run crew culture, and women in running. We laughed about Ezra’s joke on how This Is Running offers excellent 5-minute reads in the bathroom.

Needless to say, Thompson’s book, my own running and celebrating This Is Running have kept me afloat in these weeks of inundating responsibilities and changes. “... running has long been a way for me, as Maximus of Tyre writes, to waken the memory of the beloved. When I run, I feel things more intensely. When I feel things intensely, I often feel like I’m running,” writes Thompson.

“Let them know. Let them love. Let them remember” is a passage from The Dissertations by Maximus of Tyre’s that Thompson drew inspiration from. It encapsulates what running does for me lately and forever: the divine discovery of the self, appreciation of the beauty of the world, and a devoted soul for remembering all the beloved things past and present.

She also holds age group world records in the 1500 meters, 5000 meters, and 10,000 meters on the track. In this episode of Starting Line 1928, we talked about her own running routine, her role models, and her goals to run a 3:30 marathon after turning 78. Rice is also planning to compete at the 2026 World Masters Athletics Stadia Championships in South Korea.

Chasing Unexpected Records

Rice’s running history is well-documented. Growing up in South Korea, she didn’t have much access to sports, though both of her parents were active. She didn’t start running until age 35, after realizing that she gained weight after a trip to her native country.

Now Rice takes pride in her consistent running routine. She runs six days a week, averaging 50+ miles a week all year round. “I don’t take short or long weeks. I average about 50 miles a week all year long except for the weeks leading up to a marathon,” says Rice. She races about four marathons a year, along with a handful of half marathons and more 5ks and 10ks. “I’m ready for the marathon anytime,” says Rice.

This issue of Wings and Spikes is sponsored by Kibra. Kibra is made for women who find strength by turning inward—and who choose to treat themselves with gentleness.

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After decades of winning age divisions in local races, Rice finds herself surprised at her international fame. “I never thought I would be internationally recognized,” said Rice. In 2017, at the Columbus Marathon, she set the American record of 3:29 for the age group 65 – 69. From there, she got excited about the prospects of setting world records. In 2018, she set the world record in the marathon with a time of 3:27 at the Chicago Marathon for the age group 70 – 75. Then she lowered her own record to 3:24 at the Berlin Marathon in 2019. At age 76, she set another record of 3:33 at the London Marathon for her new age group.

What’s so striking about Rice is her relentless focus on getting the most out of her own potential. “Though I am still training as hard, I feel like I slowed down a little bit in the last couple of years… but my goal is still 3:30,” says Rice. This past year, Rice ran the Sydney Marathon in 3:38 – a hilly course and on a warm day. “Maybe I need to find an easier course (for another world record),” says Rice.

The Lineage of US Women’s Distance Running

2026 is Jeannie Rice’s forty-third year of consistent running. She recalls running 8 marathons one year, and “only” plans to complete 4 marathons this year. “By the end of this year, I will have completed 140 marathons,” says Rice. She only counts her marathons, and not other distances.

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Rice’s prolific racing records are a testament to how much U.S. women’s distance running has come along since the passing of Title IX. As an immigrant, Rice benefits from a vibrant running culture in the U.S., training with a few run clubs in Cleveland and in Florida. She’s often seen racing in a sports bra and a pair of shorts, something she mentioned she would never wear in Korea. “In Korea, there’s no way I’m wearing what I usually wear during races. No way,” says Rice. “That’s why I don’t live in Korea,” she laughs. She enjoys a supportive running culture and says she never experienced any racism or sexism.

She also follows her role model, Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first women’s Olympic Games marathon champion in 1984. “She’s been my idol,” says Rice. “I follow all her achievements. She’s still running,” says Rice. The two of them met in person at the Chicago and Boston Marathons. Rice is about a decade older than Samuelson and has the sincere wish for Samuelson to break all her records. “I never had her speed,” says Rice. “I hope she continues to be healthy… and break all my records when she gets to my age. It will be such an honor.”

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Living Her Dreams

These days, Rice’s life is perhaps any runner’s dream: She trains with runners of all ages. She splits her time between her homes in Ohio and in Florida, depending on the weather. She flies to Vegas, New York City and other international places for races. She coaches herself. She has completed all 6 marathon majors: London, Berlin, New York, Sydney, Tokyo, Boston. Her house is usually a bustling scene of runner friends coming to stay with her from all over the country. “I do too much social stuff perhaps,” Rice chuckles.

She recently struck a friendship with Amby Burfoot, with whom she trades texts on training. She learns about running from reading. Contemporaries like Deena Kastor inspire her. She hardly thinks about how she’s a pioneer in women’s distance running – she’s simply enjoying her running life.

“We women need to take care of ourselves with our health and social life,” says Rice. “What’s a better way to do that than running?”

Take a listen to the episode – Jeannie Rice also shares her famous fried rice recipe!

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Why did you decide to write a book on running?

This Is Running encapsulates my past 25 years of experiences. I’ve been writing and running since the 90s! If I spend time doing something, I’m the type of person who wants to know all about it.

In my early running days, I ran a lot of charity races, 5k and 10k races. I raised a serious amount of money. I was very focused on a few causes. When I moved to Los Angeles in 2014, and signed up for races in Downtown LA, Griffith Park, Santa Monica, and Pasadena, because it was a great way to learn about my new home. In recent years, running has become fashionable. I write about running clubs. I’m interested in why other people run. This whole time of running myself and observing how others run gave seed to the idea of a book. I also wanted to give the world a book that doesn’t exist.

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Tell us about the book!

It’s a running book with 11 chapters, covering all different aspects of the running world, with a global perspective. It covers topics such as health and technology, super shoes, marginal gains, future of running, brands and run clubs. The opening pages are about essential races and different ways of running. I hope that whatever your running interests are, you’ll find it in this book. I have interviewed people from my two home countries, the US and UK. I also interviewed experts from France, Germany and Japan, trying to make it as global as I can.

My intent is also to cover different ways people run. There’s the Boston Qualifier gang: as you imagine, they wear the AlphaFlys and the lightest clothing. They’re the optimize-everything bunch. The extrinsic validation of Boston qualification, which comes with pressure, is for sure one way to run. Then there’s another way, like running with friends, and for mental health. I try to examine all the ways runners interact with a particular strand of running culture that’s the best for them. Sometimes you just have 45 minutes to run from your backdoor. Enjoy it.

There are also hundreds of beautiful photos in the book from top photographers. One photographer, David Miller, won a British photography award. He’s got 5 photos in the book.

This post of Wings & Spikes’s is sponsored by Kibra. Kibra is made for women who find strength by turning inward—and who choose to treat themselves with gentleness. Kibra designs high-performance activewear as a “coming home” practice for body and mind. Its aesthetic is inspired by Mediterranean sunlit elegance, and guided by the rhythms of Eastern wellness—movement to circulate energy, stillness to nourish the spirit.

Fascinating. What was a particularly challenging chapter to write?

The technology chapter was difficult to write. It was hard to track down a lot of the tech that doesn’t exist any more. I had to find interviews and documents that are hard to get to. I did manage to find an interview about something that doesn’t exist in print anywhere. I was very proud of that.

I also have a chapter on women and the female perspective. That was difficult to write as a male runner, and maybe it’ll be hard for some women to take that chapter seriously. I opened that chapter from a very personal perspective. If readers want to get deeper on women and running, ’s book Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women offers a great history lesson.

You write so much about the running culture. How would you summarize the Los Angeles running culture?

LA running culture reflects LA, which is easily described as a collection of completely separate neighborhoods. You can find your running club in your own neighborhood without ever venturing out elsewhere. Each neighborhood also might have multiple run clubs, some focused on the road and some on trail running. This is why I love LA. This is my home and there is something for everyone. You can make friends and find the type of running you like the most, whether that’s track, road or trail.

We’re living through another running boom at the moment. Why do you think the popularity of running hasn’t faded after the pandemic?

Running has lasting power. If you find it, it never leaves you. Everyone who’s found running becomes an evangelist for running. Some of them might move to Hyrox and triathlon. But there’s always more to discover… if you run one marathon, you might want to do all 6 majors, and then maybe a 50-miler, 100-miler. You’re always trying to be better, going faster or longer. It’s kind of a capitalistic mindset.

Run clubs are key to the LA running culture: you have Blacklist LA: they’re one of the original run crews. I love seeing how well they’re structured: how each run is integrated with seeing art in various parts of LA. It helps me discover the art scene in my city. A truly original idea. Another noteworthy club is Silverlake Track Club. They recently raised over $50k for the Eaton and Palisades fires. They recently organized a relay going from Altadena to Palisades. They all do such a great job connecting runners to their own communities.

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What role do running brands play these days?

Running brands getting deeper into various aspects of it makes the sport attractive to people who might not otherwise find running. 10 years ago, technical apparel might not have looked very fashionable. We all remember when Lululemon was high fashion. Now you have Satisfy, On, Tracksmith, Brandit… they make running very attractive.

The other reason why I pay attention to running brands is how they connect to our broader culture. Satisfy has a big theme of the American West, cowboys and rodeo. There’s a fashion throughline. What does the American West signify now? Do we want to glamorize it?

How was the publishing process?

I pitched a publisher with a few ideas about 2 years ago. Back then, I had only been writing my Substack for a year. I was only trying to get some feedback and wasn’t expecting a response. My pitch was initially ignored, of course, but a few months later, I got an email from the publisher, saying, “We want this book”. We worked on a mixture of ideas, broader than what I write on my Substack. Together, we created chapters and flushed it to a book.

That process took almost 6 months. My editor has been fantastic the whole time. I hit all my deadlines. One of the reasons why I went with this publisher, Batsford, is because they make beautiful books and have won awards with their covers. If the book is to stand out on the shelf, I have to make it beautiful.

That’s part of my strategy to have longevity as an author. I’ve only been writing about running for 3 years. In the field of writing about running, I’m not very well known yet.

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What do you see as success for this book?

Getting it published already feels like a success. Now I want to get to 1000 copies, which will be a big personal goal. I’d love for that to happen on publication day, though numbers are arbitrary.

What’s your writing routine?

I try to write a minimum of 500 words a day as soon as I can in the morning, after school drop-off. I sit down at 9am and get words down onto the page. I edit them later. This routine keeps the process relaxed and low-pressure.

The research process is a bit chicken-and-egg. Sometimes I find things out from research. Other times I have a definite idea that needs research to validate. The latter takes a lot longer because I want to be thorough.

How’s your running going?

I’m coming back from an injury. I put on weight, but have been going to the gym, and working with a personal trainer. I’m going to be a heavier runner, but that’s ok.

The only race I want to do this year is an unsanctioned half marathon, put on by Orchard Street Runners. This half happens the night before the New York City Marathon, so I have 9 months to train for that.

Whenever I travel, I try to engage with the local running crews and culture. I’m looking forward to the race.

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Or should we begin with the 10 steps to autocracy Stacey Abrams laid out? “Win a free and fair election — and make it the last one; Expand executive power beyond constitutional limits; Weaken competing powers (legislative and judicial); Gut the government and civil service; Install loyalists in key positions; Attack and discredit the media; Scapegoat vulnerable groups; Target civil society and dissenting voices; Normalize violence and intimidation; End meaningful democratic elections.” And the fact that we’re already at Step 9? Or the fact that we’re witnessing the government inching closer to Step 10 by seizing the 2020 ballots in Fulton County?

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Or should we begin with The Dual State: A Contribution to the Theory of Dictatorship by Ernst Fraenkel? Or the idea that authoritarianism is justified by claiming exclusive representation of “the real people”? Or the idea that there is an “enemy within” to be eliminated? Today they’re illegal immigrants and tomorrow they’re journalists?

Or should we begin with a single step out of the door? It’s 5:40am, and I am out the door going for an easy run around my neighborhood in a quiet suburb of Los Angeles. The streets are as sleepy as I am. My head is filled with noises from the news. All I can think about is “how did we even get here?”

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The first few steps of a run always feel hard, even on an easy run. My quads are usually sore between a workout and a long run. On this particular day, I ruminate on my decision to immigrate to this country. According to the annual survey by The Asian American Foundation, most Asian Americans don’t feel like they belong in this country. More than 1 in 4 Americans view Chinese Americans as a threat to national security. Just yesterday, ICE was active in Monterey Park, arresting 8 people across the street from a high school. When I think of the data and these ICE arrests, my spine shivers. I not only question my decision to put my roots down in a country that doesn’t love me back… a country that frequently questions my presence and my loyalty. I also question how deep this “purge” will be. I ponder the insidious divisiveness and the quiet complicity many participate in without knowing. How far do we tear each other up before realizing we are supposed to be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers?

My usual easy run route includes a local park. On most days, I see golfers, walkers and other runners. On some days, there might be peacocks on my route. Just a little over a year ago, I had lost my home to the Eaton Fire. Creating this new route helped me ground myself in a new geography. Now it’s a routine that brings comfort. After the first couple of miles, my body warms up, and my feet start to feel swift. My mind goes to the Cultural Revolution, a period that my parents lived through in China. During the Cultural Revolution, neighbors told on neighbors. Friends turned on each other. It was such a dark time in my home country. My parents didn’t even get to attend high school. To this day, they often recount the sensation of starvation, the terror of a late-night knock on the door, and the habit of keeping quiet in public. Coming to age in this time period forever shaped how my parents interact with the world and how they parent me.

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As I loop around a local park, I make my way back to my house. How is today – living under the daily terror of ICE – different from the Cultural Revolution six decades ago?

Does the difference lie in the hundreds and thousands of people’s marches against ICE? Is it the Strava art of FUCK ICE? Is it the national economic black-out day on January 30th? Is it the upcoming No Kings rally?

I hope so. I arrive home, take off my running shoes, and cancel my Amazon Prime.

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How’s your new year been?

It’s been a great start of the year. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this year ahead, and cleaning things out. I like to start the year with some focused time with each kid. Last weekend, I took a nordic ski trip with my son Jude, and this is my weekend with my daughter Zadie in Seattle having some big city time and celebrating the work of Bras for Girls at their annual party.

What’s your new year’s focus?

I’ve been spending a lot of energy planning the next phase of my career, and preparing to become a professional coach, but not the kind that primarily writes workouts and training plans. I’m passionate about a whole person’s development: how they show up in work, in relationships, in sports. You can see the ideas that are meaningful to me throughout my book, Good for A Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World. Since I have navigated the sports world and coached others, it is appealing to me to bring the skills I learned there together and find a way to use them more holistically to help a wider array of people. I’m looking to build therapeutic coaching skills along the way, more tools for my toolbox as I progress. Runners will probably find their way to me most naturally, given my history, but my coaching would be for anyone wanting to pursue goals in a healthier way.

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Where did this idea of professional coaching come from?

Since retiring from racing 10 years ago, I have stepped back from running, in that I was no longer trying to be the absolute best. But I was still coaching people doing that, and remained on the same train. For my next chapter, I’ve been envisioning these three parts of my work I find the most meaningful through: first, one-on-one experience with people (I miss that about coaching athletes, even though I no longer want to write workouts as my primary interaction with people). Second, education. I’m an educator by nature, I got my Masters in Education at Stanford afterall, and I am interested in continuing to develop the insights and action items from Good for a Girl through education of some kind. Third, public speaking. Something I used to have a lot of anxiety around feels very natural and positive for me now. My favorite opportunities have been when I’ve worked with schools/universities to evolve their athletic departments to better serve females by flying in and speaking with educators, coaches, teams, and mental health staff. I would love to be able to do this for a handful of universities each year.

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Tell me more about this idea of being on this “train”.

I guess I mean the train headed toward being the absolute best. It’s the idea that in order to be the best at something, you have to be focused to the extreme, sacrifice big parts of yourself, and never be satisfied. I was recently talking to a younger pro athlete, who was frustrated with their recent marathon time. It was a PR for them but they wanted more. They were really negative about it, and hard on themselves. It stirred up emotion in me talking to this person, remembering where I was years ago, dismissing a PR just because it wasn’t as big as I wanted. I see now what a mistake that was. But I was there years ago too. It seemed like that was the appropriate response at the time, but I know better now. I see someone being so hard on themselves and I want to help them progress while giving themselves more grace and appreciation.

It’s important to remember that our culture around high performance is not universal. The first time this landed for me was when I was competing at the World Championships in my 20’s. Several of my Kenyan competitors had babies in their early 20’s, and they missed 6 – 9 months of training. They rested. Despite this time off in their past, they were still kicking my butt. Meanwhile, here in the U.S., I was taught that if you get an injury, you’re going aqua-jogging and getting on a spin bike. Here you are “supposed to” be doing every single thing you can to stay in shape. We are taught to fear losing ground as if we can’t trust ourselves to return. It’s such a flawed mentality that underestimates the human body and the holistic nature of things. Really, we don’t have it all figured out here in the USA with our predominant culture of high performance. Just because it gets results for some people doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it. What’s the saying, “even a broken clock is right twice a day.”

I no longer acutely follow the competitive side of running. I’m a casual observer. I do watch the Olympics and enjoy them, despite feeling conflicted about the economics. I don’t relate to getting to the pinnacle at all costs any more. It’s easy to see the glamorous sides of elite performance: you have accelerated growth in the one area you see on TV, but that often comes at the cost of stunted growth in other areas. You are a whole person. I believe that you should lean into what makes you you. The current elite performance culture is so much about trimming off the other parts of you that doesn’t serve the purpose of performance. But it will cost you so much. At the end of the day, so few people are winning at all. And the truth a lot of them won’t tell you is that most of them put their medal in a drawer and it’s no longer really a part of their life for the next 40-50 years. I want to help people figure out how to win authentically, lose while standing powerfully, and feel more integrated when it’s behind you. I feel integrated now, but it took some work. I know I could have been more integrated along the way and probably have had more success, not less. But it’s not even really about that. It’s about having one big beautiful life, and how you want to live it.

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I’m so excited about this coaching program of yours. Tell me more about when it might be available!

To be clear, I’m still in the formation stages, and what I’m looking to do will likely evolve in the next two months. I’m researching and soul searching, and finding what feels best. I aim to know what that is and begin seeing a couple clients in Q2 of 2026. I’m exploring certifications from the International Coaching Federation, with my eye on honing a specialty of my own over time. What that may look like for athletic clients… I’d like to coach people to chase these goals from an authentic place, and not a masked place. This means getting to know themselves and their motivations and addressing their ghosts. To pursue goals with more groundedness, becoming more and more themselves through the process.

We’ve all seen so many “success stories” where it turns out people were white-knuckling their way the whole time, only to learn that success alone doesn’t heal anyone (if they manage to succeed at all). Another interest area for me is helping someone take their training plan they got off the internet or AI or whatever and interviewing them and helping them change it to match their strengths and reality, before they move forward with it. This gives them a higher likelihood of success and personal investment. Then I could better support them in the “pursuit of the goal” stage as they execute their plan.

Will Wild Writing will be a therapeutic practice integrated into your coaching?

Yes, it will be one tool I can use with clients when it’s called for. You know how powerful the practice is. Total game changer.

What else are you into these days?

I’m really into play: skiing, mountain-biking, running (but not at any particular pace), spending time in the mountains with my family and friends. I love the child-like nature of play. I’m sure I’ll be fitter if I hit the track and run some 200s once in a while, and I do now and then, but it’s with no obligations.

I write and journal. Journaling is a commitment for 2026. This is an incredible stage of my life when so much is happening. Journaling helps lay down more specific memories, and helps me connect with gratitude in the little things. I also do more yoga with a spiritual element. Sometimes I cry. I’m a big yoga crier haha. Mid life is proving to be a really emotionally rich time.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Ideally? I start my day with running, skiing or yoga. It sets me up the best. If I’m alone on the trails I like to listen to news podcasts or audiobooks sometimes, but I really prefer to exercise with someone. Then I work. Since I am building out multiple parts of my life and career right now, I’m finding it helpful to use the Asana app, a project management app, to track three components of my to-do lists: education, public speaking and coaching. I build the tasks needed for each component, set a timeline and plans to move things forward.

Then it’s parenting, paying bills, maintaining an old house… quite a mix of the mundane and the exciting. I like cooking dinner with family and friends, playing music. I split my time between Portland and Bend since my partner Eva and her kiddo live there. At night, I’m either reading, or watching something.

Speaking of reading and shows, what do you recommend?

Dying for Sex is an incredible show. Michelle Williams is brilliant in it.

I also loved The Correspondent, a novel by Virginia Evans. It’s about a woman in her 70s, and her stories told in letters and emails to others. She ended up having a big growth spurt late in life. It is a story of an unusual protagonist and resuscitates the lost art of letter-writing. It’s hopeful and beautiful. It has me writing letters to friends again.

Come See Me in the Good Light is another one. It’s a documentary about the poet Andrea Gibson’s last few months on earth. It makes me laugh and cry at the same time.

Last but not least, two great movies: The Ballad of Wallace Island and Train Dreams. The Ballad of Wallace Island was so joyful and emotional, and in my opinion it’s the best movie about making music since Once.

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Wings & Spikes is excited to announce a partnership with Kibra, an athlesisure brand. Kibra is made for women who find strength by turning inward—and who choose to treat themselves with gentleness. Check out their website here: https://kibraofficial.com/

JLT: Matt, you’ve been on this caregiving journey for longer than I have been. How has it been?

[MF] My wife has bipolar disorder. Most mental illnesses are for life. Her condition is better managed than it has been for a long time. For the first ten years of her illness, I had to be very involved. I was in crisis-management mode. I had to manage her day to day, making sure she took her medicine, stuff like that. It’s different now. She no longer needs that level of hands-on involvement, and frankly doesn’t like it! Both of us had a lot of figuring out to do. Now my role has evolved to be facilitative. She is in charge of her own mental health. As we speak, she is at an acupuncture appointment. My role is to make sure we budget for her self-care.

MF: How about you?

[JLT] My spouse has a degenerative disease, Alzheimer’s. And I had to learn caregiving on the job. The tasks are not that hard on their own: managing his medications, driving him to doctor’s appointments, talking to his various doctors. My biggest challenge has been accepting my role as a caregiver, and letting go of any spousal expectations that he has to do certain things for our home, our relationship.

We both went through a period of our spouses denying having a condition, or simply not knowing they had it.

[MF] It’s called anosognosia.

[JLT] Right. They are genuinely unaware. This makes their treatment difficult. How did you deal with it?

[MF] In the early days, I focused on building relationships with Nataki’s psychiatrist and other doctors. Those relationships were very helpful. I became a member of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. My mom, who has since passed away, was a marriage and family therapist. My brother is a nurse practitioner. Nataki’s parents and sister are also very helpful. Together, they constitute my support network. I keep them in the loop and we support each other during some rougher times.

[JLT] Similar to you, I had some unexpected experiences. Some people I didn’t expect to be stepping up ended up doing so. Then at the same time, some others let me down. In other words, building my own caregiving network has been a trial-and-error process.

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How has running been helping with your caregiving role?

[MF] I wrote a memoir called Life is A Marathon: A Memoir of Love and Endurance. It chronicles the two most important relationships in my life, with Nataki and with running. It’s a strange mash-up, almost like two books in one. But it’s also not strange, because I’ve used running to bootstrap my growth as a human being. When I was young, the things that limited me as an athlete were the same factors that held me back as a person. I consciously use running to become a better version of myself. I wanted to be stronger, braver, less fearful. When Nataki got sick, I realized that you don’t have what it takes; you find what it takes. Running brings my skills to bear, such as being slow to panic, having endurance to deal with tough situations, etc. Running has been a way to strengthen myself.

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[JLT] I hear you. Resilience is a skill running helps us build back in the face of adversity. Surprisingly, running has also taught me to be flexible, humble, and realistic. Gone are the days I could run a 20-mile long run and take a nap later. Now I’ve made the choice that my daughter needs me more than I need another marathon PR. So I’ve decided to train for less demanding races, and at times, focus less on racing and simply on consistent running.

JLT: You still run ultramarathons!

[MF] Yes. Running hasn’t taken a backseat, though there was a time when my stress level was 10 out of 10, and I had many sleepless nights. When Nataki was in a manic phase, I felt like I was aging at a hyper-speed. But I used to get injured all the time. I would have very long lay-offs from running. This is one of the reasons why I can never get tired of running – I feel like I’m always coming back from something. Long Covid made me lose three years of running. I’ve only just started to come back from that last year. It feels like a gift to be able to run.

Runners always talk about total stress load – stress coming from running and everyday life. How do you manage stress overall?

[JLT] I’m still learning. It took me years to find the right therapist with the right caregiving expertise to guide me through many situations. My therapist has been an incredible resource for me. Calling on friends for small things like helping me pick up my child is another way of coping. The more I can delegate caregiving and everyday life tasks, the stronger my sense of wellbeing.

The other thing I’ve learned from my therapist and from other caregivers is that you learn to let go of other people’s opinions of you. As a mom, a runner, even simply someone with a job, I simply can’t fulfill every single aspect of my caregiving duty. I have been judged for not giving 100 percent of my time, energy and resources to caregiving. I’ve learned to be ok with that.

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[MF] Yes, you just keep living. You have these ideas about your breaking points, and about how much you can bear. But you generally blow past these points. You wake up the next day and do it again. Just like running.

I tend to think my way through stress and adversity. This is perhaps a function of growing up in an idyllic setting. I had such a charmed childhood. I almost feel like “how dare you” when I find myself sinking into depression. My brain starts working when I am in a stress mode. I feel my mind working to take my temperature down a bit. It’s instinctive problem-solving, almost like performing cognitive behavioral therapy on myself. It’s not a panacea, though I’ve found it to be very effective overall.

Is there anything in particular you see as self-care?

[MF] I’m one of those people who truly love their work. I came across this line by the playwright Noel Coward, “Work is much more fun than fun.” I felt so seen. I love working. My work is play. I don’t need days off. I don’t crave vacations on the beach. If I can write and run, everything is going to be okay.

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I drank too much for a period of time. It was my alternative to proper self-care. I was coping with alcohol. I slowed down after Nataki’s last hospitalization, around Christmas 2013. She came out of the hospital and started drinking. Then I saw drinking from another perspective and began a process of changing my own relationship with booze.

Writing about this caregiving journey was also helpful. Nataki got diagnosed with bipolar in 2004. For about ten years, I wasn’t supposed to talk about Nataki’s illness with her. She was in denial about having a mental illness initially and needed time to come to acceptance. In 2014, I came up with the idea of writing a memoir about it, and she finally gave me her blessing.

Although I never joined a support group, I did work out of an office at some point during her illness so I could have some space to myself. That was also very helpful.

[JLT] Similar to you, sharing my journey has been a surprising way of self-care. A few weeks ago, I finally picked up my therapist’s advice and shared a public Facebook post about my spouse’s Alzheimer’s disease. The response was overwhelming. I felt like some big weight was coming off my shoulders. My writing teacher, , recently sent me Emma Heming Willis’ book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path. It was an incredible read that made me realize I wasn’t alone on this journey.

[JLT] Matt, since work is more fun than fun for you, what are you working on these days? And what should readers look forward to?

[MF] I’m working on another memoir, called Dying to Run, chronicling my recovery from long Covid. Stay tuned!

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To memorialize a collective moment of loss, I spoke with five runners who faced various damages from the wildfires on their renewed relationships with running. From Altadena to Palisades, here are their stories.

Many thanks to Anna Johnson, Natalie Mitchell, Jill Fischer, Monica Levine and Jamie Ray.

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The Body Goes Through Trauma

Natalie Mitchell remembers the Palisades fire spreading like hellscape. “When the fire happened, my husband Jerold was driving on Pacific Coast Highway after dropping the kids off at school. The wind was so high that debris was flying in front of his car. The sky turned very dark and we started seeing fire in the distance,” said Mitchell.

When the Mitchells decided to evacuate, they had to drive out of one main road to get off the hill where their house was located. “It felt like driving through an inferno,” said Mitchell.

Anna Johnson, her partner and children decided to evacuate because they lost power on January 7th, 2025. “We got a hotel, thinking it might be a staycation, though we saw the fire on the hillside,” said Johnson. By the next morning, Johnson received a photo from a neighbor and noticed that her house was in the background, burned and gone. “On the morning of January 8th, we already knew that we lost our house.” They made the decision to head to Orange County to stay at an AirBnB, instead of heading back to witness the damage. “We wanted to save our kids’ mental health,” said Johnson.

Right after the evacuation, both Mitchell and Johnson took a break from running. “I took a break right after the fire, like a kid picking up their knees. It felt too hard to do anything,” said Johnson. Mitchell talked about the ongoing stress on her body.. “The body goes through trauma… because of the ongoing stress of responding to crises. By February, the fatigue set in,” said Mitchell. She had signed up for a marathon in March but decided it was wise to skip the race.

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Jill Fischer went from one AirBnB to another after she and her husband had to evacuate from the Palisades. In addition to feeling the stress from the wildfire, she also felt at a loss without her usual running route. “The beach where I usually ran was closed. I also couldn’t run on the treadmill at my house,” said Fischer. “I also didn’t feel like running in new neighborhoods since I wasn’t sure how safe I would be.” Though she couldn’t find a safe or convenient place to run, she managed to get her Peloton app to exercise everyday. “I used the app for strength training and cardio classes. I did it for my sanity,” said Fischer.

Running Remains A Gift, But A Delicate One Now

After the wildfires turned their lives upside down, many runners felt a different tension with running: they need the running routine as part of their self-care, yet intense and goal-oriented training seems to add on more stress than necessary.

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“When you’re going through so much grief and trauma, it’s important to still go outside and take time for yourself,” said Natalie Mitchell. After taking some time off from running and canceling a marathon plan, Mitchelle built back up her running routine. “Because I have to have some normalcy in my life,” said Mitchell. She put together a training plan for herself, yet kept the plan flexible. “At one point, I had so much going on dealing with our damaged house, and my oldest son Josh’s graduation. I took nine days off in the middle of a marathon cycle, which never happened before.”

Despite the imperfect training cycle, Natalie Mitchell and her son Josh ran the Grandma’s Marathon together at the end of June. “That was the first highlight of 2025. We had this triumph in the middle of grief,” said Mitchell.

Anna Johnson switched her focus to training others. Since 2015, Johnson has been coaching a group called Running 4 Recovery for Beit T’Shuvah, an in-patient addiction recovery organization. “Part of the organization’s mission is to help our residents discover their purpose, and connect their passion to their purpose,” said Johnson. “If you don’t connect to something meaningful, your sobriety won’t last.”

Johnson first ran a marathon with Running 4 Recovery in 2014, and started coaching the group in 2015. After her house burned down, the group quickly came to rescue, dropping off clothing, toys and other supplies. In October, Johnson went back to coaching the group to get ready for the Los Angeles Marathon. “I have seen some people since the fire, and it felt so good to go back,” said Johnson. “A couple of people said to me, ‘Anna, if your house burned down and you still show up, we have no excuse not to.’ That gives me all the strength to keep going.”

Monica Levine and her family moved five times after the Eaton Fire. “The moving-around really was stressful,” said Levine. Yet she stuck to her running routine. “I get up at 5am to run. This is the only time of the day when I don’t feel overwhelmed by all the tasks I have to do during the day.” She felt compelled to run: to be away from the stress of coordinating home remediation, toward a feeling of control and solidarity with others. Levine runs with the Alta Runs group. Many of the members of this running group lost their homes or had severe damages.

Because of the stress, she quit her job to focus on home repairs. “It’s been really rough. I know I’m in a privileged position to be able to leave a job, while many people aren’t. But the fire took such a toll on my mental health, which is why I need my running now more than ever,” said Levine.

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Jamie Ray is another member of the Alta Runs group. She joined the group during Covid shut-down, when she had limited exercise options but to run outside. “I’ve been running since high school, but joined the Alta Runs group in November of 2021 since I kept on seeing the same runners in our neighborhood,” said Ray.

The Eaton Fire destroyed Ray’s house. “I was sad about our own loss, but also our community’s loss. So many stories, conversations and even arguments during our Alta Runs route. So many miles and laughter shared. It’s so sad to lose all that,” said Ray.

However, the group got together pretty quickly after the fire destroyed their neighborhoods. “We created another 6-7 mile running route in Pasadena that worked for everybody. When that happened, I came back and resumed running,” said Ray. Though she still misses her old running route in Altadena, Ray said the alternative route gave her hope of recovery in action.

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2026 Brings New Beginnings

Ushering in a new year, these runners are looking forward to new beginnings and a greater sense of normalcy.

To Natalie Mitchell, that new beginning meant starting a podcast last year with her son, Josh Mitchell, The ELEVEN Podcast. “Partnering with my son Josh Mitchell is a dream. I know I’m biased but he’s so smart and dedicated to running,” said Mitchell. “We talk about all stages of running: high school, college, adult running, masters running. My hope is that it will help more people discover the joy of running by sharing knowledge and our journey.”

Anna Johnson and Monica Levine both have the Boston Marathon on their list: Johnson will be aiming for a Boston Marathon Qualifying Time at the Ventura Marathon in February, while Levine has signed up for the 2026 Boston Marathon. “I will be going for a BQ,” said Johnson. “My community has come together so much to support me this past year. I feel stronger and more confident with them rooting for me.” Levine and many other Boston-qualifying runners who were impacted by the wildfires were able to defer their 2025 marathon entries to 2026. “The Boston Athletic Association rarely defers anyone’s entry. They let us defer our entries due to the wildfires, which is perhaps unprecedented,” said Levine. She is eager to start her training block in February with members of the Alta Runs group, following Hanson’s plan.

Jamie Ray ran the Altadena Forever Run recently, while her twin sons competed in the kids’ 1k race. “It was so great to be with the community who’s been through so much last year,” said Ray. Jill Fischer is looking for races to sign up. “I haven’t picked specific races yet. I just started looking, but I might consider a couple of 5ks and half marathons,” said Fischer.

Looking ahead, these runners share a renewed sense of hope for their future, running and non-running-related.

The pack of runners helped Christian Cushing-murray, whom teammates lovingly refer to as “Cush”, accomplish his annual steak: a sub-5 minute mile. At age 58, Cush had just logged 4:55 for the mile. It has been 44 consecutive years of his sub-5 minute mile performances, an unofficial record bettering the previous 43-year record held by Steve Spence.

“I never had any doubt I’d be able to do that,” said Cush. “I have yet to have a failed attempt all these years. Two weeks ago, I ran 5:09 for the mile at a race. I knew I would be ready for this attempt.” Though Cush was injured in the first half of 2025, he knew that his fitness would come back once he returned to his routine 50 – 60 weekly mileage and three workouts.

Cush has been a legend in the running community for his decades of consistent high performance. He maintained 6 years of sub-4 minute miles, and competed in the 1500m event in two Olympics Trials in 1992 and 1996. His personal record in the mile was 3:55.42, set at the Prefontaine Classic in 1995. As a masters runner, his record has been equally impressive: he set the American age group record of 45 – 49 in the 1500m with a time of 3:55.09 at the Oxy Invitational on March 15, 2013.

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“Running like a JV boy”, but with decade-long consistency

To say Cush is an outlier of aging would be an understatement.

New research shows that aging happens in spurts, around age 44 and 60. In his mid-forties, Cush did not slow at all. In his 40s, he ran his sub-5 minute miles mostly on the track, and sometimes during a 5k race. “Around my mid-40s, I was still very fast by any measure. I could keep up with college athletes,” said Cush, as he recalled a 5k race on the track at Cal State Fullerton, where he logged a 4:40 first mile at age 48. In other words, he did not experience the aging spurt in his 40s.

It wasn’t until this year that Cush felt his age. “I had the longest layoff in the first half of this year due to injury, and gained a little weight as a result,” said Cush. “Gone are the days when I could break 60 seconds in the last lap of a race.” However, over the decades, Cush has kept a consistent training schedule of 3 workouts a week: a track session on Tuesday with Cal Coast, a short tempo on Thursday or Friday, and a longer tempo (10-14 miles) on Sunday. Cush trains himself but enjoys running with younger teammates. “Elite high school girls are beating me these days. I’m running at JV boys’ level. It’s definitely a little blow to the ego,” laughed Cush.

The sub-5 minute mile streak, however, motivates Cush to continue training. “This is what we figure out as masters runners – how long you can keep a fast streak. But I’ve learned to not play that comparison game,” said Cush.

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“Cush had a great close during his sub-5 minute mile attempt this year,” said Sara Van Dyke, a Cal Coast teammate and Cush’s training partner. “In 2023, he ran several sub-5 times, including sub 4:40 and sub 4:50 for the mile. He is not slowing down.”

Pete Magill, another masters runner with American age group records, marvelled at Cush’s consistency. “Cush is the damn Ever-ready Bunny of the mile,” said Magill. “We all remember our first sub-5 minute miles. In my case, that was fifty years ago. It is almost beyond my comprehension that Cush is still running sub-five minute miles all these years later.”

Talent + discipline + hard work

Surprisingly, Cush said his first sub-5 minute attempt was his hardest. “The most memorable sub-5 attempt was my first one, when I was 14 years old. I had a lot of near-misses that year, after running 5:03, 5:01,” said Cush. When he finally ran 4:57 at the league final that season, he felt immense relief. “I was so excited to finally break 5 minutes at the last meet of the season.” After that, Cush tries to make himself run faster than 4:57 every year.

The long-standing success is a combination of talent, discipline and hard work. “Cush has one of the most efficient strides of any runner I know,” said Pete Magill. “That is the sort of efficiency that keeps him away from injuries. His bio-mechanically efficient strides take him very little energy to move. His running economy is out of this world… and only seen among the very elite of the elite, like Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezighi,” said Magill.

Cush admits his natural-born talent in strides. “I am very lucky with my strides. I run on my forefoot and never had any shin or knee problems. My issues have always been achilles and calves,” said Cush. “I was born with a carbon plate in my feet. I’m bouncy and springy.” Cush mentioned that his running shoes generally had no wear on the heels. “This is why I don’t think super shoes help me much at all.”

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The other talent of Cush’s is how responsive to training he is. “He has an incredible ability to build up base quickly and can go from being slower than me in longer workouts to faster in a short period of time,” said Van Dyke. “Cush still gets in shape very quickly when he has bumps in the road… When we started running 200s in the beginning of a season, Cush couldn’t come close to breaking 30 seconds. Within a few weeks, he could break 30 consistently – something he hadn’t done in about 5-6 years! His body’s ability to call on speed and respond rapidly to training is pretty amazing!”

Cush is also disciplined about stretching after his workouts and keeping a very consistent diet. He’s dialed down to the pre-workout meals on Tuesdays. “On Tuesdays, I have the same breakfast and lunch: a bowl of cereal with dried fruit and bananas, and a tuna sandwich with seaweed for lunch,” said Cush. He also pickles his own beets. “I don’t want there to be any surprises on workout days.”

“Cush is the living example of an old runners’ maxim: Running isn’t a sport; it’s a lifestyle. Year after year, while the rest of us old fogies take time off to get out-of-shape, or to nurse injuries, or just to do something else for a change, Cush keeps it going: training, eating right, and staying race ready,” said Magill. “He fights through the injuries. He ignores the frustration that comes from slowing down year after year.”

When asked about how long he would keep going, Cush said, “my main goal is to chase some age group records set by Dan King.” That includes the 55 – 59 age group record of 4:36 for the mile, which Cush had missed by 3 seconds. The other goal is to break the current world record for the 60 – 64 age group of 4:49, set by Dan King. “These are tough times to beat,” said Cush. “But as long as I can stay healthy, I can see myself doing that, with a little luck.”

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The day before, Mehra finished her first-ever marathon with a time of 2:42:42. She ran her warm-up at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. Coincidentally, the complex was where the 2019 USATF Indoor Championships took place. Mehra competed in the 1000m event, running 2:42. “It felt like such a full-circle moment,” said Mehra.

“The Most Versatile Runner”

Rebecca Mehra is best known for her accomplishments on the track. She had a stand-out high school and college running career: Mehra won one State Championships and placed at all 8 championships in high school, and she was a three-time All American at Stanford. She was a finalist in the 1500m at the 2021 Olympics Trials, and a finalist in the 800 at 2019 USATF Championships. She competed professionally for Oiselle and Brooks Beasts.

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“2021 was a great year for me,” said Mehra. “I was one of the two athletes that ran 5 races across two events, in the 800m and 1500m.” That was the year Mehra ranked 38th in the world. “If I was running for any other country, I would’ve hit the qualifying standard for the Olympics,” said Mehra.

Then came a few years of health struggles. Mehra had long-Covid symptoms in 2022. Then she tore her achilles a month before the Trials in 2024. “In the last few years, my body said no to high-level training. I watched friends compete, but my body was breaking,” said Mehra.

She also started a new job at a public affairs consulting firm in March. “For the first time in my life, running was not my priority any more,” said Mehra. However, there came an opportunity to raise funds for Bras for Girls, a non-profit organization that gives free sports bras to girls in need. Mehra joined the fundraising team at the New York City Marathon, and started working with Kaitlin Goodman from Running Joyfully.

Admittedly, though Mehra has been interested in the marathon distance since her teen years, she was a stranger to long-distance road racing. “I didn’t know anything about fueling, or long runs,” said Mehra. Having been friends with Goodman, Mehra asked her to be her coach. “I work 60 hours a week, and have taken 12 flights this fall,” said Mehra. With a busy work and travel schedule, Mehra still managed to put in around 60 miles a week. “Kaitlin coaches lots of adult athletes who juggle their running with families and careers, so she’s well-suited to guide someone like me,” said Mehra.

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Despite a travel-disrupted training block, Rebecca Mehra managed to finish 19th at the New York Marathon. There are several female American middle-distance runners who successfully transitioned to the marathon distance. One can think of Jenny Simpson, Emma Bates and Molly Seidel. But they all had a 1500m/5000m focus. There are hardly any 800m specialists that ran a fast marathon debut like Rebecca Mehra.

“I’m proud to be one of very few people that ran an 800 as fast as I have, and then ran a competitive marathon time with a job and extensive travel,” said Mehra. On Instagram, an observant friend called her “the most versatile runner”. “I could’ve reached out to New York Road Runners and asked to be included in the elite field, but I thought that raising funds for a charity that’s near and dear to my heart would be more meaningful,” said Mehra.

A New Mindset for Running

Rebecca Mehra’s first sport was soccer before realizing her talent in running. Growing up in Palos Verdes, California, Mehra was a stand-out high school runner. “I felt so much pressure in high school because the local newspaper would cover high school running events. I would check rankings online. Thank goodness we didn’t have social media then. It would’ve been worse,” said Mehra.

Mehra competed in high school and ran at Stanford. Right after college, she worked at a venture capital company, but felt she wasn’t done with running. After a trip to Israel to compete, she gave her pro career a go. She joined Oiselle and trained with Lauren Fleshman’s group, Littlewing.

“I never really took a break from structured running until now,” said Mehra.

These days, Mehra’s runs are rooted in enjoyment. “Is it going to be fun?” has become her mantra. “During one’s pro career, you miss so many important life events, because you’re spending time on the road competing in the summer. Now I can finally prioritize relationships, and say yes to trips and weddings,” said Mehra.

This past August, Mehra went on her bucket-list trip to Alaska with her best friend. Upon her return, she became sick and didn’t train for three weeks. “In the past, I would have never done something like this,” said Mehra.

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Prioritizing relationships, work and giving back has become how Rebecca Mehra lives her life lately. As she has been volunteering for Bras for Girls at various events in the past 4 years, she also raised $12,000 for her New York City Marathon. One of the most successful fundraising efforts was an event she co-hosted with her boss at work at a newly opened clothing store.

The post-marathon celebration party doubled as Rebecca Mehra’s retirement party, though in her imagination, it would’ve happened after participating in the 2024 Olympics Trials. “It’s a better-late-than-never party,” said Mehra. With her family and close friends at the table, it was a wonderful celebration of a decorated running career. And her impact in the running community is ever-growing.

When asked if she would ever consider going for an Olympics Trials qualifying time for the marathon, Mehra centered her answer in her new mantra: “is it going to be fun?”

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• This strong heart that carries me through hard workouts, lets me experience joy, and keeps on repairing itself heartbreak after heartbreak.

• The I miss cooking text from my college freshman son, coming home in a few hours for Thanksgiving; and the make me pancakes demand from my daughter.

• My close girlfriends who “catch my tears/ love my children/ dance as we age/ protect my secrets… sing even when we’re sinking/ in sorrow” (Hannah Rosenberg’s Marriage of Friends). Girlfriends who start a fundraiser for me after my house burned down; who take my children out so I could take a nap; who share my caregiving responsibilities; who not only go to see Ezra Klein and story slams but also also help me prepare for job interviews.

• The many facets of grief: learning how to ease the pain of losing something, while holding onto the love that still lingers.

• The lyrics of Salt Then Sour Then Sweet: “Give me the light years/ But I want the dark ones too / Grief is the singer in my band/ She’s a passenger van / and a shortcut straight to the truth.” “Pick a lucky penny up /And I’ll marry you for your money, love”, from the best documentary of 2025, Come See Me in the Good Light.

• All the “great job” texts from my running coach.

• The goldilocks balance of coddling and do-this-not-that from my therapist.

• The healing and self-containing space built for a consistent writing practice.

• My Indigenous brothers and sisters who welcome me, this immigrant, to your land.

  

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My writing has been a bit spotty. The bump of the start of a new job and an overwhelming schedule kept me from writing and publishing consistently. What truly saddened me about this all-consuming job with very little home support was missing three weeks of writing with Elvina Scott. I also missed a dear friend’s birthday party when work meetings ran way too long on a Thursday night. In the midst of all these frustrations, I remind myself to think of the bright edges of joy Ada Limón talked about: “how do I see the big picture and hold the world’s pain, and at the same time see all of the bright edges of joy?” To me, it is about holding the pain of the loss of a life I’ve known to be true, while allowing myself to experience the joy of friendships, watching my kids thrive, and running in crispy October mornings.

Speaking of getting older, running and holding onto joy, I can’t think of anyone who embodies the intersection of all three more than Maggie Shearer. As a master’s runner who recently turned 48, Shearer is “going after records”, but her own records. Here is her story.

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Maggie Shearer: Going After Records

Maggie Shearer was 200 meters away from the finish line when she saw 2:45 at the Grandma’s Marathon in 2019. She had been training with the goal to qualify for the Olympics trials in the marathon. After a few attempts with finish times like 2:51, 2:47, 2:46, she knew she was close. She crossed the finish line with a time of 2:45:33, missing the Olympic Trials Qualifier (OTQ) by 33 seconds. “I was a newbie at high-level training. I think with more time, I would’ve gotten the qualifier,” says Shearer. She was 41 then.

A couple of years prior to the OTQ attempt, Shearer was an executive working in the biopharmaceutical industry. “My husband had a serious mountain bike crash. He eventually recovered, but the accident made me realize that I wasn’t fulfilled in my career. I was doing a lot of corporate sales training, and to move up, I would have to travel a lot. I felt this calling to give running a real try. So I quit my job, hired a coach and decided to go after the OTQ,” says Shearer.

Coming so close to the OTQ standard brought mixed feelings: thrilled celebration of a new personal record, with a tinge of “oh I didn’t make it”. Yet Shearer says she didn’t regret anything. “I was so grateful for that experience. Most people don’t get to do that,” says Shearer.

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A Competitor at Heart

Shearer picked up running late in her adult life. “I was always a soccer player and downhill ski racer when I was in school,” says Shearer. “Growing up in upstate New York, the aggressiveness and grit with downhill ski racing set a solid foundation of competition, because there’s always an element of fear you’re trying to control.”

One of Shearer’s sisters introduced her to running, and it stuck. “I was kind of racing when I was 7 or 8 years old, but it was nothing formal,” says Shearer. After becoming a mother, Shearer started to race more, and realized she was getting on the podium without proper training.. This made her realize she was perhaps talented.

“I hired a coach in 2018. The Chicago Marathon was my first race with this coach. I ran it on my 40th birthday, and finished at 2:51,” says Shearer. The time emboldened her to go after her OTQ dream. “I still appreciated my efforts leading up to my final OTQ attempt in 2019. But I don’t think the OTQ goal is calling me any more,” says Shearer.

These days, Shearer focuses on the shorter distances: she won the 2022 USATF Masters 10 Mile Championships in Sacramento, California, with a time of 59:20. In the same year, she went under 17 minutes for the 5k on the track at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Fast forward to 2025, at age 47, Shearer ran 4:45 for the 1500m at Pomona Pitzer College, and 5:09 for the mile at the Westmont Collegiate Classic. She also recently set a masters women’s course record at the Abbot Kinney One (mile) race in June, and broke the tape at the Santa Monica Classic 5k with a time of 18:13, a challenging course.

“I love jumping in an open track meet with college athletes,” says Shearer. “I love to compete, and racing against college athletes always brings the best out of me.” Shearer feels gratitude for every starting line she steps on. “I want to go after my own records, and see how much faster I can get.”

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The Lineage of Female Coaches

For the past six-and-half years, Shearer has been a running coach. “I started coaching as an Assistant Coach at Pepperdine University,” says Shearer. “When Covid happened, Moorpark College asked if I could take over the program. So I transitioned to it.” Shearer has been the Distance Coach for cross-country and track (men and women) at Moorpark College for the past five years. “We have a lot of kids, and it’s a real labor of love,” says Shearer.

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During the most recent Western State Conference XC Championships 2025, Shearer’s athletes won both the men’s and the women’s races. “This is the first time our school achieved this win. I knew it was possible, and it’s a real testament to all the hard work my athletes have been putting in,” says Shearer with a proud smile.

Shearer appreciates all her running coaches, all of whom happen to be female, and tries to pass on what she’s learned to her athletes. These days, she’s training with Kaitlin Goodman, a former pro runner and 4-time Olympic Trials qualifier. Synthesizing coaching lessons from Coaches Juli Benson, and now Kaitlin Goodman, Shearer says she’s been focusing on discovering her athletes’ why. “With my corporate background, I’m always trying to understand where my athletes come from, and where they want to go next,” says Shearer. “Community colleges are such formative experiences, because they’re transitional years. Some athletes want to transfer to a D1 college. Some want to be club runners. I’m there to create a supportive environment that helps the kids discover their why, fosters camaraderie and instills confidence.”

Running to Inspire

“My why is to inspire,” says Shearer. At age 48, she still outruns most of all her female college athletes. “In an age when my college athletes face so many challenges, running always grounds them,” says Shearer. “I’m hoping that my experience as a runner not only allows me to coach my athletes better, but also sets an example of longevity.”

Shearer juggles her own training with her team’s training, while putting in two strength sessions at the gym every week. “This is how I stay injury-free,” says Shearer. Lifting heavy, sleeping well and taking sufficient protein, hydration and creatine are some of Shearer’s secret formulas to running at a high level as a master’s athlete.

Looking ahead, Shearer has a few cross-country races on the calendar in Portland, San Francisco and Tallahassee. “I’m enjoying a cross-country season,” says Shearer. “Like all the competitors, stepping on the start line is always nerve-wrecking, no matter what age. But I’ve learned to bring all these uneasy feelings along the journey, like Steve Magness said.”

Shearer is also the master’s women’s team captain for Cal Coast Track Club. “For so many years, we’ve always had more masters men running and competing at a high level. I want to inspire more women to come join us,” says Shearer. “Put down your self-doubt. Come run with us.”

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In my moment of desperation, I texted my lifeline, my therapist Mark. He texted me back right away, asking if I could get in a bath to calm myself down. So I filled the hotel bathtub and got myself soaking. Minutes later, I felt my tears streaming out of my face, hotter than the bath water.

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It was one of the many anxiety episodes lately. Another episode came when I was running at an easy pace on the treadmill. Usually, my heart rate would be anywhere between 120 – 140 at this pace, but it was spiking to 170 then, as if I was running a tempo. Startled, I stepped off the treadmill and called my training partner Brandon. With lots of experience dealing with anxiety and depression, Brandon told me how he usually dealt with his anxiety: lying on the cold floor so he could feel more grounded. At the end, he jokingly reminded me of his chest drawer full of anxiety meds if I ever needed any. Three hours later, I received the news that my 87-year-old grandmother had just suffered a hemorrhagic stroke. I guess somehow the anxiety I felt on the treadmill was a precursor to my grandmother stepping dangerously close to death’s door. Just a month prior, grandmother was playing mahjong with my son, my aunt and me. I was marveling at her mental acuity to kick my butt in the game. At that time, I was already wondering when the next four-generation mahjong with her would be. Though she still possessed a razor-sharp mind, she was having lots of heart issues.

Things didn’t get much better after I returned home to Los Angeles. I routinely wake up at 1am or 3am. Insomnia feels like a lurking coyote, destined to appear every night. Mark suggested that if I ever woke up at 1am again, I should get up, move around, read, and enjoy the time alone. “Lose those hours, get yourself tired, and go back to sleep,” he said. But waking up at 3am is the most awkward, because my alarm is usually set between 5am to 5:40am for my morning runs. Staying wide awake at 3am makes me fret even more.

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This has also been the week leading up to my son’s departure for college. By the time you read this, I would’ve already dropped him off at his dorm room at UC Santa Cruz. The anxiety comes from counting down on the hours when I have to send my oldest child to a place six hours away from home. Years ago, I had traveled further for college, and then across the Pacific Ocean for graduate school. I’ve been simultaneously mourning my child leaving his nest, and feeling my mom’s grief all these years of not having her only daughter around.

My anxiety has disrupted my running schedule. I had to skip a couple of days of running to catch up with sleep. Just when I was starting to get angry at myself for my inability to control my emotions and stick to my precious running routine, I had a surprisingly enlightening conversation with my friend and mentor Debbie. She told me the week leading up to her daughter’s departure for college was the most stressful week for her. I exhaled a sigh of relief. I wasn’t weak or abnormal anyway.

The anxiety has also been mixing up with jealousy. I recently saw posts of friends hanging out at a wine bar without me. Though wine bars are not my thing, it would’ve been nice to get invited. What was even more mixed-feeling was that this wine bar, a mile from my old house, survived the Eaton Fire while my home didn’t.

Naturally, I questioned myself: have you been a good friend to them? Have you been giving them your time and attention? Then I Mel-Robinson’ed myself: let them have all the fun. Let me focus on getting through this challenging chapter of my life.

Since then, my grandmother has recovered a bit. She regained consciousness and moved out of the ICU. Though she is still on a feeding tube and unable to speak, she could move her arms. I’ve also described the dreadful feeling of sending my son off to college as “losing my right arm”. My always-insightful-and-always-wise therapist Mark said, “don’t see it as losing your arm. See it as your arm getting longer.”

Tears. Run. Repeat.

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“I never thought I would compete at the nationals again,” said Van Dyke, a 31-year-old runner from Huntington Beach, California. A high school 800-meter runner, Van Dyke made it to two USA Indoor Track & Field Championships in her junior and senior year. “Coming back to the nationals has been a secret dream of mine, but I wasn’t sure if I could do it,” said Van Dyke.

That was why Sara Van Dyke wanted to take it all in. “I always like watching how Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone tries to take it all in after she crosses the finish line. She would just sit on the ground for a minute. I’m soaking in all the magic of the Hayward Field. How do I properly appreciate this opportunity to compete on such a historic track with a warm-up track?!” said Van Dyke.

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At age 31, Sara Van Dyke has had some bumps in her running career. During her senior year in college, she fell on an uneven trail and broke her fifth metatarsal. After her surgery, her coach said she would be delusional to compete in college track again. Yet she came back and made it to the conference meet. After graduating from college, Van Dyke joined Cal Coast Track Club and continued to run. “The women, especially masters runners at Cal Coast, really inspire me to keep going,” said Van Dyke.

Perhaps with this inspiration, Van Dyke picked up steeplechase last year, a completely new sport for her.

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A Patchwork of Techniques

Sara Van Dyke described herself as “steeple-curious” since college. “(My college) coach didn’t want to take the good middle-distance runners and turn them into steeplechasers back then,” said Van Dyke. Admittedly not an “aerobic powerhouse”, but “just a girl with speed trying to get stronger”, Van Dyke’s focus on the 800-meter and 1500-meter events left her feeling a bit unsatisfied post-college.

“After turning 30, I really wanted to give steeplechase a try,” said Van Dyke. So she started with a wood hurdle a local coach made for his daughter and gifted to Van Dyke. “Most of the steeplechase is hurdling. I’ve been watching YouTube videos to learn the techniques, and there’s never been a comprehensive training program for me.”

Access to a water pit turned out to be the most challenging part of Van Dyke’s steeplechase training. “Most small schools don’t have water jumps. The bigger schools with the right equipment worry about liability and wouldn’t let anyone outside the schools use it,” said Van Dyke. She even used long jump pits as a substitute. “I’m near-sighted and have poor depth perception,” said Van Dyke. “Jumping into water was initially unsettling. I kept on thinking about the six things I had to do instead of one fluid movement. I was so bad at it in the beginning.”

Yet she persisted and got more comfortable with the water pit. In March 2024, Van Dyke participated in her first steeplechase competition. She got faster in subsequent races and cut 11 seconds off her time in the span of two races. “I’ve been running for a long time, and it’s so hard to see a couple of seconds off your time. This is why learning steeplechase is so exhilarating. This type of breakthrough doesn’t happen very often,” said Van Dyke.

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Dr. Sara Van Dyke, the Chiropractor

Local runners often lovingly refer to Van Dyke as Dr. Sara. After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) with a doctorate in chiropractic, Van Dyke opened her own practice inside a gym in Costa Mesa. “I opened my practice in March 2020, literally the best time to do it,” Van Dyke said with a chuckle. “I was so broke at the time: still having a student loan to pay off, living with my mom to save money, and paying the rent for my office.” Five years in, Dr. Van Dyke described the early days as filled with doubts. “Like running, I remind myself to stick to it. Consistency will pay off.”

Slowly, patients started coming. They referred more people. “This year, because of my training, I didn’t have time to market my practice, but somehow everything flowed ok,” said Van Dyke. “I love everybody who walks in my door… If I’m doing my job well, I’m getting rid of my patients. I want all of them to be healthy so they don’t have to come back and see me again.”

In the summer, Van Dyke not only had the nationals to look forward to, but also her own wedding in August. Her patients wanted to celebrate her, so they threw a bridal party at her office. It was perhaps one of the best validations of the great work she’s been putting in for her patients.

“This year, I’m learning to have a healthier boundary between work and my personal life,” said Van Dyke. “In the past five years, I never stopped working. I’m finally in a place where the business can run itself without me pushing so hard. This makes me excited to keep on going, in running and in my work.”

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