At some point, about a kilometer into the run, everything suddenly got wet. I was keeping an 11-minute pace as I plodded down the Embarcadero; Cupid's Span, that enormous bow and arrow sculpture, was visible ahead. I had just forced myself to swallow the last bite of my first Crunchwrap Supreme, and two more bounced threateningly in the waxy brown bag.
My name is Barry and I'm a runner. As a clinically obese 52-year-old Irishman who regularly binge drinks (the NHS's joyless definition, not my own), I would love to be able to say I took up running for health reasons but that would be a lie. Truth be told, I was railroaded into it by my Football Weekly associate Max Rushden, who publicly challenged me to run the London Landmarks Half-Marathon.
Thanksgiving is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday. Taking a day to pause and take time away from the daily grind to share a delicious homemade meal with family and friends has always filled me with gratitude. And this year, as my entire family gathers at my son's house in Durango, Colorado, for my granddaughter Kelly Jo's first Thanksgiving, I am particularly thankful.
"I've never heard of anybody running any of the train lines. So I was like, you know what? Let's get this f---ing going," Richards said. "I looked at the map... and I was like, man, this is gonna be one hell of a feat."
Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and the author of the new book, The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports, has spent years developing that relationship. (He's also a very fast runner - the type who wins races rather than just finish them.) And on this episode of The Vergecast, he describes his approach to running and to running tech.
From running with his father, with whom he had a seemingly difficult and complex relationship, to using running to navigate recovery from thyroid cancer, to diving deep into training with Nike to try to run the Chicago Marathon in a new personal best at the age of 44, Thompson explores how this simple sport has driven, dictated, and helped him navigate the bigger questions in life.
For most runners, the TCS NYC Marathon is a once-in-a-lifetime challenge. For one Bronx third-grade teacher, it's a triumph decades in the making. For her, it's a celebration of perseverance, family legacy and the power of determination. "I'm just so nervous, but I'm also so excited," said Casey, who teaches at P.S. 103 Hector Fontanez in Wakefield. "Not every person gets this opportunity and I'm just so beyond grateful."
"I got hooked on it, and I destroyed my life," Raffucci, a 72 year-old from Fort Greene, said. "I left college and I left everything - so it was like a recipe for death."
If there's one thing apparent in the opening scenes of this new short film - the debut in the new PACE SETTERS series by iRunFar in partnership with HOKA - it's that Chef Tee, who moved to Chicago from Thailand in 1996, loves his city. He also loves running. And he brings that same sense of love to all he does.
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