LOLZLetter 380 | Where are all of the older running influencers?

Welcome,

Before I begin, I am finishing up two newsletters that if you would like to chat about your experience send me an email at fueledbylolz@gmail.com.

• Toxic run clubs: any bad experiences at run clubs

• Race directors: what goes into the decision to certify a course? Why do you choose to get it certified (or not)?

So please, if you have anything you’d like to share on either topic send me an email. :-)

Every so often, I think about how many running influencers seem to fade out after a certain age. In 2010, I started my blog at age 20. I remember thinking: wow I am the youngest “influencer” that I know of. At age 35...how things have changed. Now keep in mind, I’m not calling anyone old. But why are so many influencers under the age of 30? Why aren’t there more influencers 35+?

Maybe fade out is the wrong phrase. Many are still posting...just less. Some are parenting, working, doing other things, rehabbing, or just running without filming every mile.

If you spend enough time on any corner of running social media, you start to notice something. A lot of the biggest running influencer content comes from runners in their 20s and early 30s. Then somewhere around 30 to 35, running influencers get harder to find.

Of course, there are older running influencers, masters runners, longtime marathoners, ultrarunners, and coaches creating great content. But running social media does not always push them the same way. I think that is partly because they simply aren’t posting as much content...I know I’m not.

So where are the older running influencers?

Running Influencer Content Loves a Beginning

A lot of running influencer content is built around the beginning of a journey. The first 5K, half marathon, BQ, or even the first time someone says, “I never thought I would become a runner.”

Those stories are easy to follow because they have a clear start. A new runner needs shoes, shorts, a watch, gels, socks, recovery tools, sunglasses, race entries, etc.

Zero to world marathon major is a huge storyline at the moment. But after the beginning, running gets more complicated. It is a lot harder to run personal bests when you’ve been running 10 years.

The Long Middle of Running Is Less Glamorous

Running after 30, 35, 40, or 50 often looks different. That’s why I have the “running as you age newsletter series”. [Sidebar: Should we bring that back soon?]

Of course as you age, you can still run fast. You can still PR. You can still race hard. You can still train for big goals...there is just more life that goes along with that.

Careers get bigger. Families change. Bodies change. Recovery changes. Free time shrinks. You cannot always train hard, work full-time, make content, answer DMs, travel for races, lift, sleep enough, and do the little things you had free time for when you were younger.

Right now, I’m barely staying afloat between a new job and life that social media is a very clear last. There was a time I posted every day...these days I’m lucky to post outside of the newsletter.

Still running...not filming...

A lot of older runners are still running. They just are not filming every warmup drill and narrating every easy run. At age 35, I have no desire to post every boring easy run I do.

Somewhere along the way, posting every detail of your running life can start to feel less like an opportunity and more like another chore. You’re still running but the performance of being a runner online gets tiring. Is that an age thing? I don’t know.

That is not a running-only issue...this is all over social media.

Some People Get Tired of Being Content

There is also the simple answer: people get tired...Being a running influencer is not just running.

It is filming, editing, captioning, replying, negotiating rates, sending invoices, posting stories, making reels, disclosing partnerships, tracking engagement, and explaining yourself to strangers who think one post gives them full access to your life. You would be shocked at the amount of messages I’ve gotten throughout the years asking very personal questions because I have an online account.

Here’s the other thing:

Free shoes are fun until you have 37 pairs in the garage and still need to pay your bills.

A discount code is fun until you realize you are making a brand money while spending your weekend creating content for them. Plus, you still have to pay taxes on free gear...so it’s not really “free”.

A race invite sounds exciting until the travel, work schedule, family logistics, and recovery make it feel less simple.

At some age, many influencers ask: do I still want running to be a job? Or do I want to dedicate that much time to this?

A lot of the time...that is answer is no.

But make no mistake, that is all first world problems. Getting paid to create content is a privilege and that is a whole topic I could write another newsletter on.

Older Runners Are Still Racing

The funny thing is older runners are everywhere.

They are at local 5Ks, masters track meets, marathons, trail races, turkey trots, run clubs, and weekday group runs. They are on Strava. They are at the track, local road races, and marathobns. They are running before work because that is the only time the day allows and man are they are crushing it.

Older runners are not gone.

They are just not always on social media like “the younger crowd”.

That is a shame because the longer someone has been running, the more useful their perspective usually is. They have seen trends come and go. They have survived bad training choices. They know which advice is recycled. They know the difference between a training breakthrough and a training mistake.

Brands Are Missing a Huge Group

Brands should care about older running influencers.

Older runners often have more experience, more loyalty, and more spending power. They know what shoes they like. They know what gear works. They are less impressed by every new launch, which makes their recommendations more valuable.

But influencer marketing often keeps chasing the same look, same age range, and same transformation story. It also misses a lot of runners who are still here, still training, and still spending money. Plus, most older runners have more money to spend.

I relate a lot more to someone working full time, busy with life, then someone who has minimum responsibilities and can run and train whenever they want. The problem is, those that are busy with life, are too busy to “influence”.

So where are the older running influencers?

A person can stop influencing and still be running. They can stop filming workouts and still be fit. They can stop sharing race recaps and still be proud. Not every running story needs to become content forever.

Some are still posting. Some are racing. Some are burned out. Some are injured. Some are busy. Some are still running without making every mile public.

The fade out after 30 to 35 says less about whether older runners exist and more about what running social media rewards.

It rewards novelty and extremes. Running itself does not end at any age.

For many people, that is when they start figuring out how to make running last...and maybe that is what we need more of?

As always, I love hearing YOUR thoughts.

What is Keeping Me Entertained?

Happy for Ali

Saucony Endorphin Pro 5 Shoe Review

INTVL Running App Review: This running app has been really fun

Hoka Skyward X 2 Shoe Review

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LOLZLetter 380 | Why Counterfeit Running Shoes are More Common Now

Welcome,

A month or so ago I wrote about defective running shoes. For a long time, fake shoes felt like something that mostly happened in the sneaker collector world, where someone was trying to buy rare Jordans, limited-edition Dunks, or a resale shoe. I’ve posted about running shoe resale scams before and many people think: “that would never happen to me”.

Why would people make fake running shoes?

Most of us are buying running shoes to actually use them, not display them in a closet or flip them later. That has changed as running shoes have gotten more expensive, more limited, and much more tied to performance. When the original Nike Vaporfly came out, it was really hard to get them. I was working in a running store at the time and we would have people call right at opening hoping we had some left in stock. Now, that isn’t as much of an issue.

Running shoes are expensive now. That new adidas shoe will set you back $500. Limited releases and fast sellouts make certain models even easier to fake because buyers search outside of buying from a brand or local running store. I saw someone bring in a pair of counterfeit Nike Vaporfly because they didn’t “feel right”.

Counterfeiters also know runners chase discontinued shoes. If someone loved the Nike Vaporfly Next%, ASICS Metaspeed Sky+, Adidas Adios Pro 3, or another older race shoe, they might go looking after the real retail stock is gone. That’s where you see fake carbon plate shoes and counterfeit running shoes the most.

The Abby Steiner Case and Why Runners Are Talking About Shoe Risk

A couple months ago it came out that Abby Steiner is suing Puma and Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix, alleging that Puma shoes using carbon-fiber plate and Nitrofoam technology were defective and contributed to serious foot injuries that ended her professional running career. The lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts Superior Court on April 24, 2026, and it names models including the Puma Deviate Nitro Elite 2, Deviate Nitro Elite 3, evoSpeed Tokyo Nitro, and evoSPEED Tokyo Nitro 400M.

Abby Steiner’s lawsuit is about alleged defects in authentic Puma products, not counterfeit shoes. It still makes you think about how much people are trusting what they are putting on their feet right now.

Carbon-plated shoes and modern foams can improve running economy, but they also change loading patterns. A 2023 Sports Medicine article discussed five navicular bone stress injuries in competitive runners using carbon-fiber plate footwear, while noting that evidence is still limited and not enough to say these shoes broadly cause injuries.

If an authentic shoe can raise complicated questions about biomechanics and injury risk, then what about a fake version made without the same standards?

But the case reminds runners that shoe construction is not random. Geometry, foam density, stiffness, plate shape, and transition all affect how the shoe rides.

If a fake pair copies the look but not the function, then you are wearing an unknown product that only looks like a running shoe you researched. You wouldn’t grab a non running shoe and decide to race a marathon in it.

Fake Running Shoes Are Everywhere Now

The OECD reported that counterfeit and pirated goods accounted for up to 2.3% of global trade in 2021, with footwear among the most affected categories. Clothing, footwear, and leather goods together made up 62% of seized counterfeit goods in the 2020–2021 data.

The U.S. International Trade Commission also reported that the value of footwear seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection nearly doubled from about $65 million in 2015 to more than $127 million in 2024.

Running shoes do not always arrive as giant warehouse shipments. They move through smaller packages, resale platforms, marketplace listings, social media sales, overseas sites, or random third-party sellers.

While getting scammed out of money with a fake running shoe is annoying, you have to also remember shoes are equipment. You specifically choose shoes you think you’ll run the best in. If the foam, plate, outsole, fit, weight, or stiffness is wrong, you are not getting the shoe you think you bought. It is the same as running in a non running shoe.

By the time you realize the foam feels dead, the plate bends wrong, the upper fits weird, or the outsole looks off, the seller may already be gone and you might be injured. Carbon plated shoes last a couple hundred miles if you are lucky...fake running shoes last zero because they aren’t made for running.

Why Fake Running Shoes Can Be Riskier Than Fake Lifestyle Shoes

A fake lifestyle shoe might fall apart, fit badly, or make you feel like an idiot for buying it.

A counterfeit racing shoe may have foam that is heavier, firmer, softer, unstable, or inconsistent from left to right. The plate may be plastic instead of carbon, shaped incorrectly, or placed in a way that changes the rocker. The upper may not hold the foot well at faster paces. The midsole may compress unevenly. It’s like running in a non running shoe.

How to Spot Fake Running Shoes Before You Buy

The best way to avoid fake running shoes is boring: buy from the brand, a trusted running store, or an authorized retailer.

If you are buying resale or from a marketplace check the style code, colorway, release date, size label, box label, and photos from every angle.

Red Flags When Buying Running Shoes Online and things that could be how to spot fake running shoes

• The price is far below normal, especially on a current race shoe. Brands have rules about how much current shoes can be sold for.

• The seller has every size available in a sold-out model.

• The product photos are stock photos only.

• The seller name changes often or has strange reviews.

• The shoe ships from a location that does not match the retailer story.

• The color never existed, or the release date does not match the model.

• The shoe has a chemical smell

• The foam, plate, or outsole feels nothing like what you are used to.

What to Do If You Already Bought a Pair and You Are Not Sure

Do not test them in a workout or race to see how they feel.

• Compare them against official brand photos and reputable review photos.

• Weigh them.

• Check the size tag and style code.

• Look at the box label.

• Compare the outsole pattern.

• Search the exact colorway and release date.

If you bought them through a marketplace, document everything before wearing them outside. Take photos, save the listing, save messages, and start the return or dispute process. Once you run in them, the seller has more room to claim you damaged them.

Are Amazon, eBay, StockX, GOAT, and Marketplace Shoes Safe?

They can be, but “can be” is doing a lot of work.

Buying running shoes online from a brand is different from buying from a random third-party seller on Amazon. Most running shoe brands have a store set up on Amazon and if you are going to buy there, stick to those. I really suggest you don’t buy your running shoes on Amazon because there are so many counterfeit shoes on there.

StockX said it rejected more than 370,000 counterfeit products worth around $74 million in a recent brand protection report.

For running shoes, I would be more cautious than I would be with casual sneakers because the shoe has a job. If I am buying a carbon-plated marathon shoe or anything I plan to run in, I want it to be safe.

Should You Be Scared of Buying Running Shoes?

Most runners are not buying fakes every time they shop online. The risk rises when the deal is strange, the seller is vague, the shoe is sold out everywhere else, or the platform does not offer meaningful protection.

The best advice is not exciting: buy from places you trust and do not make race day the first real test of a shoe.

Conclusion:

A fake carbon shoe is not a budget version of the real thing. Maybe it feels fine for a few miles, or maybe it changes the way your foot loads without giving you any of the tested benefits of the real model.

I don’t think every runner needs to panic-buy only full-price shoes from brand websites forever, but it’s important to do research and be smart with how you buy running shoes. If you can always buy from an authorized running shoe retailer.

As always I love to hear YOUR thoughts.

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LOLZLetter 379 | Did “Strong Not Skinny” Actually Change Anything?

Welcome,

The other day, I saw yet another promotion for “strong not skinny”. For years, smaller bodies were treated like the reward. Smaller meant disciplined and healthy and that someone had control of their life.

But the language “changed”. Women were told they should want to be strong. Strength training became more visible. More women started lifting. More women talked about muscle, power, eating enough, and training for more than changing their bodies.

That shift did some good. Women belong in weight rooms. Women deserve to see themselves as capable, powerful, athletic, and durable. Runners, swimmers, cyclists, parents, older athletes, beginners, and really everyone trying to feel better in daily life all benefit from being stronger.

Before we dive into it, I like and appreciate this message to want to be strong. I don’t think it’s a bad message, but I do think the delivery is not there.

We say “strong not skinny,” yet the people most often used to sell that idea are strong and skinny. They are thin, toned, conventionally attractive, visibly fit, and usually photographed in a way where the body remains the product.

The caption says strength. It’s just that it’s almost exclusively someone strong and skinny selling the message. One year ago, I wrote Body Image, Thinness, and Who Gets the Mic along the same lines.

That is why the phrase doesn’t sit with me well. It sounds like it moved away from the old body ideal, while most of the marketing still rewards a very similar look.

We Keep Promoting Strong and Skinny

The phrase “strong not skinny” sounds like a rejection of the old standard. In practice, fitness culture has promoted “strong and skinny” over and over again. When I posted this on threads earlier in the week I had several women post you can be strong and skinny. Ok, but that really isn’t the point. Most people aren’t and we are supposed to be celebrating every body type...but yet only posting one body type.

That is the body type most often centered in campaigns, Instagram posts, transformation ads, supplement marketing, and fitness apparel. The woman is strong, yes, but she is also lean enough to stay acceptable under the same visual rules women have dealt with for decades.

That is a very narrow version of strength. It gives women a new goal while pretending the old pressure disappeared. Instead of chasing skinny alone, the new ideal becomes small, muscular, fueled, disciplined, relaxed, and photogenic all at once.

The Standard Got Harder

I do think “strong not skinny” started with decent intentions. A lot of women were tired of being told smaller was always better. A lot of athletes were tired of having their bodies judged by size instead of what they could do.

Fitness culture is very good at taking a useful idea and turning it into something that sells leggings, protein powder, supplements, apps, coaching plans, challenges, and progress photos.

“Strong is the new skinny” kept skinny in the conversation. It made the old ideal harder to reach because now women were expected to be thin and visibly athletic. Powerful and still small enough to fit the approved image. The wording changed, yet the promoted body stayed close to the same place.

Strength Has More Than One Body Type

Actual strong people look all kinds of ways. Go to a race, gym, pool, trail, lifting platform, CrossFit class, climbing gym, or local start line and you can see it quickly. Maybe that’s why many of us cling to Ilona Maher.

Strength can look like a larger-bodied runner finishing a marathon after months of consistent training. It can look like a masters athlete lifting more than people half her age. It can look like a swimmer with broad shoulders, a cyclist with big quads, a trail runner hiking uphill for hours, a parent carrying a kid on one hip and groceries in the other, or a beginner learning how to squat without being scared of the weight room. Those bodies exist even when they do not look like a fitness ad.

Yet the same few body types keep getting used for discipline and strength. When larger bodies, older bodies, disabled bodies, postpartum bodies, or bodies without visible muscle get included, they are often framed as exceptions or inspiration stories. The person becomes a lesson before they are allowed to be an athlete.

Thin Athletes Are Not the Problem

This is where I’ve gotten a lot of pushback before. I’m not saying thin bodies aren’t allowed to exist. Thin people can be strong. Thin runners, lifters, swimmers, cyclists, hikers, and fitness creators can be powerful and skilled. Their bodies do not need to be questioned for this conversation to happen. What many people don’t realize is the issue is the default image.

When thinness remains the main visual proof of strength, fitness culture is still tying strength to size. It tells people that strength is aspirational when it also fits the body type people already approve of.

That is why larger-bodied athletes are often treated like surprises. Their workouts become commentary. Their bodies are framed as unexpected. Their participation gets praised in a way that can feel like constant observation. Anyone should be able to train, race, lift, hike, swim, and exist in fitness spaces without their bodies becoming the story every time. But because the industry shares strong and skinny, that isn’t the case.

Strength Should Be Bigger Than Aesthetic Proof

The best version of strength training has very little to do with athestics. It helps people carry things, climb things, run better, age better, recover from setbacks, and feel less fragile. Stronger bodies help people who want daily life to feel less physically draining.

I like strength. I like being fit. I like seeing people lift heavy, run hard, swim, hike, bike, race, and build durable bodies. I like that more women are being told they belong in weight rooms. I like that runners are slowly accepting strength training, even if many of us still pretend doing one plank every few weeks counts.

Some strong people are thin. Some are larger. Some have visible muscle. Some do not. Some are fast. Some lift heavy. Some are rebuilding after years away. Some are brand new. Some are injured. Some are older. Some are training through major life changes. Some are doing what they can with the time, body, and energy they have.

So why are most of the bodies shared strong and skinny?

What Can We Do?

Better messaging would stop using one body type. It would show strength as behavior, training, consistency, skill, and function. It would include people lifting, running, hiking, swimming, carrying, climbing, and moving without making every image about visible abs or low body fat.

It would stop treating larger bodies as before photos, warnings, exceptions, or motivational props. It would also stop acting like thin women are the enemy. Thin athletes deserve space in fitness too. The issue is the repeated promotion of thinness as the default proof of success.

As always I love to hear YOUR thoughts.

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LOLZLetter 378 | The Doping Conversation Runners Don’t Want to Have

Just under a year ago, I wrote about hobby runners doping. Between the newsletter and instagram, I got some of the nastiest/meanest comments which I deleted. Many defending their favorite people, although the newsletters don’t talk about anyone specific. I learned...people really have strong feelings about this.

Research on recreational triathletes found an estimated 13% 12-month prevalence for doping, and a broader evidence review found competitive-sport doping estimates ranging from 0% to 73%, with many studies under 5%.

Sometimes people forget that someone doping and achieving something like a Boston qualifying time can actually take away from someone else. We are saying we are racing ourselves, but the reality is you are racing others for limited spots into Boston. There are only a finite amount of spots available for that race. For the 2026 Boston Marathon, runners needed to be 4 minutes and 34 seconds faster than their posted standard to be accepted. The B.A.A. accepted 24,362 qualified applicants, while 8,887 qualifier applicants were not accepted.

So when someone uses banned substances or banned methods to get under the line...It can affect someone else’s chance to run the race.

Another ethical question I ask. If you are an influencer taking a banned supplement to achieve a certain aesthetic and selling plans/coaching to also achieve that. Is that ethical? Because unless someone takes the same banned supplement you are...they are never going to achieve what you did without taking the banned substance.

A BQ Is Personal, But It Is Also Competitive

I understand why runners talk about Boston qualifying as personal. You are the one doing the long runs. You are the one trying to fit workouts around work, weather, travel, family, and whatever random ache appears three weeks before race day.

Once a race has more qualified runners than spots, it is competitive before anyone gets to Hopkinton. The B.A.A. says qualified applicants are accepted based on the fastest times within each age and gender group when applications exceed the field size.

That changes how I look at banned peptides, SARMs, hormone clinics, IV drips, fat burners, and all of the internet “wellness” stuff that gets passed around like it is just another part of training.

Probably no one tested you. We are not winning prize money here...not getting caught is not the same as racing clean. If you are a sub elite runner, it is pretty easy to make a good amount of money finding smaller races that offer prize money. You have to dig around, but likely you can make a few thousand a year. There were years in my twenties I did that. No one is testing those runners. Is that fair? Probably not but tests are expensive.

Peptides Are Not Just Fancy Recovery

USADA wrote an article about what Peptides even are. Some peptide hormones, growth factors, and related substances are prohibited in sport. USADA says some peptide hormones with anabolic or strength-enhancing actions are banned, and a substance can still be prohibited even when it is not named directly if it has a similar chemical structure or biological effect.

Which peptide? Who prescribed it? Is it approved for human use? Is it prohibited? Is it being used because of an actual medical condition, or because someone wants to recover faster, train harder, lose weight, repair tissue faster, or get through a marathon block without the same fatigue as everyone else?

You do not have to take something on race morning for it to affect race day. Marathon fitness is built over months. If a banned substance helped build that fitness, the time is connected to it.

SARMs Are Not a “Gray” Area

SARMs [Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators] are synthetic and made in a lab. They are designed to mimic the muscle-building effects of testosterone.

USADA says all SARMs are prohibited at all times, in and out of competition, for athletes from the highest level of sport through the recreational level.

Hobby runners often act like anti-doping rules belong only to people with agents and appearance fees.

Maybe the qualifying race never tests. Maybe no one checks. Maybe the runner stops before Boston and tells themselves the result is now separated from the training block. It’s important to remember if the substance helped create the training, it helped create the time.

Vitamin IVs

Vitamin IVs are one of the best examples of banned methods being repackaged as wellness content. I see often influencers and runners promoting vitamin IVs as if they aren’t technically banned.

Sometimes the person is racing the next day, just raced, won something, took prize money, or is using the whole thing for content.

USADA says IV infusions or injections over 100 mL within a 12-hour period are prohibited in most circumstances, even when the substance itself is permitted, such as saline, vitamins, or rehydration solution. Medical treatment is obviously different.

That is how something prohibited starts looking normal. It gets posted enough times that people stop caring about the rules. Even when going through this newsletter I thought: I’ve seen so many Vitamin IVs posted that maybe the rules have changed...they have not.

Medical Use Is Different

People have autoimmune conditions, hormone issues, injuries, pain, illnesses, and medical histories that do not go away because they sign up for a marathon and I am not advocating to not take your doctor prescribed meds.

There is a difference between working with a doctor because your health needs attention and fishing for a diagnosis so you can get something. Although truthfully, I believe that isn’t happening as much as someone just buying something online.

Influencers Selling Plans While Using Banned Help

As influencer taking banned substances while selling training plans, coaching, supplement codes, recovery tools, or a performance-based lifestyle turns it into something else. You aren’t providing the entire story to followers and making money off of them.

Followers see the marathon time, the comeback, the workout screenshots, the long run pace, the “trust the process” caption, the supplement code, and the plan launch. They may never see the peptide, the SARM, the hormone clinic, the stimulant, the fat burner, the IV drip, or the full supplement stack behind the scenes.

Then the influencer sells a plan built around the idea that the follower can get closer to that result by buying the PDF, joining the coaching group, clicking the code, or copying the routine [they see online...not the true routine happening].

The FTC already expects influencers to disclose material connections when they promote products or brands, including financial relationships, free products, discounts, or other benefits. I could write a post about that because it is not always happening.

The FTC also says disclosures should be clear and hard to miss, not buried where a follower has to hunt for them.

If someone sells a marathon plan after qualifying for Boston while using banned peptides, SARMs, prohibited IV methods, or sketchy recovery compounds, they are selling a version of performance that most clean runners cannot copy.

That is why the “I’m just a hobby runner” defense falls apart faster when money enters the picture. If an influencer is using a race result to sell coaching, plans, brand partnerships, supplements, or a recovery routine, then followers are not only watching someone run fast. They are being sold an explanation for why that person runs fast.

When the visible explanation is mileage, grit, a shoe rotation, a supplement code, and “consistency,” but the hidden part includes banned help, the audience is not getting the full story. The missing context may not be motivation or talent. It may be that the influencer is recovering with tools and substances that are not part of clean sport.

An influencer does not need to be elite to create harm here. If their results bring in coaching clients, affiliate income, sponsor attention, race entries, or credibility, then the choices behind those results affect more than their own training log.

I don’t think every fast running influencer is doping, and I don’t think every coach with a good marathon time deserves suspicion. Plenty of people are clean, talented, consistent, and very good at racing. But if someone is using banned recovery tools or substances while selling access to their process, that is not just a clean sport problem. It is a business problem, a transparency problem, and a trust problem.

What Should We Do?

You do not need to panic over every gel, electrolyte packet, cup of coffee, or protein powder. That would be exhausting, and most of us already have enough running nonsense taking up space in our brains.

If you are trying to qualify for Boston, win prize money, take age-group awards, build coaching credibility, sell plans, work with brands, or use your race results as part of your public image, know what you are taking.

Be skeptical of anything marketed for fat loss, hormone support, muscle growth, extreme energy, peptides, injectable recovery, or rapid repair. If you are in doubt, do some googling. If it sounds too good to be true...it probably is.

If your income is tied to your race results, your social media, training, or ability to sell a running lifestyle, people deserve more honesty than a caption about discipline and consistency.

I don’t believe every person is doping and I don’t even think the majority...Clean sport does not begin when someone is elite enough to have an agent.

As always, I love to hear YOUR thoughts!

What is keeping me entertained?

Diadora Mythos Blushield Vigore V Shoe Review

Navy Bay Bridge Run 10k (43:04)

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LOLZLetter 377 | Jason’s 2021 Cocodona Story: Desert Miles, Big Decisions, and One Very Needed Chocolate Cake

Welcome,

Last week I talked about Rachel Entrekin’s win at Cocodona. I was (and still am) feeling so inspired about that race in general. This week, I talked to my friend Jason who ran in 2021. I was curious about the experience and how it felt. I’ve known Jason since 2012? Maybe 2013 and our ties to Oswego, NY…Anyway, time flies. This is the first interview style newsletter I’ve done in over a year and dare say I miss them? So if you have any fun ideas/topics you’d like me to interview let me know.

On that topic, I’m in the works of writing a new newsletter about “bad” experiences at run clubs (run club leaders creating run clubs for their own gain, sa, toxic run clubs...etc. So if you have experience with that, please send me an email...names/run club names don’t have to be used).

Anyway, let’s talk to Jason who ran Cocodona in 2021.

What made you want to run Cocodona?

I am not sure I wanted to run Cocodona at first. In 2019, when Aravaipa announced Cocodona, a friend of mine casually suggested that we should register. Then it became a game of chicken between us. For months, we kept asking each other the same question: Did you register? Did you register?

Nobody registered.

Then one day, I received a text message with a screenshot of the event registration. I said to myself, “Well, I guess I’m running 250 miles in the desert.”

I was not ignorant of racing in Arizona. I had raced Ironman Arizona and the Black Canyon 100k, and seeing the desert from two feet was interesting and enticing to me.

How was your Cocodona experience?

Cocodona changed my life. I was going through a tough time, and spending days in the desert gave me the ability to disconnect and explore my life in a way I needed.

Being away from my phone and connections helped me process what I wanted to do with my life.

At the time, I had just published the very first Run Tri Bike magazine. I was there for the printing of the magazine, but I had to turn the company over to friends so they could get the issue out to the public. That was nerve wracking because I had a new company while other parts of my personal life were going through drastic changes. My decision to race was perfectly timed.

What was the first day like?

Day 1 was extremely hard. No one anticipated the difficulty, so we learned on the job.

The course is ever changing in slow motion as you make your way from Black Canyon City to Flagstaff. In Black Canyon City, you can imagine the desert from Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote imagery. Cactus, dirt, rocks, greyish, and very hot. The mountain in the distance never seems to get closer, although you are moving faster than you thought you would be.

When you reach Mile 11 and the first aid station, you need to make sure you are fully hydrated. Eat what you can and get ready to move. Then you start climbing Lane Mountain and the Bradshaws.

The gradient is steep, the rocks feel bigger than they are, and I struggled to move. It felt like every two steps I had to sit down, catch my breath, and rethink my life.

Climbing Lane Mountain was an experience. I contemplated DNF’ing dozens of times while ascending that never ending mountain.

When I reached the aid station at the top and saw Coree Woltering still there, I knew it would be hard. I thought there was no way I was going to finish the race if it felt like that.

After that aid station, you descend into Crown King, and everything changes.

What changed after Crown King?

After finishing the climb, you reach flat single track with spring flowers and land as far as the eye can see. It was an incredible view. Then it is time to head down into Crown King on a jeep road, and many athletes are thrilled to be done climbing.

When I left Crown King, it got dark quickly, and I could not tell what the course looked like outside the four-to-six-foot beam of light in front of me. What I can tell you is that the stars seemed brighter and closer than they ever had before.

Trees, rocks, trail, repeat.

I do not recall much about that area, although I remember sitting at fire pits twice. The first time, around Mile 50, the conversation was about how hard Lane Mountain was. I reminded everybody around the fire that what we had just climbed was very difficult and that we could not pretend otherwise, no matter how badly we wanted to forget what had just happened. We had a great laugh.

The next fire pit was set up in the middle of the night. The heat from the fire and the warmth from the veggie broth were unmistakable. We chatted for a bit and left when we felt warm enough to get through the night.

Looking up, the night sky was like something you would see in a movie about the solar system. Absolutely stunning.

When did the race start to shift for you?

At the campsite, when I could finally grab a pacer and see my crew, the race changed. We made our way through the trails until we exited one area where a makeshift finish line had been set up in a Prescott neighborhood.

It felt really nice to see other humans and not be on the trail. Running through the streets toward Whiskey Row was a shot in the arm.

Then it was back through Prescott and back onto the trail.

Again, more rocks, dirt, trees, repeat.

What do you remember after Prescott?

After Prescott, you make your way to Fain Ranch. It is a huge open landscape where cows roam freely. You can see Mingus and know that you will be climbing up that massive mountain.

I loved climbing Mingus. It got cold on the way up, but it felt great to make my way up, mostly because I knew there would be vegan hot dogs at the top.

After sleeping in the van, I woke up to sunset and felt recharged. I ran so hard down Mingus that the rocks did not bother me at all. It felt great to have slept, and I loved every bit of it.

After that, you make your way into Jerome. It is a haunted city, and the aid station was phenomenal. I ate so much there and then left.

You descend out of Jerome, and there are nothing but rocks on the downhill section. I was more aware of the rocks than I had been descending Mingus.

What do you remember about Cottonwood and Sedona?

The next thing I remember is being in Cottonwood. It is a small town where the locals cheered for us. The coffee shop smelled good, but there was no time to stop. We had to cross water before reaching the next crew stop. That water felt so refreshing because it was so cold, even though the weather outside was also cold.

The next main area is Sedona and the Red Rocks. Seeing them from afar was so welcome. You feel like you are so close to Flagstaff by then.

Running through that area was not easy because the rocks were slick, but I found the best bed anywhere. I lay down on a welcome slab. The hard rock was the perfect place to fall asleep.

What was Fort Tuthill like?

The next memorable area was Fort Tuthill. I slept there and woke up to run into the sunrise.

Huge pine trees, fresh oxygen, and a sunrise could not be beat.

I felt great and ran some of the fastest miles of the race. Running through fields with the sun up and the cooler weather of being in the mountains was glorious.

Running through the night, you do not really see much of anything. You have your pacer with you to chat with, but the focus is to keep moving to the next crew spot so you can rest and prepare to climb Elden.

What do you remember about climbing Mt. Elden?

As we approached Elden, I told my pacer I needed a nap before climbing. I lay down on the floor and used rocks as a backing. Those moments were glorious because the last bit was going to be hard.

Mt. Elden is the final climb. It is brutal.

Climbing up Elden, a couple passed me. They were there for the day, wearing Crocs and moving as if nothing was happening. I, on the other hand, was struggling to keep moving. The rocks seemed so big that lifting a leg high enough to step over one felt impossible.

We got high enough to sit and take in the view. And what a view. The last few days were all right in front of me.

Running along the edge to reach the aid station, which was visible the whole time, felt forever. Look to your left and you see the mountain up close. Look to the right and the land stretches so far you cannot fathom the world’s size.

What happened at the Mt. Elden aid station?

At the top, I ran into PJ Mortimer, who was volunteering after finishing second in 77 hours. He asked me what I wanted, and I told him I wanted to get the hell out of there and finish.

He told me not to be so fast because it was still far away.

He offered me food, and I asked what vegan options they had. They had Beyond Meat kielbasa. The smell from the grill was intoxicating. As he grilled the sausage, I noticed chocolate cake.

I asked if I could have a slice, and another volunteer gave me a quarter of the cake on a plate.

Neither the kielbasa nor the chocolate cake stood a chance.

With a full stomach and a smile on my face, I left the aid station with my pacer.

What was the descent from Elden like?

After my time at the aid station, we descended Elden on a jeep trail. It was wide open and steep. At one stage, a mountain biker was ascending, and I was astonished by his ability to keep pedaling.

That is where I finally felt a blister and saw blood. The steepness caused my foot to hit the front of my shoe. Nearly 250 miles with no foot issues, and then it happened.

At the end of the descent, you go through Buffalo Park. It was a nice reprieve from the massive downhill. By then, I hated my trekking poles because they kept collapsing throughout the race, so I tossed them in the garbage.

I was free of everything except running, or really walking by then.

What was the finish like?

Running through the streets of Flagstaff feels much like running a road race. You keep making turns until you can hear the crowd. When you turn right into the alley and see the finish line and the people, it is breathtaking. Emotions climb.

You realize you did the thing.

When I reached the finish line, I knew I had done something far outside my comfort zone. I also knew that my life had changed forever.

A 200 or 250 mile race is far less about speed. It is about self-discovery.

Over 110 hours, I became a different person, and I welcomed him with open arms.

Thank you Jason for sharing your story!!

You can find Jason on Run Tri Bike Magazine or his Instagram.

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