Calvin Wang's running persona based on Shawmont Running Club's trail tag. GO TO: https://icandybywangc.com/flavors/ctcloser/
• It is a thing • [1½ MIN READ] Talking at an SRC run is particularly rewarding because there’s a wide variety of folks to run with doing many different paces. The eponymous run goes up Shawmont Avenue for a conventional 14 miles. That means there are opportunities to have conversations with a variety of … More Running and Talking Compatibility (#179: ZY Weekly Newsletter 1/25/25)
• So much disinformation • [2 MIN READ] With the start of spring-marathon training season, I came across an article talking about the origins of the marathon, my favorite competitive distance. It ain’t what you think. With none other than the authority of National Geographic, the following article debunks the significance of the ancient Greek … More The Origin of the Marathon Race (#293: 2025’01’29’W)
• Who wants to claim the attention? • [½ MIN READ] I was pretty pleased to claim bragging rights for my soggy pre-New Year’s Shawmont effort, but that pleasure was premature. It seems Lakshmi, Linda B, and Sure Sheila were already up on the Orange Trail doing their workout when they looked down and saw … More Bragging Rights (#178: ZY Weekly Newsletter 1/18/25)
• Perhaps not as difficult as you think • [1½ MIN READ] Sure, it’s cold for us, but with average global warming that means somewhere else is frying. Okay, fine, you say. I’ll take some of that right now, you say. Especially with so many days of Really cold, you say: I’m staying inside. I’m … More Cold-weather Running (#292: 2025’01’22’W)
• As applied locally • [1½ MIN READ] A few years ago, I started using weekly photos as a way to record attendance. To help keep the, uh, exercise from getting stale, we started shaking up the process. Adopting certain poses was one early strategy. Adopting a one-and-done shooting rule was another strategy (The Attendance … More Cinematic Framing (#291: 2025’01’15’W)
• Looking back and looking forward • [<1 MIN READ] The last time New Year’s Day fell on a Growlers Group Run day was in 2020. Looking back to that year at noon, 3 of us ran. Last week at 3:30 p.m. we did better by 67% when 5 of us ran. The photo captured … More First Things (#290: 2025’01’08’W)
• Sentiments for a different holiday • [1 MIN READ] A podcast that I mentioned in 10’30’W Cerebrun about the phrase “run crew” has had me thinking since the time I heard it. The term “crew” describes running groups that have moved beyond just helping runners get better competitively to helping runners get warmer communally. … More Giving Thanks for the Crewness of the Club (#289: 2025’01’01’W)
• The credit card, literally, but the effort, literarily • [1 MIN READ] The old Mastercard credit-card commercials got it right about the value of achieving. This piece is my perspective, though, on how the value accrues by an increase in every degree of appeal. In this case there’s a bunch of them. PHYSICAL SOCIAL … More Mastercard and the Hallmark Run (#177: ZY Weekly Newsletter 12/28/24)
• With the Blue Belles contingent • [<1 MIN READ] While KayCee and the Blue Belles run with us Wissahickon club members regularly enough, I don’t always get to catch up with them the way I’d like. That plus liking to shake up the running routine means that joining the, in their Blue Bell environs … More The Spirit of Social Embrace (#176: ZY Weekly Newsletter 12/21/24)
• Not who I’d like to think • [1 MIN READ] A little conversation during a past run got Quietman Tom quipping to me, “You’re smarter than you look.” What was harsh had very little to do with the specifics of the conversation; rather, it was the way circumstances next unfolded to put that good-naturedly … More Smart Guy (#175: ZY Weekly Newsletter 12/14/24)
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