• The same day and date across the years • [2 MIN READ] I love getting to know people, getting to know their Priorities, their Contexts, their Histories. My goal is to find a point of common interest for building community. The common interest in a running club is the running: voilà, built-in community. Getting … More 2015 & 2026 (#212: ZY Weekly Newsletter 2/7/26)
• In memory • [2½ MIN READ] I met James Craig not that long after I started running with Shawmont Running Club in 2014. He was excellent company and it didn’t take long for us to discover 2 interesting, preexisting points of connection. When he learned that I worked (then) for Arcadia University, he wondered … More All That Jaz (#211: ZY Weekly Newsletter 1/31/26)
• One particular dog, actually • [2 MIN READ] There are a couple of dogs that have been to the trail in my time with SRC, Jude (of the House of Teddio) and Missy (of the House of Weezinator. ShawmontRunningClub.com.). This is about one that’s never been and, frankly, never will. Teddy Closer is not … More Miracle Man (#210: ZY Weekly Newsletter 1/24/26)
• A boo for the Four Sisters • [2 MIN READ] Not every piece of information joins with others to make sense when we want them to. That happened when I tried to figure out how I managed to sprain the middle toe of my right foot when I wasn’t even running. The question to … More What Goes Around Comes Around (#209: ZY Weekly Newsletter 1/17/26)
• The rear end was the one safe place • [1½ MIN READ] I mentioned 2 left-ankle sprains this past training cycle before Philadelphia Marathon (11’23’Sunday): Lessons from a Sprained Ankle II (ShawmontRunningClub.com). That was as of September. I never bothered to mention the 2 additional sprains (reinjuries?). I was fully recovered by race time. … More A Pain in the… (#208: ZY Weekly Newsletter 1/10/26)
• Again, racing not required (this website) • [<1½ MIN READ] To close out 2025 (already!), my thoughts are on the passage of time. 2026 will see the celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial, its 250th birthday. At its bicentennial, I was 13 years old. Thinking then about the age I would be at the turn … More Big Numbers (#207: ZY Weekly Newsletter 12/20/25)
• Racing not required • [2 MIN READ] Here’s a reason to show up for a Saturday SRC run: Oh, the conversation that you’d otherwise miss. When I arrived at the run on Saturday, 12/13, immediately after the publication of the Zen Yanni Newsletter 12/6, Quietman Tom had words for me (ShawmontRunningClub.com): How long did … More The Sneaky Pee II (#206: ZY Weekly Newsletter 12/13/25)
• The opposite of ease is dis-ease • [3 MIN READ] The word “autopsy” means what ‘the self’ (Greek: autos) ‘has seen’ (optos). Who can understand it in any other way than in the context of a pathologist conducting a postmortem (Latin: after death)? But it seems perfectly appropriate in the context of an individual … More Being a Philadelphia Marathon Race Pathologist (#204: ZY Weekly Newsletter 11/22/25)
• Live and virtually • [2 MIN READ] There’s nothing like a crowd to make a competitive race seem easier and more enjoyable. I first cut my teeth on small marathons, where a runner can go a mile and see only other runners (I still rather prefer races like that.); so I was blown away … More Being a Philadelphia Marathon Race Supporter (#203: ZY Weekly Newsletter 11/15/25)
• Now that I know, first 2 of ? times • [2 MIN READ] The conviction from those in the know is that club principal Zen Yanni is the nutter runner who conceived the 4 Sisters route. As I’ve asked around from those in the knew, several club members are among the nutter runners who’ve … More RevisitED the 4 Sisters of Manayunk (#202: ZY Weekly Newsletter 11/8/25)
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