Relating to the past (vs. chronological)
• I’m just learning about this route now? • [2½ MIN READ] A club as long-lived as SRC (circa 1985) is bound to have bits of history that newer runners like me (circa 2012) will never know or will learn only incidentally. One historical fact of the latter type is the existence of the Four … More Revisiting the 4 Sisters of Manayunk (#201: ZY Weekly Newsletter 10/25/25)
• It’s less about doing than being • [2 MIN READ] I have a friend who’s been alienated by institutional faith because all he heard from the lectern is commands for what to do. He heard a lot of bossiness. That introduction is an excuse to interrogate how people who are considering a lifelong partnership … More That Which Makes a Person Live Christian
• Mom was da balm • [1 MIN READ] When I was a kid, I was prone to muscle pain in my calves. The sensation of a nagging headache in my legs would keep me from falling asleep at night. The solution was to go to my parents’ bedroom and wake my mother. She would … More Leg Pain
• 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)
• Premier crew vendor event • [<1½ MIN READ] For the first time in my 12-year tenure with the Growlers, we have had enough runners to support a vendor visit. JRC Keith made the suggestion and local Asics rep Ken made the event. One great benefit a vendor visit provides is the opportunity to try … More Run Report: Asics (#284: 2024’11’27’W)
• Nicknames 2.0 • [2 MIN READ] One thing I’ve learned both from editing for the Facebook group and ShawmontRunningClub.com and from talking about trail tags with club members is that not everyone likes them. WHAT? I guess I never woulda thunk it. When I say not everyone likes them, I don’t mean they don’t … More Trailtagging III (#172: ZY Weekly Newsletter 11/9/24)
• Not mine • [2 MIN READ] The Growlers Group Run “belongs” to Jenkintown Running Company. The store opened in 1981 and hung out a shingle inviting runners to use it as a starting place for weekly workouts. I didn’t start running with the group until the year I started running, period, in 2011. Groups … More Whose Running Club Is This? (#275: 2024’09’25’W)
• A noble heritage • [1 MIN READ] (Acts 16-17 was my YouVersion app Bible reading for today.) ACT 17:10-11 (ESV): “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received … More Being Berean
• Literally • [1½ MIN READ] Way back in high school I decided to initiate the discipline of Bible reading in 1 year. It was good! Less than 10 minutes a day. I did it 2 more times through college. ‘Okay, that’s enough,’ I thought. ENOUGH?! Feels kind of insane, really, to say it was … More A Biblical Discipline
• Everyone needs a break sometimes • [1 MIN READ] As a past religious reader of the daily newspaper comics, I was shocked the first time I saw a cartoonist take a creative break. The comic was Doonesbury and the cartoonist was Garry Trudeau. I was in college at the time and it never occurred … More Hiatuses (#162: ZY Weekly Newsletter 6/29/24)
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