We have an action-packed issue today so I won’t take up too much of your time here, but I have a question for you, especially if you’re a new subscriber who just signed up this weekend.

Out of the blue yesterday, somewhere north of 200 people subscribed to the newsletter (and a number of them became paying subscribers, which is awesome!). What’s interesting is… this has never happened before!

My question is, I have no idea who linked to The Half Marathoner or shared us with their audience, so I thought I’d ask: how did you find us? If it was from another newsletter, I’d love to send a note to whoever shared us, as we’ve had a huge day (maybe the biggest ever!) in THM history.

In the meantime, I hope you have an amazing Sunday out there wherever you are in the world, and get a great run in — as always, keep in touch.

Your friend,

— Terrell

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🏃‍♀️ To run

🍒 Meijer Festival of Races. You’ll get to run among the beautiful farmlands and tree groves of the Old Mission Peninsula, “an 18-mile sliver of land that juts out into the turquoise-blue waters of Grand Traverse Bay and teems with natural beauty and some of the most stunning vistas in the region,” according to the Traverse City Tourism board, at a race that celebrates the end of this region’s annual National Cherry Festival. After the first couple of miles along trails, the rest of the race features a long stretch along the shoreline of the bay, running south on Peninsula Drive all the way into Traverse City. Set for Saturday, July 11.

🐻 Sleeping Bear Marathon + Half. “Miles of sand beach, bluffs that tower 450 feet above Lake Michigan, lush forests, clear inland lakes, unique flora and fauna make up the natural world of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, where this early fall race takes place. You’ll run through the village of Glen Arbor and past Little Glen Lake, as well as past the “Dune Climb,” a popular spot for attempting to climb up pure, wind-blown sand dunes. “At the peak of fall color season, the tree-lined course will be one that both runners and spectators won’t soon forget.” Set for Saturday, October 3.

🌴 Vietnam Jungle Marathon. The second in a three-race series of trail marathons that feature once-in-a-lifetime, jaw-dropping running tours of the mountains and jungles of Vietnam, this race unfolds along the challenging hills of Pu Luong Nature Reserve, which lies just over 100 miles from Hanoi. Filled with waterfalls, old-growth jungles, dramatic limestone cliffs and views of rice paddies in the valleys below the trails, the 43,000-acre preserve offers runners several race distances to choose from — a 25K (slightly longer than a half marathon) in addition to a 10K, 50K and 70K. Sign up for the race only, or for a trip that includes overnight stays in one of the villages inside the reserve. Set for Saturday, October 17.

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Just a quick note before we get out there — and of course happy Mother’s Day to everyone celebrating (and being celebrated) today. The weather here in Atlanta has been mostly gorgeous lately, unseasonably cool and sunny, perfect for running.

I hope you’re able to get out there today and enjoy some of it, wherever you are in the world …

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I know it’s been a while since you’ve seen me in your inbox on Sunday, which has been a staple of this newsletter for a long time. I’m happy to tell you I’m bringing it back, but let me explain a little of what I’ve been thinking and why I put it on pause for a bit.

For a while, I’d begun to feel a sense of overwhelm from all the other newsletters I receive — not that any of this was those writers’ fault; I’d subscribed to all of them of my own volition!

But they all started to feel like too much, you know? So, I thought to myself, what if I send only one newsletter per week? Would that be enough, or too little? So, that explains the experiment I’ve been doing for the past couple of months.

What I’ve found is that I miss having more frequent contact with you all, the subscribers — because I skipped a lot of Friday Thread discussions, I missed hearing about what you were up to, hearing your thoughts. Even though there are Fridays when not that many people chime in, there are plenty of Fridays when they do, and those discussions are still a ton of fun for me.

Lately, it started to occur to me that a better approach to the newsletters I send might be “mend it, don’t end it” — so, today’s Sunday edition looks very much like the ones you’ve seen in the past, but I hope will be the start of something new, as I evolve and refine it into something new.

So, stay tuned and, as always, I’d love to hear any ideas or questions you might have — in the meantime, I hope you have a great rest of your weekend and get a great run in out there.

Your friend,

— Terrell

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If you’re looking for something to run…

🚜 Mad Marathon + Half. Giant red barns, tall silos, covered bridges, wide-open farm fields and quiet country roads form the backdrop you’ll see along the route at this mid-summer race. If you’re a skier, you’ll find it familiar, as the Green Mountains of Vermont here are home to wintertime ski destinations like Mad River Glen and Sugarbush. The race has earned accolades from the likes of Runner’s World in recent years thanks to its gorgeous, bucolic scenery throughout, and the quaint charm of the small town where you start and finish the race. Set for Sunday, July 12.

🏜️ Monument Marathon + Half Marathon. A starkly beautiful run through a rocky landscape that’s home to historic stretches of the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail, this race unfolds through Nebraska’s 3,000-acre Scotts Bluff National Monument, known for its namesake bluff that towers some 800 feet over the North Platte River below. The area you’ll run through has seen people from the earliest Native Americans to expedition parties back in the early 1800s, for travelers approaching the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the west. This is a small race — most years see only a few hundred runners cross the finish line in all distances combined — which allows the field to spread out, and runners to take in the beauty of the landscape all around. Set for Saturday, September 26.

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First, thanks for all the great thoughts and comments in Friday’s thread discussion; I love nerding out on new running gear and gadgets, I love to see what they’re capable of now, and what you’re using them for.

I’m especially interested to hear if and how you’re using AI for any of your training. The Nike Run Club app has provided a …

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I’m visiting my folks in Augusta, Ga., this weekend, where we celebrated my father’s 85th birthday last night. And believe it or not, snow is in the forecast here today, which means we’re going to need to get on the road back home to Atlanta sooner rather than later, so I’ll keep this opening note brief.

Also, I …

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Before we get started, I must admit this has been a week that has really challenged me. Seeing the news we’ve seen from Minnesota has been heartbreaking in a way I wasn’t prepared for, and have struggled to process. I’m 55 years old and we’re seeing things that, growing up, I didn’t ever, ever imagine I’d see in the United States.

What h…

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Little T and I were driving around yesterday doing some last-minute shopping, stopping…

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It’s a little gray, misty and cloudy as I wake up here in Atlanta this morning, though the day ahead is supposed to bring much sunnier, clearer weather. So I hope to get outside for a run this afternoon, as I’m finally feeling like I’m getting my legs back under me again after taking a running break for a couple of weeks. How is your…

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First, I want to send warm wishes and best of luck to the members of our group running the New York City Marathon today — right now, in fact! It looks like it’s a beautiful, crisp, sunny day for running there (even if a bit cold). I hope you all go out and have the best, best day.

Second… well, today there is no second, just the retur…

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These past few days have been the first so far this year when it feels like fall is actually, really here — temperatures at or close to their averages for October, there’s a chill in the air when we open our door in the morning, and you can feel that crispness when you walk outside.

I hope you’re able to get out and enjoy it, wherever…

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My apologies for landing in your inbox a few hours later than I normally do — we celebrated little T’s birthday this weekend, so the little boy I’ve been describing to you as an 11-year-old is now 12; how did this even happen?!

Almost every day, I’ll walk through our house and …

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I hope you’ve had a really wonderful week — I just happened to stumble across some interesting advice this morning, based on a book called Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less.

Basically, the thesis of the book is that we’re almost always drawn to do, create or generally add more to our lives, work or projects. But what if that’s co…

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Just a quick note to remind you that we’re running a race together in person this fall, here where I live at the Atlanta PNC 10-Miler on Sunday, October 19. I’d love, love, love to have you join us if you can — get all the details here and sign up for the race here.

In the meantime, I hope you have an amazing, amazing run out there to…

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I’m in my hometown of Augusta, Ga., visiting my dad this weekend so this note will be a short and sweet one — but I did want to call your attention to this wonderful, brief interview I stumbled across with Alexi Pappas, the former collegiate and Olympic runner (and author of the memoir Bravey).

All the time, I find myself losing sight…

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He practiced with the team every day but one this past week, running more in a four-day period than I think he ever has in his life. But he did it, even though on a couple of those …

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I have a very short and sweet issue for you this morning, as I’m out of town for one last quick beach trip of the summer with my family, and (hopefully!) I’ll be able to get some running in while I’m there.

I’ll have the training schedule for this October’s Atlanta PNC 10-Miler for you this week, and I hope you’ll think about joining …

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Another short and sweet newsletter today, as I’m away on vacation with my family, but didn’t want to leave you high and dry — so I put this issue together before I left town.

There’ll likely be news between now and the time you see this in your inbox; at the top of that list, we’ll know if Faith Kipyegon was able to become the first w…

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As you know, it’s Father’s Day today, so this will be very short and sweet — for some of you, today is a day of joy and togetherness, while for others it might be a day that’s harder, especially if you’ve lost your dad or your relationships with him (or with your children) have become more distant, or maybe never were what you wanted…

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As you may have seen, on Friday I tried a little experiment with our Friday discussion thread, by sending it out as a Chat in the Substack app rather than the method I normally use: a page on our website that allows us to post in the comments.

I was a little surprised at the lack of responses until I received an email from a subscribe…

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First, I wanted to give a shout-out to the new people who’ve joined as members over the past month or so — welcome aboard! It’s great to have you here, and please feel free to reach out with any questions you have.

(And to share your story if and when you feel ready, as the subscriber stories are quickly becoming my favorite part of…

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