Hearing Your Stories: Raziq Rauf
'I don’t care for medals or accolades. I strive for happiness and health — for me and those around me — through stability and steady accomplishment'
Afternoon — or evening! — friends! ☀️ Before we get into today’s reflective, insightful interview with my fellow runner-writer , I wanted 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.
👉 Get all the details here and sign up for the race here.
Now, I can’t wait to introduce you to Raziq, who’s been writing a Substack newsletter for the past few years called and has even written a new book that’ll be out next year, titled This Is Running. (You can pre-order it here.)
As you’ll see in the interview, I really loved what he had to say about his own running, how he tries not to put pressure on himself to go for goals just because they’re all the rage (like a marathon), but instead focuses on goals and distances that are right for him. (And he still runs a lot!)
I know you’ll enjoy his story as much as I did — and, if you feel inspired to share yours, please know I’d love to hear it. Reply back by email or in the comments below, and we’ll go from there! — Terrell
So, let’s hear a little bit about you! Who are you, your age (if you’d like to share), where you’re from, what you do, etc.
My name is Raziq Rauf. I’m a writer, originally from London, who has lived in Los Angeles for the past 11 years. This is home now.
I started writing about music as a teenager, 25 years ago, but moved more into corporate copywriting when I moved to the U.S. and needed something resembling a salary.
For the past two and a half years I’ve been writing about running in my newsletter,
. I started it when I realized that I wanted to get back to my journalism roots — and music was a different, closed chapter of my life.
What does your running routine look like? How many times a week, and how far do you run?
When I’m in a good spot, I’m running about 25 miles a week quite comfortably. I try to run a minimum of six miles when I get out there, but that’s something I’m trying to change in my head because a one-mile run is better than a zero-mile run.
I run with my local run club, Glendale Runners, which I set up with a friend almost two years ago. They get me out of bed on Tuesday mornings! I also try to join a long run with a different crew on a weekend morning, dependent on my schedule.
Other than that, I’ll run whatever other mornings I can. Yes, I’m definitely a morning runner.
Were you an athletic kid growing up? What are your early memories of what fitness and health were about?
I was not an athletic kid. I was very nerdy. Can you believe that I liked to sit down and write stories the most? Crazy how things turn out! But I also became a big fan of Premier League soccer (I still am an Arsenal fan), and I enjoyed playing it even if I wasn’t the best at playing it.
I made my peace with not being on the school team, but we had P.E. classes twice a week and once I got into middle school, we had three full afternoons dedicated to sporting activities at school, so I had to do something, right? That was the message all those classes were imbued with.
It was suggested that I join the athletics team, and it turned out that I was a decent runner. I ran the 400 meter and 800 meter on the track team but also ran cross-country pretty well. I enjoyed running through the forest the most. I used to stop a lot with my friends. Maybe have a cigarette. I miss that.
How did you first get into running? Was there something that inspired you — like a performance at the Olympics, for example, or a runner you discovered by watching them on social media or TV? Or was there someone in your own life who inspired you to think, ‘maybe I can do this?’
I was working at a big radio station in central London, and they had huge alcohol-fueled parties seemingly constantly. I was also freelancing for a bunch of music magazines, so I was out basically every night, and everyone wanted to buy me a beer for some reason.
That wore on me. It wasn’t a life that I wanted. One day, upon exiting the radio station building, a colleague was waving me over to join him at the pub next door (yes, it was a perfect storm). I went over and told him I couldn’t stay for seven lagers on a Tuesday evening because I had a race to train for.
He accepted that excuse immediately. And so I had to start running. I signed up for a 5K and raised about $1,000 for a cancer charity. The good old days.
How has your interest in running evolved since then? Do you run farther, or faster now?
When I went fully freelance a couple of years later, I was listening to music every moment that I was awake, so I went for runs — without listening to music — to get a bit of peace and quiet. I ran along the river by my apartment, and it became my daily hour of solace.
It was a place to un-jumble my thoughts and relax a little. I ran a 10K every spring, and tried to recruit a new friend to run with my each year, but that was it. It wasn’t about competition, or exceeding my previous. It was a happily therapeutic exercise.
What do you balance your running with? Do you have a family to take care of? Kids, parents or other relatives or loved ones? If so, how do you balance all of it and still make time to run/care for yourself?
Yes, I have two young sons at home, and we have no familial support network nearby as all four grandparents are in the U.K. That means it’s a demanding world.
Back in 2017, when my eldest was just eight months old, I trained for a half-marathon (the best distance, I know you agree), but the long runs every weekend meant that my already-exhausted wife was left fending for herself with this small baby while I was gallivanting across the city (on my own).
Then I came home and was wiped out for the rest of the day because I didn’t have any kind of fueling strategy! That was definitely a moment where I could’ve moved up to longer distances because I got a good time in that race, but ultimately knew that I wanted to stay married!
Is there anything you’re especially proud of that you can point to your running and say, ‘this helped me achieve ______’?
Not really. I am happy that I still run, and I love what running gives my life in terms of health, friendship, and material to write about, but, for me, running really is about the practice and process. I enjoy doing it. I enjoy working through the kinks, back to smoothness. I enjoy running with my friends. That’s it. Tomorrow’s run will be different, and I love that.
What have you learned about yourself from your running journey? Is there anything that’s changed about you since you started?
I’ve always learned more from others than from myself. Maybe that’s why journalism suits me. I see other runners rabid for Boston qualification, and I know that’s not for me, but then I think about why.
I don’t care for medals or accolades. I strive for happiness and health — for me and those around me — through stability and steady accomplishment. I know that I don’t need to run every day, so I likely don’t have an addictive personality, for instance. Learning little things like that help me.
Where would you like to go with your running? Is there anything special you’d like to achieve — like, say, running all six World Marathon Majors, or running an ultra?
I have been running for 25 years, and I’d like to run for another 25 years. That’s it. Ideally with my friends, on occasion.
What keeps you going? Especially if you’ve been running for a while — do you ever get bored with it? How do you find new things to motivate you, to keep you going?
I don’t listen to music or podcasts while I’m running. I like to take in my surroundings, even when it’s the same five-mile route from my house that I’ve run 1,000 times already. What keeps me going? My ability to run that route again. It’ll be a sad day when I’m not able to, for one reason or another.
Look back at yourself when you were a kid, maybe say 10 years old. Remember how you felt, what you thought, especially what you thought you were capable of back then. If you could talk to that kid now, what would you say?
You’re gonna smoke a cigarette soon, and I’d love to tell you not to because it’s really going to hinder your running. Yeah, you’re going to be running for a long time. However, the people you’re going to meet in the smoking area are going to become some of your best friends. Give it 20 years and none of you will be smoking any more, but you will be running for hours together. It’s a strange old world.
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