Ready to start training for the spring?

And run together at the Eugene Half Marathon this April?

Runners start the Eugene Marathon + Half Marathon next to the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, you may remember that back in November, a group of about a dozen or so readers and myself got together in Richmond, Va., to run the Richmond Half Marathon together.

We met for dinner the night before the race and met up on the day of the race, both before and after, and overall had a fantastic time meeting, connecting and running together in person — especially after all these years we’ve spent chatting together here. It was so much fun.

Guess what? We’re doing it again — this time in Eugene, Oregon, at the Eugene Half Marathon on Sunday, April 28. And I can’t wait!

This race comes at the suggestion of one of our longtime subscribers, who I feel like I and many of us here have become friends with, and I can’t wait to meet up with you all there. The route will take us through one of the great places to run in the world, as it starts and finishes at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, where we’ll cross the finish line on its historic track.

Interested? I hope you are, because running Richmond together was so much fun. In case you’re on the fence, here’s a few reasons to sign up:

• There’s plenty of time to train — we have about 109 days between today and race day, which works out to about 15 ½ weeks. I’ll put together a modified version of our 16-week training plan and share each week’s runs with you as we get closer to the race.

• Temperatures in Eugene on race weekend typically range from the mid-40s to the mid-60s, which ought to be perfect for running.

• The Eugene Marathon and Half is a well-established race — this year will be its 17^th annual running — and is run on a not-too-challenging course in beautiful surroundings.

• And, Eugene is a city with plenty to see and do — it’s “TrackTown USA,” after all — and absolutely gorgeous natural beauty, as the Cascade Mountains and the Oregon Coast are both within driving distance.

What do you think? Interested? I can’t wait to meet up with as many of you as possible, especially since our fall meetup in Richmond was so great and there are many more of you I’d love to catch up with on the west coast.

I’ll plan more details as we get closer to April. This race falls on a Sunday instead of Saturday (when the Richmond Half took place), so I imagine there will be more we can do over the weekend. Stay tuned on all those details, which I’ll work out between now and then.

In the meantime, I’ll design a training plan we can follow together for the next 15 ½ weeks, starting next Monday — I’ll share our week-by-week running plan in our Strava group, which you’ll need to be a paying subscriber to join.

Here’s how you can become one — with a special discount just for today:

Sound good? I hope you’re excited, as I think this will be a great time for us all. I’ve never visited this part of Oregon before, but i’m excited to get to see the coast, the mountains and everything in between. (And of course to run the race with you!)

Let me know if you’re interested in participating, either in the comments below (👇) or by replying back to me directly. I can’t wait to get started with you!

Your friend,

— Terrell