What I have learned in 3 short weeks about runners and the running community:

1. Extend a hand and a hand will be extended back. 
I have never fully appreciated the term “winging it” until these past three weeks. For example, three days before we were supposed to arrive here (Eugene, OR), we had not yet found a place to stay. We were still in Seattle and I was trying to rally the troops in Eugene for a get together when I contacted Julia Lucas. I only know Julia through a couple of Flotrack interviews, and by sdaword of mouth as to how cool of a person she is. When I asked her if she’d want to join me for a run and brunch she responded with a “yes!” and an offer for a place to stay. 100% cool.
Everyone we have reached out to has had this give-you-the-shirt-off-my-back attitude. Katie and Danny MacKey housed us for three days in Portland as well as hooking us up with Jesse in Seattle (who also graciously put up three complete strangers). James Strang showed us around in Colorado Springs, and Oregon Track Club runners Aisha and Hassan took us in on short notice last night in their very sweet pad. Who knew facebook and a couple of hand shakes could foster a great mini-vacation?!

2. The running community seems very small for something so big.
Almost instantly when I meet another runner, there is an unspoken bond and trust established that I think comes from the rawness of the sport. I don’t know if it is because we can relate to one another so well or that we spend so much time in our own heads, but when I find myself with another runner, we bond. That feel of us all being a part of something bigger than ourselves unites a huge community with a small group feel.

3. Most runners are very cool down to earth people.
Every runner I have encountered on this trip has been beyond helpful, insanely fun, and mostly level-headed. I’ve thought this for as long as I’ve been in the sport, and this trip has done nothing but prove me right thus far.

4. Find your passion and build your life around it.
Lauren Fleshman and Stephanie Rothstein of Picky Bars are prime examples. Lauren started making healthy, delicious, gluten-free snacks for her sensitive-stomached boyfriend (now husband). Eventually she teamed up with Steph to produce her creations for the public, and begin a business that they believed in. They aren’t doing it for profit, they do it because they want other people to share in on a bad ass bar designed specifically for athletes.

5. Promote other runners!
This, too, was inspired by Lauren Fleshman, who is obviously one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. Track and field is a selfish sport. Point blank. It is selfish. It is highly individualized with the focus solely on YOU vs everyone else. We need to get out of that selfish mindset –something that a conversation with Lauren about her time spent at Stanford really drove home. WE need to realize that we are all going through the same things and can benefit from being united. WE should be promoting one another in order to open doors for all professional runners. I’ve learned first-hand over the last couple of weeks that in promoting others we can create a lasting bond, and simultaneously work to publicize the sport. We have been going about the sport all wrong. Right now, whether or not we want to admit it, our thoughts are all about me, me, me. Would it not be so much better for us all if our thoughts were more like track, track, track. It’s a very cool sport. Its raw, straightforward, and about continuous self-improvement. We love the sport and our chief goal should be to persuade everyone to share in that love.

6.It’s a beautiful thing when an acquaintance becomes a good friend.
The MacKeys, James Strang, the entire OTC group, Jesse—Please please come visit Tennessee. I have a house for you to crash in, and don’t think I will ever get tired of the company

7.Katie MacKey is just as much of a beast on the 90s dance floor as she is on the track.
Trust me, it’s good enough to make this list without question.

-Phe