Doing this Thing We Do. Really, Really Well.

We're finally starting to get excited about the inspiring demonstration of running excellence that is the Olympics. [View in browser]( [PodiumRunner]( [Follow PodiumRunner Online][Follow PodiumRunner on Facebook]( [Follow PodiumRunner on Instagram]( [Follow PodiumRunner on Twitter]( Like me. Only faster. A lot faster. While we've been busy lately building our [Olympic hub,]( until yesterday, I confess, I've felt nothing about the Games except what is now a familiar pandemic apathy. At some level I [didn't believe they were going to happen](, certainly not enough that it felt worth getting emotionally invested in. Yesterday, however, we put up previews of each of the distance races from 800m to the marathon. Reading the rankings and the rivalries, the recent marks and the returning champions, I felt a stirring of the excitement I've always had about Olympic races. While I have little use for medal counts, what gets my motor running are the demonstrations of running excellence and effort. I can't wait to see the world's [best marathoners]( Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei glide effortlessly through the streets of Sapporo, and, when I channel them on my run the next morning, feel just a hint of their grace and power. And my heart beats faster at the thought of [10K rivals]( Joshua Cheptegei and Yomif Kejelcha echoing the great races of Tergat and Gebrselassie, their supreme efforts inspiring me, in my next race or workout, to dig deep into the well and push all the way through the line — even if I'm running their recovery pace. We have a lot in common with these gifted athletes: We get to do the same races. We know what the fatigue feels like at mile 22 of the marathon. We've carried the bear on our backs through the third lap of the 1500m/mile. We're not divided by nation or culture; we're part of the same tribe, having, in some ways, more in common with a Ugandan runner than a sedentary neighbor. And as fellow runners, we're interested in workouts, strategies and perspectives that bridge our abilities and experience — as well as the inspiring stories of races well run. The world is still an uncertain and scary place, but it seems like we'll get to celebrate excellence in our sport — perhaps [unprecedented efforts due to the pause]( — and I, for one, am going to relish it. Run tall, friends. — Jonathan Beverly, Editor New Across Outside PODIUMRUNNER [Faster Than Ever Post-Pandemic: Justyn Knight Shoots For 5K Gold]( Syracuse runner Justyn Knight was on a roll when the pandemic stopped the world. After winning national titles in XC and the indoor 5,000m, he graduated in 2018, turned pro, and promptly scored a 10th place finish in the 5K at the 2019 World Track Championships in Doha, Qatar and a Canadian record in the indoor 1500. Despite a year without races or group training, he emerged this spring and set PRs at 1500m and 5,000m. Learn how Knight took advantage of the extended off-season, and two of his key workouts you can try. OUTSIDE ONLINE [To Analyze Running Form, Look at the Big Picture]( "Elite runners had a distinctly different relationship with the ground," said Geoff Burns, elite ultrarunner and postdoctoral research fellow at the University Michigan Performance Research Laboratory, after comparing world-class milers with well-trained, but sub-elite runners. Elites have stiffer springs, making them spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. Alex Hutchinson unpacks the study in this Sweat Science column. The main takeaway seems to be that we should spend time improving our springs rather than worrying about specific elements of our form (which is the theme of our [Optimize Your Stride]( course as well) [Join Outside+] Live Well. Live Active. Two yearly magazine subscriptions plus member-exclusive content from PodiumRunner and 18 Outside network brands. [Join Outside+ today →]( [Privacy Info]( PODIUMRUNNER [5 Universal Principles of Good Nutrition, According to Everyone]( Outside+ A tremendous amount of eating advice is constantly swirling around on social media, fitness circles, and perhaps your dinner table. A new diet touting impressive health, performance and physique benefits seems to pop up weekly. Carnivore, plant-based, keto, fasting, kale-only. No meat or more meat? No carbs or more carbs? No nightshade veggies or more of them? It’s all rather challenging to keep things straight. We can't sniff out every piece of nutrition B.S., but we can give you five eating principles that nearly everyone agrees on for better health and fitness gains. TRAIL RUNNER [8 Ways To Stop Black Toes and Blisters]( You think you get blisters? Always have one or two black toenails? Ultra-runner Marshall Ulrich's toenails were so beat up he had them surgically removed. Before things get that bad for you, check out this advice to treating and preventing these common frictional foot maladies — from runners who cover hundreds of miles on trails and know what they're talking about. WOMEN'S RUNNING [We Can Learn a Lot From the Women Who Didn’t Make the Olympic Team]( After failing to make the team this year, triple Olympic gold medalist long-jumper Tianna Bartoletta poured her thoughts into [a blog post](. Her biggest takeaway is a combination of two differing understandings about life: “No effort is wasted/ AND/ Hard work doesn’t always pay off,” she writes. And if it’s true that no effort is wasted, she intends to stick around to find out what that effort was all for. Others who finished out of the medals offer more valuable perspective on effort, goals, success and gratitude. Outside+ Exclusives [mental-health-untangling]( TRIATHLETE [Mental Health Used to Be Taboo in Sports. These Researchers Are Changing That.]( Outside+ [GettyImages-1063661466-scaled]( PODIUMRUNNER [Optimize Your Stride with Jay Dicharry]( Outside+ [Privacy Info]( Long Reads [crop.GettyImages-1325767871]( PODIUMRUNNER [How to Get DQ’d from a Race — or Not: Inside Track Rules and Enforcement]( [monica-prelle-family-triathlon_h-1200x675-c-default]( OUTSIDE ONLINE [People Say Grief is Like the Ocean. I Think of It as the Long Run.]( [Join Outside+] Live Well. Live Active. Two yearly magazine subscriptions plus member-exclusive content from PodiumRunner and 18 Outside network brands. 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