Maria’s Corner Feb 22, 2020
Each week, I publish a small column in Tina Muir’s Running for Real email newsletter. I’ll re-share that article here:
Hi Running for Real community, Maria here! We’re switching up the newsletter today and I’ll be the one sharing updates while Tina takes over the 3–2–1 Corner.
First off, I’m honored and so excited to share that today is the launch of the new show, Running Realized. There’s something quite special about bringing an idea to life from scratch. Many of us tend to have wild ideas that we chat about with our friends or keep to ourselves and internalize, but unless we put in the work to bring them to life, they’ll just stay dormant inside of us.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” ―African Proverb
Months ago, Tina and Knox had an idea for a podcast focusing on sharing perspectives that challenge our paradigms and give us tools for bringing positive social change. It doesn’t matter if you’re on your first couch-to-5K, if you just enjoy running as training for life, or if are an experienced athlete– we can all use running for personal growth and for community growth.
The first step to an idea is action. Tina and Knox formed a team with Jon Phillips of the New York Road Runners and developed a partnership with Tracksmith who are strong believers in the dream. After many moving pieces and even more people added to the team, the podcast has finally arrived in the world.
As I shared on this episode of the Running for Real podcast a few weeks ago, I believe having common ground with others allows us to be more open to different opinions and ideas. And that’s what Running Realized is about- hearing stories of regular people, learning from experts, and getting ideas of actions we can in our own lives to improve the world.
“To know and not to act, is not to know.” ―Wang Yangming
I think we can all agree we’re a bit overwhelmed with information. Podcasts, Instagrams, Tweets, documentaries, news cycles. It’s difficult to really digest current events, reflect on them, and then take action because just when you start doing so, the next crisis seems to hit. A lot of us are trying our best to educate ourselves on the many complicated aspects of humanity– whether it’s social justice or the struggle we face in saving our planet. But how much are we actually helping the world if our consumption of information isn’t causing any real action? “To know and not to act, is not to know.”
That’s exactly where Running Realized comes in. My favorite part of this show is the actionable things we can all do as individuals. Things we can do ourselves that benefit our own families, friends, and communities. I believe that while it may be difficult to change the world, we can change our world.
Our hope is that Running Realized is like a ripple. A ripple that started as a dream in Tina and Knox’s heads and grew to encompass organizations like Tracksmith which is dedicated to celebrating running culture. A ripple that celebrates the stories of people like Marilyn Bevans, the first Black female runner to break 3 hours in the marathon. A ripple that forms a community of runners who care about doing their part in uplifting ourselves, our communities, and our humanity.
Running Realized is different than Running for Real
Running Realized (this new podcast) is separate to Running for Real. Running Realized episodes come out every Monday, and Running for Real episodes will continue to air every Friday as usual. We encourage you to subscribe to Running Realized on your favorite podcast player and you can learn more here.
This week on the Running for Real Podcast:
Last Friday we had a wonderful episode with Alison Staples who reminds us of just how important it is to appreciate your body for all the little things. You can listen to that episode or read the show notes here.
Updates:
As you likely saw everywhere on the news, Texas had a rough week. Sub-zero temperatures, massive power outages, no running water, and all the disruption that comes with that. Fellow Texans, I hope you and your families are safe and recovering. There are many factors that came into play about how the situation was handled but overall I was blown away by the generosity in Austin. All the community organizations, small businesses, and neighborhoods put all differences aside and really came together as a collective humanity. It was a testament to what community is about. Strangers, neighbors, friends.
Recommendations:
Play: Since I didn’t get to do any “watching,” reading,” or “listening” in the past week, I recommend you play a game analog style! After 5 days without power, my friends and I resorted to long nights of charades and had quite a lot of laughter. No screens were so nice for a change. Grab some cards, a board game, or make up a game. It was fun trying to remember the games we played as kids.
Purchase: Tracksmith Brighton Base Layer. Tina gifted me this for the holidays and as a Texan, it was the warmest shirt I have so that’s what I wore as a base layer for the 5 consecutive freezing wintery days I spent without any heat. I wore it day and night and somehow almost a week later it still doesn’t stink!
Donate: Texas Farmer Winter Storm Relief Farms are the backbone of our communities and our local farms lost 100% of all crop yield due to this winter storm. One of my closest friends is a farmer and shared that these lands and people that give so much life to our community have been hit extremely hard and now have to start from scratch. Please consider donating to Texas farmers who keep our communities fed especially in times of COVID.
Now over to Tina…
Tina’s 3–2–1 Corner
Wow. When I asked Maria to switch roles this week, I knew she would do a fantastic job, but that is knocking it out of the park, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. If you haven’t already signed up to receive her monthly newsletter, the commissary, go do that!
Three Things to Ponder
- Russel Brand has a fantastic YouTube channel, and he is very fair on his almost buddhist approach to various issues our world is facing. In this episode he talked about the mainstream media’s dilemma now Trump is out of office, their ratings (and profits) are way down. Russell has a very interesting perspective on the love/hate relationship between Trump and media. What will they do now?
- Mum (mom) guilt. Where does it show up in your life? For those of us with little humans, we experience a lot of guilt when we leave them or ask others to look after them for us (even family!). Why do we feel to be a good parent (or person) we need to be with them ALL THE TIME? Showing them the importance of self care and doing things that fill our own cups up is surely a lesson we want them to learn too? Not easy to do, but something to think about next time you put something off “for the kids”.
- Confused about why cold weather is moving south when it is often named “global warming” (shouldn’t it be getting warmer)? This diagram explains why
Two Recipes to Try
- With steve working till 5:30pm and two young kids, I am all about easy meals. We have made this Tofu Tikka Masala a few times lately. In the slow cooker, easy, and meat free. LOVE it.
- Nancy Clark’s Super Seedy Granola Bars. We always have these on the go. Bailey loves them too. I make a triple batch, then freeze a lot of them, can pull some out when you need them. I also make them into balls rather than bars, because that is one less thing to wash up/packaging to throw away :)
One Challenge
- Text someone you have not spoken to in over a year. You know the person. You have thought of them lately, but it felt awkward as so much time has passed. Say hello, give them your updates and ask for theirs. They would love to hear from you.
