Brigid Kosgei is the ultimate Queen

Hi everyone!

What a weekend for the sport that we love!!! I am incredibly pumped and excited and stoked and tearing up and cannot sit still, but also want to go running.. haha trying to be mindful though with recovery so going to write it all down instead. WHAT A WEEKEND. DID YOU FOLLOW ALONG? ALL OF IT? Eliud? Brigid? This past weekend, we just propelled humanity by so many steps forward, and we did it the only way we know how: by running and smashing limitations, because who sets them anyway?! As a heads up, this is a running-heavy goldtogreen letter and a little bit all over the place... (very not perfect!), so be prepared:

On Brigid Kosgei's WR...

Due to my weekly Sunday Social Media off day (definitely want to make this a weekly habit!), I wasn't following the race in Chicago as closely - I was attending the Berlin Photo Week with friends and borrowed some cameras to explore the neighbourhood of Kreuzberg earlier in the day - BUT I did make it back in time to track and follow the rest of the race for my friends who participated. Some of them also smashed their own PR's + Boston qualified (very excited to see more sisters getting stronger and faster through their hard training) - CONGRATULATIONS to everyone in Chicago!

So, it was also my friends who informed me about the World Record in a group text: "Kosgei wowowowow," it said. Being the nerd that I am, I started scanning the web for any good articles / videos / interviews of her and her epic race, but sadly couldn't find as much coverage as I was hoping for. Instagram and Google also only provided semi good pictures from the Chicago Marathon. For 2-3hr coverage of the beginning of the marathon, watch this. Plus, only much later, after Kosgei's excellent performance, was she interviewed and able to share some thoughts: “I wasn’t expecting to run like this, but today I met wonders to run my best time which I could never run, and I was happy again.” (Same video at 2:54) It reminded me of how amazing it can be, when you're open for a surprise and when you feel good, you go for it. She also said that she didn't have as many problems with the conditions, although it looked freaking cold when the runners started out. Michelle mentioned that everyone started with around 7 degree celsius, which can be cold if your body doesn't heat up properly. Kosgei also added that she had prepared for the wind and "the wind couldn't push me down," (love it!!!).

With this time of 2:14:04, Brigid broke the previous world record in the marathon, which was standing for 16 years (Paula Radcliffe ran a 2:15:25 in London 2003) and no other female athlete has been able to run under 2:17. At only 25 years old (damn!), this Kenyan lady hasn't even started her long-distance running career.. as I truly believe, she can only become faster from here on. More so, I am really curious to see all the runners that will improve. It seems like this running boom is going somewhere!

On Eliud Kipchoge's marathon...

I've been fortunate enough to have met Eliud twice (he is one of the most humble human beings), both in Berlin in 2017 and 2019, and I am really happy that it was him who broke the 2 hour mark for the marathon in Vienna. While Saturday's performance wasn't an official record on an eligible course and under 'normal race conditions', both Brigid Kosgei and Eliud Kipchoge showed us this weekend that seriously #nohumanislimited.

Eliud is an amazing athlete we can continue to learn from and I really like the fact that he spends a significant time meditating, reading and studying as he prepares for his races. Just a few days ago, I read his letter to his younger self here and watched his talk at Oxford again. Definitely feeling conflicted as the company that sponsored Saturday's marathon lab situation Ineos is one of the world's biggest chemical + plastic producers, also owned by UK's richest man. "Another environmental concern centred around Ineos is the practice of fracking – drilling into the earth and blasting liquid at the rock to release natural gas inside." Make sure to continue to read and educate yourself on all of these as it is too easy to get caught up in the hype. Nevertheless, if you'd like to rewatch Eliud's achieviement, see here.

On the Berlin Marathon weekend

I don't even know where to begin... It was pretty rad. Well, it ended up being pretty rad! Not that I ever doubted that, but dude, it was a real challenge. Daniel and I knew ahead of time that we had a lot (LIKE A LOT!) of friends from NYC coming to race, to run a PR and maybe.. even qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials coming up in February. Of course, Berlin seemed ideal and it is a WR course, so a good amount of people signed up and we - ourselves - were preparing to race Berlin as well.

With no real support and no real funding, I mean, between you and I, people were like: 'We love your ambition, but the things you have in mind and want to do, it's too much. We have done things a certain way in the past and we're gonna roll with that.' We thought: Great, we're going to do our events nevertheless. With or without support.

Since at the core, we're all about the community and wanted to ensure that everyone felt welcomed in our new city of Berlin, we asked the community what they were about and for us to make real progress, we called in the captains for a captains dinner / meeting to discuss how we - as people - can push the running movement forward, in all the different ways we work in our respective cities and communities. And while it was small and intimate - and very far from perfect - , I loved that we got to sit down and talk in person. With marathon weekend happenings, one on one convos can get lost, so it was key that we were able to meet in a smaller setting. Special shoutout to the captains from Girls Run NYC, Distance Project NYC, Oldmanrunclub, Brooklyn Track Club, Kraft Runners, Runpack, Harlem Run and Eternal Eagles for being open and participating in our conversation. Stay tuned on this one + really hoping that some of you left this dinner a little bit more inspired, and a little bit more open.

The day after, there was no way, we wouldn't open up - what we did in previous years - the last 5KM shakeout (running the last 5KM of the race course). It's pretty simple, but for some reason (don't ask me why), none of the other Berlin run crews / clubs have ever done that / promoted that / shared that. It was a no-brainer to take our friends on this stroll for all of us to visualise the last meters before we hit the finish line on race day. I was low-key overwhelmed though, because we definitely did not expect THAT many people to show up. I still love how our youngest team member, 6 year old Anya from India, lead the shakeout in the front and we had runners from Canada, Korea, Italy, Netherlands, UK, the U.S. and so many more with us.

Although the weekend was hectic as hell, I wouldn't have done anything differently. As I said to a few friends before, I love running and I love the community and I love marathon weekend. To me, it's like my birthday, Christmas and New Year's all in one weekend, just better! I get to see so many beloved friends, make new connections and more than anything, I get to be my truest self. I get to do / organise / create for the sport and the people I care about. At the end of the day, it does take a village.

On Wayv Run Kollektiv

What a journey! And I probably still need some more + extended time to process it all. It was about a year ago when I packed my belongings into 3 suitcases - I had just quit my job in New York - and moved to Berlin. When I landed, I messaged Daniel, quite simply, casually: Wanna go for a run?

It's history from there...

We weren't even that close when we met through the NYC / Nike running community back in the day, but the universe lead us back together here in Berlin and we have become closer ever since. With the landscape here, there and our own experiences with the different clubs / crews, it just made sense for us to start our own thing. Together, because we're just stronger and with 'no hierarchy in oppression' (as dear sister Faith reminded me), we wanted to support one another in each person's endeavour 'cause our personal is also our political. As a first generation immigrant, Vietnamese, woman of color and Daniel, as a queer Colombian man of color, we don't have a choice, but to be fully ourselves. We both knew representation and activism mattered to us, as well as transparency and open communication. We both love training, racing and running. On race day, we like to go fast after all. But we also care about community work and sharing knowledge and resources with people who would have never received them in the first place.

When we first brainstormed about a name, we loved the word and the meaning behind wave, like a new wave of runners, implying movement. And then, this is something I also love, is that when you take the initials WRK - it reminds me of WORK (as in work in progress) but also WERK (german for: to create) - both words signify something is changing, moving, progressing. And then we added a Y for some added weirdness :) Our short-form logo is also a triangle because as Daniel says "The inverted triangle was initially a badge of dishonour for those deemed as deviant (specifically in the LGBTQI* community), but it has since been re-appropriated to show solidarity and unity as a community."

February will mark one full year with this new team, but I am so excited for what's happening and what's to come. I am very proud of each team member as they represent our kind of Berlin. Not only during the Berlin Half, or the full Marathon a couple weeks ago, but every day. Congratulations again <3 and thank you so much for putting up with us. I know it's sometimes tough love, but we're all here to learn and to grow!

What I've learned from the past two training cycles

Sleep and eat!

Haha, no seriously. As someone who submitted a grad school paper the Thursday of marathon weekend, planned a million things / events and took care of friends in town + raced herself, I tend to overwork... in a good way though. It's all things I love and cherish, so is it really work then? Anyways, what have I learned post Boston Marathon heartbreak and was Berlin my comeback? And damn pre-Tokyo Marathon build up...

It definitely felt special and the moment I saw this picture below these words crossed my mind: I fucking reclaimed my story. How so? Berlin 2017 was somewhat my breakthrough race, having shaved off 43+ minutes off my first marathon (NYC 2016), I proudly represented my former team in New York. Although, I had logged many miles by myself, I still felt like crediting all the hard work to the team and the guidance of the leadership back then. After having run Boston this April, I definitely felt like I experienced a HUGE setback, and of course I did question things.

Fast forward to this year's Berlin. Early on, this summer, when I felt good, with no real time goals in mind, but just wanting to come close to that specific PR, I remember thinking: well, I know I can run that pace, I did it before, I just have to work for it. And so I did. What I loved about this Berlin was: I ran it on my own terms. With full integrity. The way I wanted to and needed to train. Some miles alone, some miles with friends, some workouts with my own new team, and here are a few more things I learned this time around:

Stay humble: Boston showed me once again that I needed to stay humble. No comparison to my former self (this shit is hard!!!). No time pressure. No expectations. Just running. Simple. No injuries. Training healthy. Become strong. Instead of getting caught up with splits and times in this training cycle (it's so easy to compare yourself especially when training with people and faster runners (it's all so relative though!!)), I just needed to stay focused on my own mantras: slow + steady wins the race. Consistency is key. Health is wealth. No doubt. This really kept me joyful and happy throughout this process. I was easy on myself. See it as a form of self-care if you will.

Sleep and eat: Again. I have learned my lesson with Boston. I wasn't eating properly in the winter / spring and was very much in my head about my body, weight, eating disorder (it's a process and I am recovering); I was very much concerned about having gained weight during my season off running while I was injured. This summer, I basically kept the weight on and became stronger. Mentally, I needed to have an honest talk with myself and told my kind of demons: stop it. You need to eat, because you need to live. And not only to survive but to thrive. And with your low bone density, gaining weight + having a regular period means you're healthy. Having done the performance test weeks before the marathon and having talked to those sports doctors actually approved the road I was on: you're moving towards the right direction and this is exactly where you need to be.

I meditated: because it works for me. At this point in my life, I need to prioritise slowing down. So leading up to Berlin, I actually meditated for 60 days straight. Every morning. This helps me to set the tone for the day and stay calm. Find your kind of balance, whatever it is.

YOU CAN TRY: and see what's possible. I hate this notion of our sport that as athletes, we can either serve the community OR train to become faster. This year, and this race, showed me that I can do both. At least try and see what happens. Train a beginner team, lead a weekly women's run and yes, stay active in the community and STILL train / run / race / and crush it, because you know what, it's not as lonely at the top when you bring people along on your journey ;)

While I wasn't too concerned about a time goal during my training cycle, the last weeks of it, I started looking at 3.20 and while I was on the course to maybe run a 3.22, I didn't. I saw a friend walking at mile 16/17 and had already passed, but something inside me - me seeing myself in Boston and I just wish I had someone right beside me telling me that I could do it - told me to return. And I did. With Tokyo lined up for March 1st and knowing that I am in this game long-term, in that specific moment, I wanted to help my friend and jogged with him for 2 kilometres. Call me crazy and best believe, no professional athlete would do that - but I love my people and my community and this sport too much. With no regrets, I still snatched a sweet PR of 3:26:40.

A special shoutout goes to dear friends and leaders in the community Steve Finley and Caitlin Phillips for guiding my training for the past years, as well as to the Berlin *long run* community haha (let's call them like this) every Sunday as we came together to train side by side. Everything is still an experiment, but I am stoked to see what's possible in the next 5-10years.

What a year! This Berlin race also showed me that yes, I think I am slowly finding my community and p(l)ace here in this part of the world. While I miss New York + my friends there dearly, I see the potential and opportunities here. I get to study, to learn, to grow. I get to wake up in the mornings, on my own time line, and get to run, read and write. While I am figuring out my career / life etc. I get to explore. I also love this quote by Elaine Welteroth in her book More Than Enough, as more of my life parts mix together: "I don't believe in work-life balance. I think it's more about work-life integration because, increasingly, so much time of ours is spent doing work, so I've always wanted to dedicate my work life to having a social impact."

Isn't that the ultimate dream? To be able to integrate it all together, somehow? I am getting used to change, and I find myself more and more comfortable with it. Yes, it's freaking wild and I always laugh at the universe, at myself, at life, but this question arises in my head, too: how adaptable are you to change? How do you deal with it? Well, I went to a figure drawing class today and am about to spend 6 months in Vietnam. One year from today, everything will look different again, haha.

Anyways, I am excited to do more and see more, build new ways / perspectives of thinking, of doing. I am interested in new systems. I can still shake some things up here and very much be at the forefront of change - especially when it comes to diversity, race + female leadership. It's hard and it can be lonely, but I guess, the journey never ends, as Michelle Obama says: “For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”

I adore...

The deaf and Berlin based artist Christine Sun Kim.

Faith Briggs' This Land Documentary, to be premiered at Banff Mountain Film Festival: 150 miles. 3 threatened National Monuments.
A lot of questions about public lands. A love of running.
A need for more voices in the conversation.

The new studio Outer Reach in NYC.

Solange's show Witness recently @ Elbphilharmonie.

The Bad Brown Aunties podcast especially the episode with Fariha Roísín
on self-care as survival.

Rioji Ikeda's music production and art, this past weekend at the ballet in Paris.

Simone Biles for being the best.

Céline Semaan and Isra Hirsi fighting for our future.

Audre Lorde's book Sister Outsider.

Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.

Designer Kerby Jean-Raymond speaking up about the Business of Fashion.

Sydney Allen-Ash interviewing Joe Holder ahead of his Chicago Marathon.

Girls Gotta Run raising funds to create a third location for their athletic scholars in Ethiopia. Contribute here.