Good morning from the aforementioned Boulder, Colorado, where my wife and I spent the long holiday weekend visiting friends and where I’ll be scrambling around the next couple days recording a few upcoming episodes of the podcast. 

I haven’t been reading, writing, or listening to much over the past week, so this issue will be short and snappy with five quick splits. Let’s get right to it. 

Quick Splits

— If you read one thing I link to this week, make it this post from Amelia Boone that discusses her 20-year history with anorexia and the three months she recently spent at an eating disorder treatment facility in Seattle. “While this post is about eating disorders, it’s also really not,” she writes. “It’s really about learning to live again. Because, as cliché as the saying is, eating disorders are never really about the food.” Amelia, who was my guest on Episode 4 of the podcast, called it the most important thing she’s ever written. I can say with some certainty that it will likely be the most impactful thing she ever writes, both for herself as well as for the many others who will read it. As someone who has struggled with disordered eating in the past, I know firsthand how hard it can be to talk about this stuff publicly—I also know the difference it can make for those who feel alone, confused, and scared in their own situation. I applaud and respect Amelia for the openness, honesty, vulnerability, and straight-up bravery she displayed in sharing her story with the world. (And to anyone reading this who is struggling with disordered eating and isn’t sure where to turn or who to talk to, my past offer still stands: Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’ll do what I can to help point you in the right direction.)

— Bernard Lagat ran 2:12:10 to finish seventh at the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia over the weekend. That’s a pretty solid result for the 44-year-old, who now holds every American Masters record from the 1500m through the marathon. It was a 5-minute personal best for Lagat—who, despite his age, is still relatively new to the marathon—but it still wasn’t good enough for bragging rights amongst the boys in his family. Lagat’s brothers William and Nathan are still one and two seconds faster, respectively. 

— Max King, for my money, is the baddest ass in all of running. Need some proof? Here he is grinding up and bombing down the insanely steep and technical Mount Marathon in Alaska on July 4 to win what is arguably the hardest—and scariest—5K in the world in 43:39. 

— I intentionally avoided writing about the Frank Meza L.A. Marathon disqualification last week because I just didn’t see the point. I’ve written about cheating in various forms—and my disdain for it—extensively in the past but it’s rarely resulted in productive dialogue (and it never feels good) so I’ve backed off in recent months. I’m writing about Meza this week because the 70-year-old doctor took his own life last Thursday following the public shaming that occurred after he had been accused of cheating and was subsequently disqualified from various races, most recently L.A. Writing that doesn’t feel good either but I’m sharing his story here to try and help bring awareness to the epidemic of online harassment and hopefully create a productive dialogue about the effects it can have on people—not just Meza, but in general, and especially amongst fellow members of the running community. I'm not saying Meza didn’t cheat or deserve to have his results disqualified as a result of proven cheating, but did he deserve the public lashing he got from various corners of the internet? No. Which begs the question: Do the details of investigations involving age-group athletes need to be made public in the first place? I don’t know that it’s necessary and/or does anything to curb or counteract cheating—time and time again I only see these out-in-the-open investigations leading to increased online outrage and a flurry of cheap shots from anonymous online posters without consideration for the effect they can have on someone—but I’m open to hearing other perspectives. Why can’t race organizers privately investigate instances of cheating, remove offenders from the results, impose a suspension, and/or ban them from taking part again without it into a headline story? I don’t know the answer but to quote Mark Remy, “Just spitballing here, but maybe there's a way to hold marathon cheaters accountable that DOESN'T instantly unleash the maximum uncontrollable viciousness of social media and ruin their lives forever.” In the meantime, while we’re trying to figure out what “the way” is, let’s all keep the following two rules in mind: Do good. Be kind.

— What's the secret to mental toughness in an ultramarathon? Self-care. In fact, it’s the good kind of grit. Don’t believe me? There's research to prove it. “The kind of grit that comes with self-sacrifice and self-criticism actually leads to an inability to learn from one's mistakes and to bounce back from trials,” Emma Seppälä PhD, write for Psychology Today. “It is linked to anxiety and depression and makes us feel beaten down when we mess up. However, there's another kind of grit and mental toughness that will get you ahead over the long run–not to mention increase your happiness in the process. It's the kind of grit that is linked to self-compassion.”

Win an Elite Race Bundle from SOAR!

Enter here for a chance to win one of two Elite Race Bundles from this month’s sponsor, SOAR Running. The bundle, which includes the ELITE Race Shorts 3.0 and the ELITE Race Vest 3.0, is one of the sweetest looking race kits I’ve seen in some time. These pieces are made from crazy light, high-performing fabrics that will keep you cool and comfortable. You can check out the kit in this fun photo essay from the quirky National 12 Stage Road Relay championship that took place recently in the U.K. This giveaway closes on July 28 so be sure to enter soon. (Note: As a bonus, all entrants will receive a 10% savings code to use at soarrunning.com.) 

Also, as a reminder, from now through the end of the month, SOAR is offering morning shakeout readers free global shipping and a free lightweight cap in the colo(u)r of your choice with any purchase from soarrunning.com. All you need to do to take advantage of the offer is choose “TMS + Black/Green/Yellow/Navy Cap” in the shipping dropdown menu at checkout.

The bottom line.

"If it’s worth the work you put into it and the change you seek to make, it’s worth dancing with the uncertainty. Reassurance isn’t going to come from more data–that’s a stall. Forward motion is the best way to make things better."
— Seth Godin, I Wish I Had More Data

That’s it for Issue 191. Forward this email, share the web link, encourage someone to subscribe, and/or reply at your own risk. 

Thanks for reading, 

Mario

P.S. the morning shakeout is proud to be sponsoring the women’s 5000m qualifier at the Sunset Meet TONIGHT at Azusa Pacific University’s Cougar Athletic Stadium. If you’re in Southern California and want to watch the meet up close, or are looking for information on how to stream it online, check out this link: https://soundrunning.run/sunsettourinfo.