Rollin' in the Deep

Congratulations to Woodlands Endurance Team member and all-around badass Lisa Kerrigan on her Rio Del Lago 100 finish, her first-ever 100-miler, this past weekend. @pixiecat_running

Spring forward.

Fall back.

This handy rhyme to remember which way the clocks move also serves as a stellar metaphor for the energetic atmosphere of the season. Spring forward is to emerge, to socialize, to take action in movement, chatter, growth, a freshening up and dusting off of things and of self. To fall back is to retreat, go within, become still and wrapped up in real and symbolic blankets. The air is cooler, headlamps are necessary, and some of the best sport and movies are keeping many of us snugged into the couch.

A few years back I was doing my birthday morning ritual of revisiting hopes of the past year and writing out my dreams for the future when I found myself stuck in an unfamiliar way. Wanting for more had come easy to that point - a different job or house or relationship or weight on the scale or race - always a box to check. Staring at a blank page, I felt this strong desire for less; for quiet, for contemplation on what I had, for space in my packed calendar and total acceptance of my body as it was/is. This caused me to panic, a panic I spilled out to my husband.

"What does it mean if I don't want anything anymore? Who am I if I'm not moving forward? Not doing something? Will my passions disintegrate into apathy? What if this is as big as my life gets?! AHHH!!"

"What if," he said calmly after I'd exhausted myself of words, "right now life isn't about going wider, it's about going deeper?"

Holy shit.

It never occurred that deeper was an option, that desire didn't have to mean an endless series of boxes to check or things to change. Not only does life not have to be an endless spring of leaping forward, it shouldn't be. There is a time for every season and to LIVE with a capital "L" is to move out and in and around these moods, these callings.

What are you falling back to this week? This month? How does your relationship to running play a part in that?

Our Woodlands running community is embracing this falling back by going back to Ashland for both runs this week and, yes, with headlamps. It's going to be a rainy week and we are SO fortunate to have the Ashland watershed which gives us a number of options for play. Looking forward to celebrating this changing of the seasons with many of you AND in putting together details for both the upcoming Gravy Gallop on Thanksgiving morning and the Jingle Jolly at its new venue, Dunbar Farms, in December.

May this week bring with it a renewed optimism and joy.

Cheesy Affirmation

Raise your hand if you remember Book It, the Pizza Hut-sponsored reading program that rewards elementary-aged students with pizza and pizza adjacent prizes for their literacy. The more books you read, the more pizza and 'pizza street cred' you get. "I can spot you that personal pan 'roni, Timmy, I just discovered the Goosebumps series and I'm up to my ears in cheesy affirmation."

Book It created a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg situation in that as a 40-year-old woman I still:

A. keep track of all the books I read in a spreadsheet

B. Cannot walk past a book store without stopping in - like, literally, I start nervous sweating and

C. I feel a rush of dopamine + a strong craving for mediocre breadsticks when finishing any book.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist EXCEPT that I believe Pizza Hut created Book It as a super-secret experiment to tap into the psyche of the youths at their most impressionable age to create a Pavlov's dog-style relationship between reading books and eating their pizza. I mean, I'm not upset - companies have to do what they have to do to stay in business, and improving children's literacy on the path to profits isn't the worst way to go. Now, can I also pin my other type-A obsession with tracking books and seeking out book stores on Big Pizza? Surely there is a book out there that will guide me to the answer in 200ish pages.

In our own businesses, both for work and in Woodlands, we are with The Hut in making purposeful decisions on who we will partner with that makes both rad products and also takes the "how you do anything is how you do everything" approach to growth via altruism. We have been lucky enough to develop relationships early with just such a partner in Hoka One One. For the past 2+ years, Hoka and their fabulous field team of Kara, Jared, and Greg have sponsored many local races (including next Saturday's Woodlands Twin Peaks Trail Runs) as well as traveled from across the PNW to Southern Oregon with their trunks full of shoes and giveaways to host demo nights, giving our community a chance to try before we buy - not a small gesture when a quality pair of shoes runs upwards of $150 nowadays. Last month when yours truly was at Asante Hospital undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma, Hoka proactively reached out, donating over 50 pairs of shoes to the hospital staff. They didn't have to, they don't have to do any of these things as a big shoe company, but this is who Hoka is. How you do anything is how you do everything and Hoka continues to show us who they are.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 12th in Jacksonville's Forest Park, Hoka will once again be demoing shoes. Come join us at 5:30 PM at P2 to meet Kara, try some shoes, and bask in some fall forest vibes. Want to keep those fall vibes vibin'? Register for Twin Peaks Trail Runs 50k/25k/10k/5k on Saturday, October 23rd to run OR respond back to this email to volunteer to ring some cowbell. Fun fact: if you ring enough cowbell at races, you start to crave half-melted peanut M&M's out served from communal bowls in the woods. Worth it.

The Best Magazine to Poop With

Congrats to Woodlands Endurance Team member Yu Kuwabara for his 2nd place finish at the Ashland mountain challenge in the expert category. @snowymonk

Midway through the intensive emoji selection process for Monday's Weekend Wrap-up on the Woodlands Instagram, the now infamous 2021 social media bleep out took place. For 6 perilous hours Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp crashed for mysterious reasons, leaving us to ponder life's big questions like, what am I going to do when I'm pooping? Just sit there?! Do we have any magazines in the house? "Evan, where are the magazines?" It was chaos.

Speaking of nature calling, it's in my nature to existential-ize the holy hell out of unexpected situations like this. While much of the world moved to Twitter to pontificate on what happened or tweet A+ memes, I was caught up in wondering how the world would change, my world and The World, if these 3 apps just never came back online. Like so many others, the last few years between elections and the 'demic, we're examining our own urges to fill every quiet moment with a reach for the phone. The flow of information never dries up - constant drips of BREAKING NEWS! and ACT NOW! Our fragile lizard brains that evolved to juke move danger are all juked out. Add to that the unspoken expectations we put on ourselves to have an opinion on said news; to package up those opinions and all the other micro-moments of our lives to give away freely. What does this picture of my cinnamon roll say about me? Will people think I'm a bad person if I don't weigh in on this social issue? If I don't post a picture of the sunlit tree fallen in the woods, did it even fall?

Turns out we did have a magazine, the October issue of National Geographic with an article about female beekeepers and how three out of four leading food crops depend in part on pollinators. That sparked curiosity about the pollinators we have in our garden and how we could create a more hospitable environment for them - a real 'do my part' moment that may have not otherwise happened without these hours where the routine of social posting was interrupted.

This interruption gave us time to talk about the upcoming Woodlands race, the Twin Peaks Trail Runs - of ways to make it an A+ experience for runners and creative ways to thank volunteers. After all, at the heart of running, of Woodlands and Women of Woodlands, is the message of human connection and community, not brand design and flashy content. Connection in the way of consistent weekly runs, giving back to the trails we love with trail work and to the community with volunteering at events and partnering with as many local businesses who are also giving back. Dang, aren't we all lucky to have found each other and not just as Facebook friends or IG follows?

We have two runs this week which are two opportunities to share your best 'pooping in the woods' stories with friends old and new. We'll bring a few magazines just in case.

Garden State of Mind

“Whatever affects one directly, affects all directly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.” - Martin Luther King Jr

Being in nature and uncovering over a lifetime our own unique nature, this is MLK’s wisdom from nearly 70 years ago and he is an example of how the power of one person can create ripples that change the world forever. It’s the ripple effect of our actions that are on the minds of so many right now - the weightiness of the world, how much that feels out of our control, how connected we are, the fear and anger and sadness of being connected to other humans who may not feel urgency around the same things as I do or you do. I cannot pick up the problem of smoke filling our valley without also picking up the role of climate change without also picking up the concern about overpopulation and capitalism without also being worried about the global impact of Covid-19…phew! Before long the picking up of one thing feels like too heavy of a burden to bear. Hell, even reading this fun-loving newsletter that was featuring clips from Dumb and Dumber last week seems like it’s coming in a little too hot and heavy for a Monday AM. (If so, maybe THIS jort-related video will help cool down your tremblin’ knees a minute - pun intended)

In my own quest to refuel my hope bucket, I played my own little game of ‘what is going WELL in the world’ starting with just what I can see out my window, which happens to be a moderately thriving garden. The backyard critters and bugs have been happy, feasting on some leaves and a few early veggies. The literal birds and bees are buzzing around the pollinating flowers and we’ve seen more of our flying friends this summer than any other year. Our compost pile is growing, more food to feed the food that feeds us. That yield means less travel to the grocery store for us and a lower carbon impact. Planting this little garden - when I pick up just that one choice, as Dr. King says, I see it affects us all.

James Clear, the author of our favorite books on habit, said "People generally have more control over their actions than their feelings. But we can influence our feelings by taking action. Take one small step. Move the body first and the mind will follow." Inaction is action. We must make a move. To help you to do so, the following are links to resources of ways you can help. We encourage you to do just one thing this week, one action that can make the world a little better.

Ways to support nurses & frontline healthcare workers

Ways to support frontline essential workers

How to help Afghan refugees

Continuing efforts to help Alemeda fire victims

Ways to support the inclusion of LGBTQI++ people in sports

Simple ways to protect the planet starting at home

Speaking of making a move, we really really really really hope that the air quality will allow us to move our bodies together this week. Finding your own adventures? Inspire us by adding a tag to your pictures on social media - this includes any actions you take from the list above or your own world bettering choices. Thank you for all you do and for all you are.

Hey Zillow...u up?

Endurance team member Andrew with some serious #SmokyAirDontCare vibes @ski_and_run

I’m not a gambler, but I would bet an acre of quality midwest farmland that the team at Zillow has been seeing a flurry of activity coming from Southern Oregon this past week. The Venn diagram of people like us who like to play outdoors and those with a smoke-triggered mood disorder is basically just a circle. It’s one thing to stay indoors and binge Ted Lasso for the 5th time because I choose to but to just not have the option to play with AQI’s in the mid-200’s literally stifling my outdoor time? Nope. Uh uh. I can get a piece of that Iowa farmland for less than a tiny house in Ashland? Byeeeeeee.

Last week was…rough. No group runs, no Mt. Ashland Hill Climb**, no blue skies or sunshine, the Coronavirus surge giving us that familiar uncertain-times gut ache. It felt a little like THIS around the ‘ol Woodlands HQ; various takes on the sentence “I don’t know if I can do another summer with this smoke” uttered with words and eyes. This shit sucks.

Okay, so, it sucks. Is there anything we can do to control it? Nope. So now what? (do you hear that rumble in the distance ya’ll? That’s the hype train coming your way - TOOT TOOT!)

Will one week of rest ruin your training? If you ask Coach Evan he will tell you a resounding, “HELL NO!” In fact, maybe instead of lamenting something you cannot change (smoke), how about instead when the smoke rolls in you say bring it on! and use it as a chance for rest, for contemplation, for finally finishing that project you’ve been putting off, for creative adventure travel outside the smoke. Still stuck? Check out THIS video by one of our fav creative people on how to get unstuck and figure it out.

Figure it out.

Figure it out.

Pals, we got this. It sucks, but we got this. As I write this the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and I remember again all the reasons why I love Southern Oregon: the easy, traffic-less access to wilderness, world-class trails, the best breakfast burritos on earth, and, of course, this community. We are in this together and, let me tell you, one summer with midwest swamp ass, pterodactyl-size mosquitos, and no mountains? You’d be back.

We really hope to see you all at runs this week. A reminder that if the AQI is >150 we will cancel. We will announce cancellations via our Facebook and Instagram stories.

#BeTheBuffalo #PetsHeadsAreFallingOff

**Mt. Ashland Hill Climb is postponed until September 18th. Registration is still open HERE

Fight or Flight (or Crunch Berries)

Friends holding it together. Photo by @mikenhike541

I grew up in Cedar Rapids, IA, a city is known by the moniker "The City of 5 Seasons". The city will have you believe that the 5th season is 'time to enjoy the other 4'. We locals know that the real 5th season is what we call 'Crunch Berries season', the random days throughout the year when the Quaker Oats plant, one of the biggest employers in town, produces Cap'N Crunch Crunch Berries cereal, spreading the delightfully sweet smell of sugary cereal all across our humble land. When I feel homesick, this is one of the weird things I miss.

Moving to Southern Oregon 10 years ago, I get nostalgic for those early years of getting my local feet wet by learning of our own weird idiosyncrasies, our own "5th seasons". We were lured here by words like "ski season", "wildflower season", and by the promise that yes, you may just throw away your snow shovel because we have lots of sunshine and yes, you can just drive to the snow if you want it. A siren song to any midwestern.

The last few years these romantic monikers of our seasons in this wild, wonderful valley have taken on new names like "smoke season," "fire season, "hot and dry season." The thunderstorms I loved from the midwest, the memories of sitting on my porch listening for the seconds between lightning and thunder to calculate how many minutes away the eye was from our house, has taken on a new, more ominous tone. Lightening is to be feared, not admired. Same with nature. At its worse, there is fear and uncertainty. From a practical day-to-day perspective, these new seasons out West are just plain inconvenient and often sad. Maybe we should be used to having things we love to do be disrupted - we certainly got a lot of practice in the pandemic lockdowns of 2020. But we were supposed to be back, baby! Back to our beloved outdoors, our time for planning races and group runs, travel and gatherings, and long hugs, using calendars and counting on them again. Instead, we're refreshing our air quality apps and wondering to ourselves, why do we live here again? Is this what being a Southern Oregon local is now? Maybe. Maybe it is. So...what now?

The things I didn't share about that charming midwest cereal-smelling town of my youth? It's surrounded by water and twice in the past 10 years, there have been 500-year floods destroying thousands of homes and businesses. Last year there was a land hurricane with 140 mph winds called a Duracho that destroyed nearly 65% of the trees that gave shape and character to the city. On our last trip home, I wept at the losses...AND I wept in hope. Okay, this happened, so...now what? From the floods, the downtown came back alive, vibrant with shops, new housing (much low income), and thriving businesses. New trees are planted, new zoning for housing, food cart pods, art installations. We're building back better. Together.

When you live long enough, you experience suffering and the passing of the suffering. We should no longer be surprised by being surprised. You learn to adjust to a changing world, to care for the things you own, and, above all, to love and care for the people most important in your life. We are facing a new season of challenges. WE. Together. As tempting as it is to run away to another place, that other place wouldn't have the community we have with Woodlands Running Co., Women of Woodlands and Party in the Back, this trail amazing running group that cares deeply about the trails and woods that hold more than trees, but our tree friends. We GOT this, friends. Together.

By Wednesday, Joe Chick, RD of the Mt. Ashland Hill Climb, will communicate if the air quality will be safe enough to run on Saturday and to (with full consent) slap some asses in celebration from the Bull Gap aid station and up at the lodge, where we'll be slinging the new gear we launched this past week. Dang, we hope so. We also hope to run together on Tuesday and Thursday with you all this week. The standard we've set for making these running decisions is if the AQI is <150 we are running, if it's more, we will not. We will post if the group run is canceled on our Facebook and Instagram feeds the same day by 5:00 PM before the run.

The good news about hanging indoors on a smoky day? Housing some Cap'n Crunch and watching the new UFO docuseries on Showtime or Ted Lasso for the 10th time in a row. That in and of itself should be a season.

Feels Like the First Time

Woodlands own Jamie Chick with the sun bringing her home on her first 50-miler at the 2021 Siskiyou Outback (SOB) @jmelizz

"You can't get it wrong because you never get it done."

The first time I heard this Abraham Hicks quote I was in my late '20's, head to the grindstone building a career, and new to running. My first thought was, "well, shit, that can't be right." Imagining never getting this mountain of boxes checked was unfathomable and you best believe that ending a day without being my 'best' self sure as heck felt wrong. Being the type-A optimizer like so many other ambitious youths I was defining 'best' as the pursuit of perfection in a day; meditate for 20 minutes, do yoga well, lift more, run faster, blast that cellulite, eat vegetables, don't drink too much, create stunning PowerPoints, text back everyone within 24 hours, be a loving daughter, a thankless volunteer, use the right cream to battle wrinkles, know WTF a 401k is, don't bring your phone into the bedroom...check, check, check, on a loop to infinity, as if doing it right meant I could finally rest.

Spoiler alert: I no longer carry on this way and I have trail running to thank for that. The movie of this shift would be worlds away from a Rocky Balboa I I'm-getting-better-at-one-arm-pushups-by-the-second montage and more like somebody-check-on-that-crying-dusty-woman-on-the-trail variety. There is nothing to perfect in trail running. It is a sport of constant firsts. I don't care if you've never run more than a 5k or if you've run 2 dozen 100-milers, every run, every race, every training or casual run, is one of firsts. You can’t get to humble without humiliation. You can run the same trail 1000 times and suddenly face a new problem to solve in how your body feels, your mind feels, of nature handing your ass to you, bears (beets, Battlestar Galactica...can't not say that in my mind EVERY time). You and me, as we are with our life circumstances, our changing bodies, factors in and out of our control are meeting the trail differently each day. Always a newbie, always a first.

This past weekend we celebrated these firsts in a BIG way at the Siskiyou Outback Trail Runs (SOB) up on Mt. Ashland. Under the new dope Woodlands tent surrounded by bubbly water and peanut butter pretzels, we cowbelled many of our friends celebrating their first time running a trail race, a 15k, a 50k, a 50-miler, and a 100k distance. We celebrated PR's, age group winners, race winners. We bitched about the heat and smoke, held space for our friends who had their first DNF or their first problem that felt unsolvable, debriefing together on the lessons that disappointment taught us today. Every one of us had a series of firsts and we shared them together. Aww, being together again in all its beauty and ugliness...THAT is perfection.

Pretzels, short shorts, mountains - oh my!

Glitter, Community, and ALL the Pride

This week we’re proud to share writing on Pride and inclusivity from Woodlands Endurance Team member and all-around badass human Jessica Fisher (shown in the photo above). She relocated from the Bay Area with her wife Valerie (they’ve been together for 21 years & married for 18) for Val’s job with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival 3 years ago. In search of finding her own way & community in Southern OR, one of the places Jessica found it was with Woodlands Running Co. When not on the trails you can usually find her at Iron Haven Fitness or rowing out on Emigrant Lake with her rowing team Rogue Rowing. 

While here in Southern Oregon, pride month isn’t celebrated until October, Pride is drawing to a close in most other places as we near the end of June. As someone who is very proudly out (if you didn’t know - you do now!), I’m often asked what Pride means to me. Is it marching in or watching a parade (can’t wait to do that again), wearing sequins & glitter, dancing in the streets? Absolutely! But to me, Pride also means community, loving who you want to love, and being not just accepted, but celebrated for who you are, no matter who or what that is. And I find all of those things every Thursday night when I show up for a group run with Women of Woodlands or for a race with Woodlands Running Company. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow I am, what kind of running shoes I’m wearing or if I’m feeling at the top of my game or that showing up to try & run was the most difficult thing I did that day. Yes, while the sequins & glitter are fun, or having the newest pair of Hoka’s, it’s so much more than that. I can run in silence & feel the support of those in front of me pulling me ahead or those beside me nudging me along. Or I can chat away the miles as they slip by relatively unnoticed.

I have been very lucky. I’ve always had the support of my family & friends. In fact, my parents were more supportive when I married my wife than when I married my ex-husband! (That’s a story for another time.) But there are so many who are not as fortunate. And so allyship, visibility & representation matter. Being an ally doesn’t mean having all the answers or being an expert in LGBTQ+ issues. It simply means you’re open to learning, willing to listen & when comfortable will lend your voice when mine can’t be heard. So many of us turn to sport as an outlet & for community. But if the place we wanted to turn to didn’t feel as safe as it could or we weren’t sure if we’d be fully accepted there, then what? Where do we go? We need allies to welcome us in.

So as Pride month draws to a close (& before it kicks off here in October), think about what Pride means to YOU and how much what you do & say can mean to someone else.

Stay safe. Stay home.

Be the Buffalo

The Ascent! Photo by @mikenhike541

Over here at Woodlands world headquarters, we're smack in the middle of one of those inevitable human eras where things are uncertain, our routines have been chucked, and we're having a John Wick-style battle with our egos that SO want to go back to "normal". Regardless of age, experience, and your nature, when the inevitable oh-shit roller coaster rides take off all of us start grasping for roots. Family, food, ancient wisdom, sport, alcohol, a beach vacation, passion projects, deep cleaning your bathroom, therapy, trail therapy - when it gets 'real' real some people get real and some escape the real (both are cool by the way).

Now, the benefit of age and experience is you recognize uncertainty when it strikes, so it matters less and less what flavor it is because you know what to do. This is where the rad gift of running, of being part of a community like ours comes in handy. First of all, a hot take: our sport has the BEST metaphors for difficult times because we are the weirdos who deliberately put ourselves in situations of suffering for fun. We drop a car payment in cold hard cash on an entry fee to get our asses chafed in the woods while double fisting Lays and Chips Ahoy for fuel. We do this because we know that with great suffering comes great love, great joy, great friends and views and snacks, and arcane glimpses into the universe within. Off the trails, we now know that suffering comes with all that juicy goodness as well so we can face it like the buffalo trudging towards the storm-humans that we are. We can gather our team and say to them, "I'm 50 miles into a 100 today, I need you to make my decisions" and they will get it. Awww, isn't running just the BEST (oh, and also the worst - sometimes it's the WORST, but also the best? I don't know. Another metaphor for life? *shrug*)

Our sites are set for some fun/suffering/joy/friendship extravaganza at our final SOB training run this Saturday at 9:00 AM up on Mt. A, as well as our Tuesday and Thursday night group runs. Cheers to doing hard things with master crew chiefs and loving every minute of it.

Introducing Party in the Back

As metaphors go, running is a pretty great one for life. Who we are as runners is always evolving. The relationship to our incredible bodies, what they are capable of, their shape, health, energy can be marked by seasons and can change day-to-day like the weather. We have seasons of growing and caring for a family when running is just a whisper in our lives. Seasons consumed by traveling, race schedules, and group runs. Seasons of devastating injury of body or ego. Ahh, the weather, the same body that felt unstoppable one day feels sluggish the next...or unstoppable one minute and lay-down-on-the-trail bonked the next.

What was universal from this Woodlands Running community feedback on the inclusivity survey is that the "micro-climates" of every.single.runner are very different. Isn't that WONDERFUL?! The whole point of inclusion is creating space and loving people for where they are at this moment, when it's sunshine on asses and when facing things that many of you shared in the survey such as:

• Being new to running

• Returning after injury or illness

• Taking an extended time away from running

• Trans people, those on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, Black people, Indigenous People, People of Color, impoverished people, and other marginalized groups not commonly represented in the sport(s)

• Being a new mom/dad returning after pregnancy

• Those facing mental health issues such as anxiety

• Elder AKA experienced athletes who are intimidated keeping up the way they once could

• Those less seasoned runners only interested in movement, not racing

Many of you shared your deeper vulnerabilities, stories of what it feels like to not feel like you belong in the sport. Our shared stories include:

• Joining group runs who immediately take off, leaving us to run alone only to catch up and have the group immediately take off again. There are no relationships built, no value in the group when you can't keep up

• Having others define "running slow" using a pace that you have never hit on your best day

• Fear of judgment or bias based on how you move, think, look, and any non-sport-related factors

• Calculating race cutoff times that induce anxiety or exclude/discourage participation altogether as the primary reason to select a race

• Having an awesome race and having a person complain next to you the reasons they are running "slow" which is why they are "behind"

• Not being interested in going faster or changing your body or optimizing or risking injury to keep up

These are isolating, lonely feelings and the good news is you are NOT alone. There are many of us - we just need a space/place to belong.

In response to your honesty and openness, Woodlands and Women of Woodlands are introducing an additional running group option we're proud to call Party in the Back. What that will look like:

• Select current group runs will have an alternative route and distance. These will be posted on our social media and website ahead of each group run.

• All routes/distances will begin together and end at the same spot/time

• We will plan to hike/run/walk at a pace that keeps the group-run vibe intact

• Depending on interest, adding a Party in the Back only group run to our regular calendar of events

You'll also see an additional way we're calling attention to our inclusivity pledge with the use of the #AllPeopleAllPace hashtag.

We are embracing what it means to be in the back of the pack, that we're there by choice or circumstance and are not only proud of that, we celebrate it. Running is supposed to be FUN. Hopping around the woods, chomping on snacks, feeling alive while deepening friendships new and old. It's not a workout, it's a celebration. That is our mission at Woodlands: Celebrate the Adventure of Running.

Look to our socials for our schedule as well as check out the growing races available in the race calendar below. Thank you for making your voices heard and for being who you are exactly as you are.

This is How We Do It...(this is how we do it)

How you do anything is how you do everything.

This saying is a mantra at our house and in our work, a reminder to ourselves and our teams that every action and thought and word counts, that everything we do counts. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to this in his famous street sweeper speech, the Stoics made a whole philosophy of this principle, and if you close your eyes right now and bring to mind the way the wisest person you know moves through the world you'll likely agree this saying applies to them as well. As it is with any wisdom, etching it in marker on a whiteboard or in an Instagram bio or as a permanent tattoo doesn't make it so. Wisdom is not etched but forged with presence and constant forgiveness of self and otherws, moment-to-moment awareness of the highest aspiration then setting off to bring it to life with action. Am I the person that bends down to pick up that piece of trash on the trail or run past it? Do I return the cart at the grocery store or leave it chilling next to my car? Do I blame others for my suffering and the suffering in the world or look in the mirror at ways that I'm contributing to it?

We've written about who we are as a Woodlands Running community and on our aspirations to understand Body Justice and our goal to create a safe, welcoming, inclusive, diverse community that reflects all Bodies. Now, we set out to put action to our words by seeking out local and global experts in the area to first understand and do an audit on the language and actions we take as a community group then taking responsibility for recruiting more diverse Bodies to join us. My palms are sweating as I write this knowing that I, as a cisgender, white woman have so much to learn and don't want to come across as an expert in anything besides having a relentless learner's mindset and make an effort toward humility. We're not buying the bullshit "Oregon/trail running so white" rhetoric to explain away the lack of diversity in our sport. We can do better than that, we have to, we want to, we will and are.

We are proud to announce the members of our first ever Woodlands Endurance Team, woohoo! We are proud of the diversity in gender and life experience and encourage you to read through their bios to learn more about their differences and commonalities; most importantly a common shared love for the sport of trail running and connecting with others. We're also proud that this is a team unlike any other as the applicants were not chosen based on speed or distance or experience or how "cool" they appear on social media, but rather how willing they are to volunteer at races, lead group runs where no one is left behind, advocate for all Bodies in sport and to celebrate others. Be sure to give the Team members congrats and a follow to connect on the socials and get to know them better.

Do you have ideas or ways we can extend to new diverse groups in Southern Oregon? How about books or resources we can read/listen to that can extend our empathy and activism? Please email Hayley at woodlandsrunningco@gmail.com and/or share this post with someone who may be also to help us on this mission.

Congrats again to the 2021 Woodlands Running Co. Endurance Team (or WRCET aka "work-it)!

The End of Asking, "How are you?"

Women of Woodlands pre-run meet and greet, giving us reps on breaking the ice ice….baby.

The mile-stones are rolling my friends right into month 2 of growing group runs (close to 30 runners between both last week) and this week is our first Saturday Running for the (not quite) Gil's Ashland group run, the first since pre-Rona. It's in the social spirit as the lights come on in the world both proverbially and with daylight savings that we warm up to seeing people, places, and things - reminding ourselves how to actually talk to be people near their actual faces.

As people of a great many passions with running among them, if you're reading this you're probably good at or maybe even weirdly super into doing difficult things. It's a reason that I'm so intrigued by runners in general. Most skip immediately past the bullshit X's and O's of life and get right to pouring out and working through deep inner world stuff. BUT...today we're not solving for the existential musings of our inner world, we're going all in one small, specific, important difficulty: how to successfully navigate the dreaded small talk crisis triggered by asking and being asked, "how are you?"

First, we need to agree that "how are you" is just an awful question, starting with the fact that it's not really a question at all, more of a supped up 'hello' dressed up in a cute lil polite outfit. It leaves the answerer with only a few options; 1. Just say "good" to satisfy the requirement of the answer. This is boring and dishonest (what the heck is being "good" mean anyhow?!). 2. Answer honestly which puts the asker in a situation where they'll be forced to ask a follow-up question to not seem detached and may alienate you from being asked questions in the future after getting the title of "the wildcard" or "a little extra". Anyone on the receiving end of an innocuous "how are you" is in a position where their life flashes before their eyes and they have to pluck the right word(s) to keep the connection while also being real. Being social is hard ya'll.

This past week I found myself twice arriving at group runs where friends and soon-to-be-new-friends had gathered for some pre-run chit chat and out of my mouth, you guessed it, I went right to "how are you". Do you know what I needed? A few alternatives in my back pocket. So, my socially awkward and we're-all-doing-our-best adult friends, let's think of some, shall we? Thanks to our Woodlands community friends, here are some ideas to break the ice with new/old friends that is now 'how are you' (which we're retiring after today, okay????)

• What's been your favorite moment this week?

• What is the funniest thing that happened to you last week?

• Hello! It's great to see you.

• How did you wake up feeling today?

• What have you done lately that has brought you joy?

• How did you get into running?

• Where did you grow up?

• What have you been doing?

If you want to ride off the rails/lean into your own magnificent awkwardness, maybe go for something like:

• Anytime I run I think about food. What is the best and least best aid station food? Why?

• What does your first name mean?

• What is the quirkiest thing about you?

• If you had to go without one of your 4 limbs, which one would go?

• Did you have any weird dreams lately?

• What's a nickname people call you? (or did as a kid) How did you earn that?

• What game show would you kick butt at?

We know some of you like going deep on stuff, so for more researched articles on this topic such as the origins of "how are you" HERE and the phrase as a Western impulse to be polite written beautifully about, HERE.

This is a big week with 3 group run options - a coed group run on Tuesday at Roxy Ann in Medford, a women's run on Thursday in Ashland, and a multi-distance group run option (the longest at 2ish hours) on Saturday. Check out below for deets and looking forward to hearing your ice breaker question selection. Slip into our DM's and let us know what you tried. Also, we are officially announcing the 2021 Woodlands Endurance Team this week - woohoo! Watch for Wednesday emails the next month or so highlighting the team members and give them a follow on their socials.

International Women's Day 2021 #moreicecream #lessbeans

Maybe it's the wild waves of unpredictable weather or the holiday hangovers finally dusting themselves off or the world flipping its open sign on again, but March seems to be putting off some serious reflecting and planning vibes for many in our orbit. Friends are asking if races are happening and if we're going to run them, reflecting on their own relationship with running post-pandemic and processing big questions about who they are with or without it. If I'm not feeling like running anymore, will I lose my community or myself? I've discovered more passions during the lockdown, how do I balance that with my home and running life? I'm out of shape or really in-shape with no race or bored out of my mind or so overwhelmed that running is the last thing on my mind or maybe moments of feeling many of these things at once. These are monumental questions that strike on something deeper in all of us: how do I live my most purposeful life?

In my own contemplation on such things and in also reflecting on International Women’s Day today, I stumbled across the wisdom of Nadine Star, an 85-year-old woman from Louisville, Kentucky. When asked “How would you have lived your life differently if you had a chance?” Nadine said…

If I had my life to live over again,
I’d dare to make more mistakes next time.
I’d relax.
I’d limber up.
I’d be sillier than I’ve been this trip.
I would take fewer things seriously.
I would take more chances,
I would eat more ice cream and less beans.

I would, perhaps, have more actual troubles but fewer imaginary ones.
you see, I’m one of those people who was sensible and sane,
hour after hour,
day after day.

Oh, I’ve had my moments.
If I had to do it over again,
I’d have more of them.
In fact, I’d try to have nothing else- just moments,
one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

I’ve been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot-water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute.
If I could do it again, I would travel lighter than I have.

If I had to live my life over,
I would start barefoot earlier in the spring
and stay that way later in the fall.
I would go to more dances,
I would ride more merry-go-rounds,
I would pick more daisies.
– Nadine Stair

Sweet, sweet Nadine. Thank you. 

And thank you for being the kind of community where we can process big questions like this together AND discuss the merits of pizza v burrito and ice cream v cookies (I think we know Nadine's answer to that last one). Running or not, we got you and YOU GOT THIS! We look forward to spending some time moving our bodies through nature in 2021...just as you are. #moreicecream #lessbeans

Announcing! Woodlands Endurance Team

In 2019, we wrote a newsletter answering the question, "What exactly is Woodlands Running Co.? (that blog post found HERE). In it, we shared what we are and are not, our mission statement to Celebrate the Adventure of Running, and how there is no one group owner. Woodlands is for the collective 'us', and that 'us' includes all kinds of humans and pets. We all (and that all includes you) think it's cool to do cool shit for cool shit's sake, not for a profit or for relevance but because it feels so damn good to run around like we're kids again.

In this playful spirit, we are excited to announce the creation of the Woodlands Running Co. Endurance Team. Putting our business and community partnerships where our proverbial mouth is, this team reflects our values as it is meant for everyone, regardless of experience, pace, race results, distance, etc. If you love running and want to give back to the running community, you should apply.

As a member of the Woodlands Endurance Team, you pledge to participate in the following activities:

• Trail Work: Volunteer for a minimum of 2 AWTA trail workdays each calendar year. Depending on the 2021 trail work calendar, participation in an AWTA race (Mt. Ashland Hillclimb, Bandersnatch/Lewis Loop) as a participant or volunteer will fulfill one required day.

• Local Race Participation: Run in a minimum of 3 local races each calendar year, with one being a trail race.

• Local Race Volunteer: Volunteer at a minimum of 1 local race each calendar year.

• Social Media Engagement

• Group Run Engagement

As a member of the Woodlands Endurance Team, you will have access to the following perks:

• Sporthill race & training gear

• Entry into WRC races, and priority access to free/discounted entries to other local (RVR) and regional races

• Team Discount on additional gear from Sporthill

• Team Discount on running gear from Rogue Valley Runners

• Exclusive team benefits from team sponsors

• Priority access to team discounts from race sponsors (Hoka One One, Tailwind, etc)

• Team Discount on Woodlands Running Co. Gear

• Free race/training plans from Woodlands Endurance Coaching

• Your running adventures shared through various social media channels

• The opportunity to shape the future and broaden the connections of the Southern Oregon running community

• A team filled with camaraderie, training partners, shared goals, and support for one another and for our communities.

For this first year, we will be selecting up to 10 men and 10 women to be a part of the 2021 team. Our goal is to expand the team to more members, new sports, and more locations in the near future. The application process is found HERE and will run through March 7. We will announce the new team the week of March 8.

The days are longer, March is bringing warmer weather, Roxy Ann is opening earlier and closing later, a Saturday group run is planned for the 20th in Ashland - more adventures indeed.

Reflection & Action on Body Justice

Disclaimer: I am writing on the topic of disordered eating which may be triggering for some. Be advised that all of the topics and recommendations discussed below are the opinions of the writer and are not substitutes for medical or professional advice. If you believe you or someone in your life may be suffering from an eating disorder, consult the National Eating Disorder website at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support.

What is your relationship with running and food?

How does the way that you talk about your body and food either perpetuate or reflect allyship around body stigma/shame and body justice?

What personal bias' do you hold around physical attributes (body shape, race, disabilities)? Who is profiting from those beliefs?

At the core of our values at Woodlands is inclusion; to deliberately contemplate and take action in creating space for all humans and the WHOLE person to be seen and appreciated including and especially the underrepresented and marginalized in society and our sport. This week, February 22nd - 28th, is National Eating Disorder Awareness week. There are so many ways to discuss the topic, beginning with just a few powerful statistics:

• 97 million Americans diet, despite the $66 billion diet industry price tag diets fail up to 98% of the time*

• In 2020 in 48 states it is legal to fire someone, not hire them, turn them down for a table at a restaurant, or deny housing because they are fat**

• Though most athletes with eating disorders are female, male athletes are also at risk—especially those competing in sports that tend to emphasize diet, appearance, size, and weight. In weight-class sports and aesthetic sports, about 33% of male athletes are affected. In female athletes in weight class and aesthetic sports, disordered eating occurs at estimates of up to 62%***

We cannot talk about running without talking about how disordered eating can be born from it, how in our actions and words we can take responsibility for recognizing when our friends may need help, or at least not perpetuating weight and body shame stigma further.

This week also falls within Black History Month, a unique opportunity for deliberate reflection, to take personal inventory around these questions above, to listen to our own biases, and learn from those who share their stories and science to paint a picture of a perspective that may be radically different than our own. For today, we offer resources that I’ve personally found valuable on the connection between food, sport, and body justice. We'll continue to use our blog and occasionally our newsletter to shine a light on activists, authors, podcasts, books, articles, and local Oregon organizations to make them available if you're interested in learning more. If you find resources or topics that interest you or have written on these topics yourself and are interested in being featured on our blog, please reach out at woodlandlandsrunningco@gmail.com

Books

• The Body is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor

• What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

• Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Trimbole, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S and Elyse Resch, MS, RDN, CEDRD-S, FAND

Podcasts

• Food Psych with Christy Harrison

• Maintanance Phase with Aubrey Gordon and Michael Holmes

Articles, Websites, and Instagram Follows

• I Changed My Body for a Sport. No Girl Should by Lauren Fleshman

• Faster at a Cost by Cindy Kuzma (disordered eating in men)

• @yrfatfriend on Instagram

• Heath at Every Size (HAES) social justice community

*Sondra Solovay, Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination (Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2000), 191.

**Gordon, Aubrey, What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat (Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 2020), 27.

*** Beals KA, Hill AK. The prevalence of disordered eating, menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density among US collegiate

#quaRUNtine BINGO Card

#quaRUNtine BINGO card

Thank You for an EPIC 2019!

It’s Monday and I don’t know about ya’ll, but my Jingle feels Jolly’ed. On Saturday Woodlands hosted our 2nd Annual Jingle Jolly 5k Run/Walk where 60+ costumed kids of all ages gathered despite the rainy weather to check out the lights on foot at Cherry & Greystone Lane in Medford, eat chili and cookies, drink PG & Rated-R cider, and donate pet food, supplies, and money to benefit Southern Oregon Humane Society. This was good old fashioned, wholesome fun and just one way to say thank you to this incredible Southern Oregon community for an epic 2019.

Speaking of an epic 2019, as we were cleaning up from the event on Saturday we were struck with equal parts awe and exhaustion. Awe at how big this scrappy group of runners has gotten even as we all balance work, family, friendships, obligations, and other adulty AF things. Awe at how, with all these competing priorities, we came together to host over 200 events from group runs to volunteering at aid stations, from trail building to girls weekends, and even our very first and brand new race in Twin Peaks Trail Runs. There was social media posting, website updating, babysitters to hire, countless grocery shopping trips and reconciliation of the receipts from said grocery shopping all done by volunteers. For Woodlands to exist it truly takes a village. While everyone does it for their own reasons, we can all agree on one thing: it’s TOTALLY worth it. The friendship, laughter, tears, breaks in nature to just be and to adventure with one another. Dang, we’re so lucky and yes, so in awe of what can be done when we all work together.

I did say equal parts awe and exhaustion didn’t I? Awww yes, there is that. The 7:45 PM Saturday night post-Jingle Jolly crash into bed was a sign that we need to take our own advice to train hard and recover hard, so for the rest of December, we’ll be sending out just the running schedule via email and will return in January with a fresh mind and fresh legs with a weekly newsletter.

We hope to ring in the new year with many of you on January 1st at 10:00 AM at the top of Pioneer St. at the yellow gate in Ashland the New Year’s Day 2020 20k. As always, all paces welcome - we just want to be together and high five how awesome we all are and how awesome this place is that we live.

Thank you thank you thank you. See you in 2020. #bestyearever 

Jinglin' for Jollys

Turkeys be trottin’

"Oh Pecan Pie, Oh Pecan Pie - How Lovely are your pecans" (to the tune of O Christmas Tree)

This jingle, composed and performed by Pete Philbrick on a Thanksgiving dinner walk-it-off, is proof that yes, you can dubsmash holiday vibes and yes, caroling on Thanksgiving should be a thing and yes, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa are super close to each other this year so yes, we should totally stack our mega-fun holiday-themed events on back-to-back weekends as well. Dope wisdom Pete!

First of all, I'm happy to report that everyone that ran the Gravy Gulp 1-mile challenge on Thanksgiving did qualify for a finish by keeping the gravy, cranberries, eggnog, and pumpkin consumed over that 1-mile inside of their body - congrats gang! The Golden Ladle winners are pictured below and, for the rest of us who played in the snow and witnessed their courageous feat of gastric fortitude, we just wish we had ladles for all participants. You earned it.

Still glowing like the sugary glaze in most of our food this past weekend, we're using that extra fuel to get hyped for the 2nd Annual Jingle Jolly 5k run/walk this Saturday night. Evan and I host it at our house which is strategically placed exactly 1.5 miles from the famous Cherry Ln. Christmas light display. Participants will (informally) be jingled off the start line for an out-and-back with the course taking you down both Cherry Ln. and Greystone Ct. to check out the mega-displays of lights on foot. There is no registration, no timing, no winners or DFL, and after the 'race' we will be projecting Christmas movies, warming up around a fire pit, and serving homemade chili, bread, cider, and sweets. Think of it as a community holiday party with other runners. This is our way to say thank you for an epic year of friendship from the Woodlands and Women of Woodlands running crew. Bring your family, friends, that cute guy or gal at the office you've been trying to talk to but get really awkward and sweaty when you see them and join us on Saturday night. Check out the link HERE to RSVP and for details.

We hope this week brings moments of childlike play and silliness!

The Inaugural Gravy Gulp 1-Mile Challenge Champions and Golden Ladle Awardees: Heather Johnson (W) and Bob Julian (M). Congrats?

A Gulp of Gratitude

Running for the Gil’s Dream Team

In an effort to rage against the ferocity of shopping lists, retail traffic, and just the typical end-of-year adulting, we've made it a tradition in our little family to go off-grid the weekend before Thanksgiving and spend time staring outside, leisurely chatting about what dreams have come and may come true this year and beyond. We bask in the gratitude because, let's be honest, sometimes it's hard to really feel those vibes standing smack in the middle of the realities of family and failed attempts at perfecting the cranberry sauce. Even in this quarantined space of beauty (specifically an Alpaca farm on Sauvie Island in Portland), it took serious effort to remain in a space of gratitude for all we felt and accomplished and out of the shoulda's and coulda's of what was left undone. Awww the human experience and it's need to look at what needs work over what is already awesome. 

It was during a session of this dreaming of what could be even better that we peeked at Instagram and saw pictures from the monthly Woodlands Running for the Gil's group run from this past Saturday. We saw friends, many of who we didn't know and didn't know one another this time last year, on the trails hanging off each other with glowing smiles; a big group of strangers of all professions and ages, genders and abilities who run for all different reasons and have become friends through running with Woodlands. To be with this Woodlands crew is to feel the best of this sport, maybe even the very best of humanity. We've supported one another through the suffering of racing and of living, bonded and spoken deeply about what makes us the same and sought to learn more about what makes us different, hiked in the silent snowfall, yeehaw'ed down dry dusty trails, giggled while digging holes during trail work, dressed like female wrestlers on Halloween, and shared many, MANY burritos. 2019 has brought many ups and downs and, no shocker, 2020 will as well but there are few things I'm more grateful for this Thanksgiving then the Woodlands Running community. No matter the terrain in life, we'll run it together. 

We invite you and your friends and family to begin your Thanksgiving holiday with us for the 1st Annual Gravy Gallop at 8:30 AM in Ashland at the Bandersnatch Trail yellow gate. We'll begin with a 5ish mile all paces welcome trail run/hike ending with snacks and drinks provided with thanks from our Woodlands crew. Immediately after the run, we'll have the official start of the Gravy Gulp, a beer mile adjacent event that 'races' a total of 1-mile with a required gulp every quarter mile or so (all gulps are vegan/gluten-free): 

1. The mile begins with taking a gulp of gravy 

2. At the top of a short climb, you'll gulp cranberries 

3. Climb a little more and gulp some holiday nog 

4. Run downhill where you'll eat a mini-slice of pumpkin pie donated from the Ashland Co-op 

5. A straight away to the finish with the winning male and female getting a golden ladle and all finishers earning eternal glory (and a solid base of noms before their big meals) 

Thank you all for an incredible year of epic adventures and friendship. Next we look forward to our big Jingle Jolly community running party on December 7th. 

Use the #RunWoodlands or #RunWow and share your adventures

November is for Short Shorts

The start line of the 2019 Southern Oregon Runners Pioneer 9 mile and 5k run in Phoenix, OR

Jackie Hoffman celebrating her win at the Two Peaks 50k in Redding, CA

Here we were talking about how the change of the season will bring changes to running schedules, how we're all hunkering down and bundling up and that, indeed, Winter Is Coming then - POOF! A sunshiney 65+ degrees this past weekend surprised and delighted our whole valley and brought all the positive people and peppy dogs to the roads and trails. Maybe it was the weather or just the steller year of us all training together but our Woodlands family of friends were slingin' personal bests with several placing in their age group and standing on the podium at the Southern Oregon Runners Pioneer Run 9 mile & 5k while others crushed Two Peaks in Redding with Medford's own Ben Heidegger winning the 50-miler and our new Salomon BFF Jackie Hoffman taking the W for the 50k distance. The happiest of us all is our short shorts n' tees enjoying their extended days flowing in the mid-November balmy breeze. Mmmmm.

While it may feel like the dog days of fall, you only have to step into, well, almost any store to see the unavoidable signs that the holiday season is upon us. We don't mind, that just means time to get real serious about food and food-themed running events. A few of our crew mapped out the official 'course' for the Gravy Gallop group run on Thanksgiving as well as the Gravy Gulp Mile - think Beer Mile but with Thanksgiving-inspired treats along the way. More on that next week.

This Saturday is our monthly Running for the Gil's, an all genders and speeds welcome long run (2.5-3 hours) leaving at 8:00 AM from the top of Pioneer in Ashland. There will be a women's only group or you can choose the coed group, both equally as fabulous. Yes, we run but mostly we bond over what we will be ordering at Ruby's and Gil's afterward. *Pro-tip: whatever you order, get it with a side of guac and sweet pot fries. You're welcome.*

Enjoy a week of finding a few moments to go outside, close your eyes, and smile with the sunshine on your face.

Use the #RunWoodlands or #RunWow and share your adventures

Wagner Butte filling Evan & Hayley Schmidtke with gratitude for this beautiful Southern Oregon valley