Joy is...Learning.

Adam Merry is an elite athlete for Saucony, based in Colorado. He started training competitively in 2017 and has since raced in distances up to 100km on the road and trails. As well as being an incredible athlete in his own right, he also uses his expertise to coach others and his background in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to bring light to the issues in the trail and ultra running world.

I chatted to Adam upon his return from representing Team USA at the 80km World Mountain Running Championships and we shared an incredibly rich, broad-reaching conversation, as well as having a lot of fun! In addition to running geekery, we covered: pink shoes, babies and skinny pigs; the parallels between running and chess; finding our edge; the importance of community; why finish lines are arbitrary; movement as a means of connection and the thrill of representing your country; being a voice for representation; thoughts around tokenism; the role of mindful education in healing our communities; getting comfortable with being uncomfortable; celebrating the journey, and striving for 'experience' rather than curating 'identity'.

Adam is an incredibly kind and warm person, with a wisdom that far exceeds his years, and his words are important ones that we would all benefit from truly listening to and acting upon. I was particularly grateful for his guidance regarding how we can all show up, whether at school or on the trails, as better allies and, indeed, better humans, in our day-to-day lives. Oh and 'Merry Cooks' is sure to be the next Netflix big hit: you heard it here first!

Connect: www.runmerry.com

Follow: @amerryrunner

Run: Strava

Read: Trail Runner Article 'Black and White'

Learn: Racial Healing Handbook; Mental Training for Ultrarunning; The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

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