Hello, 2025! In this episode, we catch up with each other after the holiday season, and we also discover how we are both in a similar season, in regards to our relationship with running social media. We talk about Seasonal Affective Disorder, meditation, laying on the ground at races, and toilet paper ornaments!

We also spend time talking about the immediate impact that the new, presidential administration has already made on people in the running community and in our personal lives.

This conversation is about everything, everywhere, all in 90-ish minutes! We hope you find it relatable and encouraging. As always, we are so grateful you’re here: in this space, in the sport, and in this world! #keepshowingup, keep running, and keep on being the change you wish to see.

Special thanks to our Audio Engineer, ⁠⁠Mark Kalagayan⁠⁠, from the non-profit, ⁠⁠SPARC Worldwide⁠⁠.

Show Notes:

00:25 - welcome to the new year!

01:30 - Stef gets back into the practice of meditation

09:50 - the drive towards constant productivity and how that translates into how we run and train

21:10 - Carolyn's break from all the social media running hype

22:50 - going back to the WHY's of running

30:00 - Seasonal Affective Disorder, and how it's shown up

39:10 - what running looks like for Stef right now

49:15 - the realities that many in the running community face now, following the newly signed Executive Orders

57:15 - it's okay to change your mind after getting new information; it's okay to say, "I used to think one way, and I was wrong."

1:10:00 - we're all impacted by policy, and trying to keep running insulated from politics is a privilege

1:12:50 - looking ahead

Links:

Op-e-n Meditation App

Help those affected by the Eaton Fire

Donate to Community Resources in Altadena

Support Displaced Black Families in Altadena & Pasadena

Find Stef ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

Find Carolyn ⁠⁠here⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

#MakingStridesPod

#letsFlippindothis

#diversewerun