David Alm shares his journey of becoming an award-winning journalist and running as a form of meditation, revealing how his punk rock roots and rebellious spirit shaped both his writing and running.

• Starting with a one-way ticket to NYC and a few thousand dollars at age 24
• Living in the Lower East Side, NYC in the late 90s/eary 00s
• Beginning running on his 23rd birthday after smoking cigarettes for a decade
• Running a 2:49 marathon in only his second race (without even knowing what Boston qualifying meant)
• Writing award-winning features on subjects like Sha'Carri Richardson and Rachael Rapinoe
• Creating the East River 5000 race series as an alternative to commercialized running events
• Developing deep connections with subjects through extended conversations that reveal intimate details
• Finding stories in unexpected places, often dark
• Covering stories of marginalized communities 
• Starting banjo playing in his late 40s and building instruments with his father