This past February 2nd, a controversy was sparked by an article that ran on the Runner’s World website. It was an opinion piece by a writer named Cole Townsend (whom I don’t know). The piece was titled: “Yes, It’s OK to Wear a Finisher’s Shirt for a Race You Didn’t Finish”. Hence, the rebuttal in the title of this blog post.
If you did not finish the London Marathon in 2025, you should not be wearing this shirt.
Townsend states things as: “I think we need to have an honest conversation about who’s ‘allowed’ to buy finisher tees,” and “Your hard work doesn’t disappear because mile 1 or mile 19 didn’t happen”.
These statements, just as the article’s title, rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, everybody is entitled to their opinion. Sure, wearing a shirt that states you finished the Boston Marathon when you didn’t is trivial compared with what’s happening in Ukraine. Sure, you are not going to ponder what I may think when choosing your wardrobe. Yet, in my book, it is still not right.
Would you wear an Olympic medal you did not win around your neck, just because you own it? You can proudly display it at home, especially if a relative earned it. I display my dad’s marathon medals at home. But they are hung separately from my earned medals. They are my property, but not my achievements.
My beef with the entire affair is two-fold:
1 – How can an entity of Runner’s World’s reputation think that publishing this was OK? I am all pro-First Amendment, but you are not obligated to provide a tribune to someone for just about anything, especially if it is unsound, which it should be for runners. Would you run a story advocating the superiority or inferiority of a certain race, or defending a flat earth, just because it is someone’s opinion?
2 – The article, as the headline clearly states, talks about finisher shirts. A finisher’s shirt is earned when you finish a race, hence the name. Not when you register, not when your boyfriend crosses the finish line, not when you purchase it in a fire sale. This is not a participation trophy. This is between you and your conscience, sure, but in my book, it is still a lie.
I can’t believe Runner’s World ran this article.
Is it OK to wear a military uniform and let people assume you served your country? Would you walk through a mall wearing a priest’s cassock, or scrubs with a stethoscope draped over your shoulders? Exactly. And no, I’m not comparing military service or serving God to finishing a marathon. I’m pointing out something simpler: what you wear creates assumptions about who you are and what you’ve done. Letting those assumptions stand when they aren’t true is plain wrong.
There is a difference between a finisher’s shirt and a race or a souvenir shirt. If you ran London and brought me a hat, I would be grateful and wear it, even though I haven’t run it. When I returned to road racing after a 26-year hiatus, I gave my race shirt to my dad as a tribute, since he inspired me to start running when I was a kid. He wore it proudly. But it only said “2012 Miami Marathon and Half Marathon”; it didn’t state he finished the race, even though he ran the distance hundreds of times.
The author concludes with this statement: “We don’t need to start a ‘stolen valor’ debate. What you wear should reflect what matters to you—not what the internet thinks you’re entitled to. If you care, flip the question: why are you wearing it? If the answer is ‘because it means something to me,’ that’s enough.”
This would be a logical conclusion if the article didn’t state “Finisher’s Shirt”. That’s where, in my opinion, both the writer and the Runner’s World editors went terribly wrong.
Any thoughts? I really want to hear from runners who disagree with me. Please share in the comment box below.
A couple of weeks ago, a runner at the 19th mile of the Miami Marathon experienced cardiac arrest, and even though all safety protocols were followed and applied, he sadly passed. His name was Julien Autissier. He was just 33.
Unfortunately, these episodes continue to occur from time to time, and they cast a bad light on long-distance running. It really rubs me the wrong way because the media doesn’t report that people don’t just die from running. They usually die from a known or unknown condition that gets exacerbated while running. Or by disregarding basic safety protocols for hydration and/or heat safety during a run.
I wrote a blog post on cardiac health and running back in August 2021, triggered by a fatality in the Montreal Marathon. Today, after the unfortunate incident in Miami, I am rerunning an updated version.
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As athletes, especially runners, we are usually physically fit. It doesn’t matter if you weigh 120 pounds and look like a Kenyan or if you are on the 250+ side of the scale with an overhanging gut. You can have an unhealthy body yet still be fit. And this doesn’t mean you have a heart disease vaccine.
In the 1982 New York City Marathon, when my dad ran his first 26.2, a French runner collapsed and died. He saw it unfold as he passed by through the ruckus, which made it to the world’s newspapers the next day. It must have been quite an impression on a 16-year-old kid; 44 years later, I am telling you the story.
Unfortunately, this latest case in Miami is one of the handful of cases each year in which someone goes out for a run and doesn’t come back.
If the father of the first running boom in the United States is Frank Shorter, the Godfather is Jim Fixx, author of the mega 1977 bestseller “The Complete Book of Running”. In a pre-Internet, pre-Google era, this book democratized access to knowledge about our sport, including its cardiovascular benefits. This guru went for a run on July 20, 1984, at age 52, and died of a fulminant heart attack. He was in great shape, but his autopsy revealed he had atherosclerosis, with one artery blocked 95%, a second 85%, and a third 70%. His father had died at age 43 of a second heart attack.
Born to run, by Christopher McDougall
If you read the blockbuster “Born to Run”, you should remember Micah True, also known as Caballo Blanco. Well, he collapsed and died in 2012 at age 58 while running alone on a trail in New Mexico. The cause was reported as an underlying cardiomyopathy and atherosclerosis, discovered post-mortem. His death exposed how even elite endurance athletes, regardless of how long they’ve been running, may carry unknown heart conditions.
One of the most active and fit guys you will ever meet is Dave McGillivray. You may know him as the Boston Marathon Race Director since 2001. His athletic accolades include running across the United States (3,452 miles) in 80 days, running the Boston Marathon every year since 1973, being a 9-time Hawaii Ironman finisher, and participating in 1000+ organized races. Yet, in October 2018, at age 63, he underwent triple bypass surgery. His family’s cardiac history was against him, regardless of how fit he was. He is one of the lucky ones who can tell his story.
These are just three relevant cases that show that being a fit runner doesn’t necessarily mean you are cardiovascularly healthy. These two concepts are not necessarily inclusive.
And then, there’s me. I wouldn’t be honest with my readers if I did not include my personal cardiac experience in this writing. In 2019, during my yearly medical check-up, my doctor told me that even though a stress test wouldn’t do much for me because I was a marathoner, I should do it anyway, “because you never know”. And guess what? You don’t know. A congenital issue in my arteries was discovered. Unoxygenated blood was recirculating, bypassing the lungs, which created such stress for my heart that it could have provoked a heart attack. Then, on June 23, 2021, I underwent open-heart surgery to fix the issue. This “unneeded” stress test potentially saved my life. I have run 4000+ miles since, including 2 marathons and 13 halves.
I reran this updated blogpost today because I’d rather have you in the Dave McGillvray and Coach Adolfo column than in the Jim Fixx or Micah True camp. I beg you to understand that, despite an active and healthy lifestyle, you are not immune to the genetics of your ancestors or the sequels from your unhealthy habits before your active life. Get checked up. Now! You never know. I am proof of it.
When it comes to the long run, theories abound. A certain influencer says this, scientific research says that (yet somehow you believe the influencer, but that’s another story). Or your buddy swears at a new esoteric formula that allows you to run only twice a week and still improve all your PRs, but then, here comes fill-in-the-blank.
Most theories and formulas have their merit, but some are just quacks. Yet certain non-negotiables can’t be overlooked if you strive to improve your endurance, times, PRs, and enjoyment in running. These are my six non-negotiables:
Hydration – it is not about drinking water during your long run. It is about setting a hydration strategy that goes beyond your time pounding the asphalt. Hydration is a weeklong strategy. You can’t cram hydration the night before or the morning of your long run. A healthy intake of water and electrolytes throughout your day, every day, every week, will ensure you are primed to withstand the sweating rigors of your run, during which you must rehydrate as you go, of course. Don’t start on a deficit. In the best circumstances, it is a recipe for a bad run; in the worst, for disaster.
Night-Before Dinner – A key component to the next day’s long run success. It must be carb-rich, as they will help top off your glycogen (muscle fuel) stores. This is not the time for a big-ass stake or a huge salad. This is not the time to try that new restaurant your family has been dying to go to. This dinner is “me time”. It is about preparing for tomorrow. It’s the time to be a little selfish and make sure your posse understands your nutritional needs. You can please everyone else with their meal choice tomorrow. One more thing: Give yourself plenty of time to digest your dinner.
Pre-Run Fuel – There are plenty of benefits to running in a fasted state, but those do not apply to your long run. Even if you had the perfect meal the night before, your body used glycogen and water to keep you alive through the night. So, even if you feel you can tough it out, hydrate and have a carb-rich snack before you start. There is no reason to start your journey without your tank topped off when the solution is so accessible. Your body will thank you with better performance and less fatigue.
In-run Fueling – Even though your body is designed to perform at a certain level of dehydration and calorie deficit (meaning you don’t need to replace every drop of water as you sweat it or every calorie as you burn it), you must eventually replenish so your body continues performing over the energy demands throughout the workout. For that, you must develop your personalized protocol. Forget what experts say and figure out what is best for you. When do you need water? When do you need a gel? When do you need electrolytes? It is all about your individual needs so that you may keep the engine burning hot.
Execute your plan – When you go out for a long run, be clear about what you want to accomplish from your training, and make sure of that before you turn on your watch. You shouldn’t be surprised by a mile-repeat in the middle of your run. You shouldn’t figure out you are going 12 miles at mile 2. You should have known that yesterday, if not earlier. Being prepared is the key to success, and it’s better to avoid needing a week to recover instead of a day or two.
Purposeful Recovery – You finished your long run. Great! Congrats! Let the Strava kudos and the Instagram likes pour in. What now? Well, if you want your body to benefit from the workout, you must start the recovery process ASAP. This means you should not get in your car 30 seconds after you are done. You should catch your breath, cool down, stretch, rehydrate, ingest protein and carbohydrates (chocolate milk is an excellent way to do so), and make sure that, as your body enters recovery mode, it can recuperate stronger, faster. Eat, hydrate, and sleep so you are ready to use the benefits of that long run as soon as possible.
There are many theories about the long run, some with merits, some without. If you want to build strength, endurance, and confidence, not just for race day, but for years to come, I truly recommend you incorporate your non-negotiables into the long run. These have all been proven.
Please share your thoughts in the comment box below.
If you are reading this post within the first few days of our brand-new year of our Lord 2026, your running goals should already be set and in motion. You shouldn’t need to cram in the later months, nor should you have to adjust because you were caught unprepared. If your goals are not set yet, click here before proceeding. If they are, let’s focus on how to achieve them.
It is all about the way you present it to yourself. Image by ChatGPT
A sure way to keep yourself focused on your goals is to shift certain paradigms in your mindset. Little adjustments that, when applied, should put you in a position to achieve your 2026 goals. Some may apply to you, some may not. Let’s check them out:
1 – Focus on effort, not on pace – Easy pace is not measured in minutes and seconds per mile. It is about effort. An easy effort, hence the name. Sure, there are workouts where specific paces must be maintained. There are speeds and progressions to hit. But that is only in selected training sessions. Most of your training is always at an easy pace. So, keep it easy. Let the pace be a product of your effort, not the other way around. If sharing it on Instagram is embarrassing, keep it to yourself.
2 – Break your training into sections – Every single training has components that must be compartmentalized and distinguished so they can be appropriately executed. A light mobility session and a warm-up should be part of every single run. It is once you’ve taken care of these that your actual training session, where there are benefits to realize, starts. Regardless of what it is. Short intervals, long intervals, fartlek, progressions, you name it, all consist of segments that should be understood, respected, and executed. They are all there for a reason, so don’t rush or skip them. The same applies to the cool-down. There’s no need to jump into your car 30 seconds after turning off your watch.
3 – Running is a privilege, not a chore – Why do you run? Is anyone forcing you? Is the Boogeyman going to catch you if you stop? We run because we have chosen it as our sport, our vehicle for health, or our release valve from the stresses of life. Make it an enjoyable part of your day, not a chore. Make it your “me time” or your “social time” with your buddies. Will there be days when you would rather walk through crushed glass than go for a run? Of course! But those should be few and far between. Our running is not guaranteed. Injuries, time constraints, family demands, weather, work, and so many other distractions conspire against our running time. Understand the privilege of being able to run today and be thankful for it.
4 – Reframe your thoughts – Most runs don’t fall apart because your legs quit, but because of a thought you let go unchallenged. “I’m slowing down.” “This isn’t my day.” “I should back off.” Reframing is stepping in and editing that sentence before it becomes a decision. Not with unquestioning optimism, but with perspective. ‘I’m tired because I’m working.’ This pace still gets me where I need to go. “I don’t need to quit; I need to adjust. Once you start deliberately executing this, you will realize how often your mind jumps to conclusions your body hasn’t made yet. Running becomes less about fighting discomfort and more about managing the dialogue that surrounds it. Change the words, and the experience will often follow.
5 – Running is a journey, not a destination – There is no finish line. Races, PRs, and medals matter, of course, but they are just checkpoints. Accepting running as a lifetime journey changes the measurement of success. It’s no longer about faster times or longer distances, but about what running teaches you along the way. The patience to keep training when progress is slow. The humility of setbacks. The satisfaction of keeping showing up. Goals stop being pressure points and become refueling stations. They give direction without defining your worth as a runner. Miss one, and the journey continues. Hit one, and you keep moving forward. This mindset will keep you running for decades to come. Not because you are chasing one more medal, but because running still has something to teach you.
In 2026, let’s focus on the joy of running. Achievements and setbacks are part of the process, part of what makes running special. Always remember why you chose to run.
We are facing a brand-new year. Twelve clean-slated months ready to be lived. 365 crisp calendar pages waiting to be filled with experiences, memories, and achievements. The time has come not only to have our goals ready but also to set up a plan to realize them.
If you, like most of us procrastinators, are not thoroughly prepared for 2026, please read below to follow a structure and get there before the final countdown of 2025.
► Reflect on what happened in 2025 — To know where you are going, you must know where you are coming from. Understanding what made the previous year a success, less than that, or even a miserable failure, is the key to making the necessary adjustments. Adjustments will be needed to maintain the same trajectory or to find new paths to reach that elusive road to success. So, take your time to look back, reminisce, identify, understand, and realize before you take any steps towards defining what you want from your running in 2026.
► Set up your 2026 goals now — Do not procrastinate. Figure out what you want from your running this year. Goals may be time-related (first 5K under 25), distance-related (finally getting to 1000), social (I want to make like-minded friends), health-related (losing those last few pounds), or a combination of everything. Adjustments and detours are expected, but to adjust and recenter, you must have a clear path to your destination.
► Set up the path to achieve your goals — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (yes, The Little Prince author) said that “a goal without a plan is just a wish. Right on point! You must know how to get there and how to do so on time. Goals may need steps, checklists, reassessments, checkpoints, rewrites, refinements, and more. For time-related goals, speedwork is essential, but a 5K PR is not the same as a marathon PR. Running your first 100-miler requires a different approach than your local Turkey Trot. So, know what you are doing, why, and when.
► Register for the races — If your goal is performance-related in a specific race, time, or distance, register for a race right now as soon as you are done reading this post. Nothing will get you more focused than having a date with destiny in your calendar. I know of no focusing tool sharper than spending the money on an upcoming race. And if your goal race hasn’t opened registration yet, register for another race so you can stay active and focused until the day comes.
►Venture outside your comfort zone — Running is a sport that, beyond the health and social benefits, can teach us so much about who we are and how the bounds of our limits are far beyond what we thought possible. So, don’t get comfy just on what you know. Set up an extravagant short-term goal to keep your training fresh and varied. If you like marathons and halves, push for the fastest 5K you can. If you like the shorter distances, set up a trial date for your fastest mile ever. The options are endless: run an ultra, venture into a trail, force yourself to run slower, etc. Your imagination is the limit.
► Embrace failure — Failing is part of the process, and eventually, you will fail. You get up, dust off, figure out what happened, reassess, and keep moving forward. If you learned something from it, it is not a failure. And when you don’t get what you originally set out for, you get experience, which could be even more valuable than the original goal.
► Remember you are doing this for fun — Unless your family’s economic survival depends on your running performance, you are just running because you like it. So, make sure everything you do contributes to the enjoyment and extension of your running journey, and the satisfaction of achieving your goals while keeping yourself injury-free.
My sincere wish for you in 2026, my dear reader, is a year of endless, injury-free miles and PRs in all your distances. May you plan properly to accomplish it all.
A handful of weekends ago, while running with a friend, I asked her about her latest marathon. She had plenty to say about the poor organization, but what bugged her the most, and with plenty of reason, was her pacer’s strategy.
Banking time is the worst racing strategy ever (Image by Grok)
My friend and her buddy were aiming for a specific time goal and decided a pacer was the way to reach it. Isn’t that why they’re there? But this particular one decided the way to achieve the goal was to go faster so the group could “bank time and be ahead when they were tired at the end”.
What? Seriously? What running genius came up with that one? WTF?
The reason for a pacer’s existence is to keep a pace, hence the name. They’re there to facilitate the feasibility of you achieving a preset finishing time. I wrote about running with a pacer a few years ago, so I’m not going into the details of what it entails. I do recommend you check out that post by clicking here.
Let’s illustrate how bad this strategy sucks with an example: Let’s say you trained for a 3:59 marathon, so you’re averaging about 9:05 per mile. If your pacer is running just 5% faster, which doesn’t seem like much, he/she will be guiding you at 8:38 per mile. If you can make it to 15 miles in 2:09:30 without imploding, you will be 6:45 ahead. To make your goal time, you now have 1:49:30 to complete 11 miles. That is a 9:57 pace.
Does this make sense for someone who trained to run around a 9:05 pace?
Ensuring you hit the wall with enough time to spare when the suck fest begins will not improve your chances of hitting your goal. That’s a guarantee. My friend and her friend did the right thing; they ditched the pacer and ran their own race.
This said, what is the most sensible racing strategy for a race?
Negative Split
The best strategy is usually the negative split. Even though it sounds bad just because of the word “negative”, it is the sensible way to go, especially as distances or time on your feet get longer.
A negative split means you complete the second half of your race faster than the first. This can be achieved by properly managing a race. You start easy as you warm up and sort out the initial foot traffic, you follow your race plan to the tee, you hydrate and fuel properly, and then, you have plenty in the tank to coast to the finish line. Strong, happy, and having achieved your goal. Speaking for me alone, this is a better experience than having a few minutes to spare during a guaranteed, miserable end of the race.
In the example above, imagine the runner took three miles to warm up at 20 seconds over marathon pace, then picked it up at 5 seconds over pace until halfway. Then she picked it up for 10 miles at marathon pace, and when she found herself at mile 23, she still had enough to kick it up a notch, going 7 seconds under pace. That is a marathon in 3:59:28. First half in 2:00:50 and the second half in 1:58:38, a 2:12 negative split.
What makes more sense?
But What About a 5K?
One thing is a 5k, another one is a longer distance where you can’t push with all your might for the duration of the race.
There is a valid 5K racing strategy where you run the first mile as fast as you can, the second one a tad slower as you adjust for fatigue, and then you hold for dear life on the last mile to give it whatever you have left. This is different from banking time, as it is a short race in which you are taking advantage of being fresh at the start. You don’t have time to adjust if you make a mistake, and you still have enough in you to finish strong, even without a negative split.
There are plenty of bad racing strategies, such as running someone else’s race, running ahead of the pacers, trying new gear, not warming up if you plan to start fast, etc. But among all these crappy ones, there is an undisputed world-record holder: Banking time for later.
Any thoughts? Please share in the comment box below.
