If you were sending a kid to school to run today, which school would you favor?
I definitely follow pro running more, though I do follow the Stanford men's team quite a bit. And sometimes it's useful! I remember about ten years ago, when I worked at the New Yorker and a young product manager came in and said "Hello, my name is Nef Araia" and I was like "NO WAY, YOU'RE NEF ARAIA?" which kind of surprised the rest of the company.
I don't know enough about different college programs, but I would certainly suggest to my kids that they choose the school based on academics first and athletics second. I'm going to go through this soon with my 15-year-old son who is an excellent soccer player and student. I've started to talk a bit with soccer coaches and we're going to a showcase this weekend. So this will soon be my life.
That very exciting congrats to them!
I have a young kid and the modern team sports scene seems... very intense.
There are real benefits to team sports, but running seems easier on the travel schedule, outside of school commitment, and $$. I guess I won't have a choice, it's up to them :)
Ok. I apologize if this has been asked but I was driving home from the office to home.
This is for Jonathan Gault (Dartmouth alum). In the book, Vin Lananna talks about how the kids at Stanford had to study which was a lot different. Was that a dig at Dartmouth/Oregon or both?
I mean he'd come from Dartmouth. Did you get a sense he felt Stanford was much harder academically than just Oregon or both Oregon and Dartmouth?
Hello Nick, Thank you for answering people's questions, I love The Atlantic and think it addresses the problems society faces and the ones on the horizon a lot more seriously and with a lot more curiosity than other publications.
I would love to ask you about how you would advise a young aspiring writer today, of either fiction or journalism, particularly somebody lacking in the Ivy League sort of credentials and relationships.
Do you have any idea what you might do if you yourself were a young person trying to build a career in writing today?
I'm worried that it might be almost entirely hopeless to get published as a young male fiction writer these days, and that the doors of journalism might be essentially closed to me unless I can somehow dredge up a following on Substack and social media.
And that sounds like a fairly miserable undertaking to me. But maybe it's just necessary and I need to get over it.
Sorry for all the rambling, would love any advice if you have a minute, no need for nearly as lengthy of a response!
Don't be discouraged or defeatist. Journalism is under a lot of pressure today. The business model is challenged. Public trust is low. AI might be a disaster for us. But here's the thing: it's still absolutely one of the most meritocratic businesses there is. You don't need a credential or a degree. To get published, all you need is //an awesome story idea.// It's very hard to find the right one, but if you can get out there and write great stories, people will see. You'll get assignments and things will work out.
One of the things I love about running is that it's just you. People can say whatever they want about me. But they can't say I didn't run a 2:29 marathon or set the record in the 50k. In a team sport, it's different. In most of life, it's different. And journalism is similar to running in this regard. If you write a f'in amazing story and it appears on the Internet, that's you.
Thank you for the very thoughtful response, it's inspiring. Reading my own post a second time the undertone of defeatism and fear is really apparent and thank you for getting to the heart of things and seeing that as my main issue rather than any of the tactical type of questions I had.
Reframing it in my head as a meritocracy or near-meritocracy I think could help me a ton, thanks again!
I am still curious about when things went off the rails in New York. I personally never figure out the marathon but some I just wasn't even close to what I thought I should be running from the getgo which didn't make sense. Probably was a head case or because I tried some crazy carbo delpletion/storage thing.
Do you ever shift to just finishing or are you still pushing for time?
What does Nick's mother think of his father and the book? I enjoyed the read but felt a bit bad so much of it was devoted to his father who seemed like a real ahole and whose actions destroyed the family unit. I mean Nick just casually mentioned his dad would file custody lawsuits on his mother's birthday or on mother's day. That he called in fake kidnapping hoaxes to the cops, etc. Had romantic partners who would kill their animals, etc. Were any of the kids ever mad at dad or were all of his actions just forgiven since he came out as gay?
I forgave my father, but I forgave him in part because of the love that he offered me, even as he created chaos and pain. He was there for me always, and I never doubted how much he wanted the best for me. I don't think he offered the same love and caring to my sisters.
Nick,
I was very sorry to miss your interviews with letsrun for a number of reasons, but especially because of what you've said about your father and your relationship with him.
A very close friend of mine was also a very close friend of your father. In fact, my friend thought enough of the both of us that he tried to set us up, after showing your father my picture and providing some educational and professional background about me. When I told my friend that I was not gay, he was a bit surprised, because, he said, I was tall, thin, good-looking, sweet, childless, and never married. I reminded him that I also had two cats, so -- all things considered -- I could understand his misapprehension. I, of course, thought that it was hilarious. And over the years, my friend has told me much about your father, whom he knew about as long as you did. (I even took it upon myself to watch your father's rather famous debate with Noam Chomsky at Tuft's Fletcher School; I thought your father did very well.) My friend thought the world of your father, all the way up until your father's death, which affected my friend very deeply.
I've read quite a lot about your relationship with your father and how you viewed him. It did not surprise me that my friend has very different views, but I've come to appreciate the Rashomon-like quality of memories and perceptions, and I generally recognize that people see these kinds of things through their own lenses. Your father was certainly an interesting man.
As for the various other subjects you've discussed in your book -- including, of course, running -- I'm sure that we'd have much to talk about if we were ever to cross paths. And I do want to note that I'm a long-time subscriber to both The Atlantic (which I read closely, and have often recommended to others) and Wired (which I quickly peruse only out of a desire to feel relevant in the modern world).
1) I'm curious how they got into it and what other sports they played and how you keep it fun.
They played all kinds of sports when young, and I tried to get them to do it as much as possible. They both got really good during Covid when we were up in the Catskills and we played "family soccer" every single night. We're a family of 7---three kids, two grandparents---and we would usually have six of us out there.
2) I'm sure you're familiar with David Epstein's view that everyone overspecializes in sports these days. But I only have a 5-year-old and I'm hearing stories from slightly older parents it's crazy. You can only influence the system you are a part of so much. If my daughter enjoys something and is good at it I'll encourage that.
Yes, my view is to support anything they want to do but to push them to do nothing.
Yes! I need to start doing that. (And Wejo, feel free to go back and edit the quote button so it appears.)
I love Rich Roll. He's smart, wise and kind. I also think that Alex Hutchinson is as smart as they come when it comes to analyzing studies and news about the sport. Steve Magness is brilliant. And Brett Kirby at Nike is one of the most thoughtful and insightful people I've ever met.
Not familiar with Brett but via Google I see he is in charge of performance at Nike. Those guys should be engaging themselves more directly with the running community.
At Nike I know the athletes (good thing) and the coaches (until recently not always the best) but no one else.
I forgave my father, but I forgave him in part because of the love that he offered me, even as he created chaos and pain. He was there for me always, and I never doubted how much he wanted the best for me. I don't think he offered the same love and caring to my sisters.
Nick,
I was very sorry to miss your interviews with letsrun for a number of reasons, but especially because of what you've said about your father and your relationship with him.
A very close friend of mine was also a very close friend of your father. In fact, my friend thought enough of the both of us that he tried to set us up, after showing your father my picture and providing some educational and professional background about me. When I told my friend that I was not gay, he was a bit surprised, because, he said, I was tall, thin, good-looking, sweet, childless, and never married. I reminded him that I also had two cats, so -- all things considered -- I could understand his misapprehension. I, of course, thought that it was hilarious. And over the years, my friend has told me much about your father, whom he knew about as long as you did. (I even took it upon myself to watch your father's rather famous debate with Noam Chomsky at Tuft's Fletcher School; I thought your father did very well.) My friend thought the world of your father, all the way up until your father's death, which affected my friend very deeply.
I've read quite a lot about your relationship with your father and how you viewed him. It did not surprise me that my friend has very different views, but I've come to appreciate the Rashomon-like quality of memories and perceptions, and I generally recognize that people see these kinds of things through their own lenses. Your father was certainly an interesting man.
As for the various other subjects you've discussed in your book -- including, of course, running -- I'm sure that we'd have much to talk about if we were ever to cross paths. And I do want to note that I'm a long-time subscriber to both The Atlantic (which I read closely, and have often recommended to others) and Wired (which I quickly peruse only out of a desire to feel relevant in the modern world).
All my best.
This is truly incredible. And thank you. I can't believe that you have also seen the debate with Chomsky. My father was a remarkable man.
My two younger boys run with me! My 15-year-old and I have a joint pledge that when he is 18, we are going to run a marathon in a combined time of less than six hours. Though, after my last race, my son said "Now I'm going to have to carry."
I am still curious about when things went off the rails in New York. I personally never figure out the marathon but some I just wasn't even close to what I thought I should be running from the getgo which didn't make sense. Probably was a head case or because I tried some crazy carbo delpletion/storage thing.
Do you ever shift to just finishing or are you still pushing for time?
Dropping out is a no go?
I knew it was going to be a tough day at NYCM. My resting heart rate was like 15 beats a minute higher than normal all week. My respiratory rate was way off. My Whoop measures recovery score and I think my weekly average was less than 10/100. I. clearly had some kind of respiratory infection. So I took it out conservatively and figured I would start at 6:30 pace. If things felt bad, I'd still go under 2:50. If I felt good, I could try to push and get into the low 2:40s.
I held the pace until mile 10, but by then I knew something was really off. I then tried one adjustment: at mile 15, I told myself that I would just run 7:00s so that I could finish under 3:00. But by mile 17, I stopped that. I just flipped my watch so that I couldn't see the pace field and kept repeating to myself "continuous forward motion." At that point, the only thing I cared about was finishing without stopping. From late on 1st avenue until the finish, I thought almost nothing about finishing time.
How do you rate Citius mag? Did you ever read Grantland?
I love em both. Very different approaches to journalism but both very useful. I read Grantland all the time and actually hired one of their writers to come to The New Yorker.
Ok. I apologize if this has been asked but I was driving home from the office to home.
This is for Jonathan Gault (Dartmouth alum). In the book, Vin Lananna talks about how the kids at Stanford had to study which was a lot different. Was that a dig at Dartmouth/Oregon or both?
I mean he'd come from Dartmouth. Did you get a sense he felt Stanford was much harder academically than just Oregon or both Oregon and Dartmouth?
I read it as a commentary on the way the runners at Oregon approached the sport. He was specifically speaking about how when you go to one school you learn what was hard about the last one. And, honestly, I didn't hear it as a dig at all. He was just observing what he had seen from the teams.
Nick, has there been moments of promoting your book that you’ve really enjoyed? Have you enjoyed the entire promotion or has it just been exhausting? I ask cause a lot of runners seem introverted, including myself, and I wonder how you manage it all including professional success. I have enjoyed all your content! And previous running content over the years.
Oh I've loved it. The best thing is that, every time I open my inbox, I hear from someone new who has read the book and found something in it. People ask great questions and they're pushing me to think more deeply about things I care about. Just yesterday, I got an email from a woman who had dated my father //in the 1950s// and who wanted to send me letters that he had sent her back then.
I loved doing those with Malcolm too! It was easier though when we both worked at The New Yorker. I don't think his bosses there would be too excited with him doing something at The Atlantic. And I don't think folks here would be too happy if I started posting with him over there. But he's a joy --- as a writer and a person --- and I'm sure he'd be game to do something here.
You all are both welcome to meet in the middle and do them for free on LetsRun :)
Or we could just do a yearly Q&A with you all or podcast on your running takes.
Related to such, the 10,000 hours vs don't specialize debate, it's not one or the other necessarily is it?
Done deal. We just need Malcolm to sign off.
As for the general debate: I do believe you need a lot of focused practice at the specific thing you want to be good at. To me, some of the most valuable hours I've spent in my life came when I was obsessed about becoming a better writer. I would spend hour after hour, reading the best writers out loud. I would study their prose and try to understand it. There's no question that moved me up a level or two. But I also think that there are real risks to specializing as a young kid, either academically or athletically, and I like that, even now, my two younger kids --- despite playing soccer fiver or six days a week for an elite soccer club in Queens --- still do all kinds of other sports. This evening, in fact, my elder son is about to do a time trial for his high school swim team. And I spent last weekend playing baseball with the little one.
Oh I've loved it. The best thing is that, every time I open my inbox, I hear from someone new who has read the book and found something in it. People ask great questions and they're pushing me to think more deeply about things I care about. Just yesterday, I got an email from a woman who had dated my father //in the 1950s// and who wanted to send me letters that he had sent her back then.
Cool story. Glad the book has need such a great experience.
Thank you so much for doing this Q&A. I’ll leave the questions open if people still have thoughts or comments.
As for the general debate: I do believe you need a lot of focused practice at the specific thing you want to be good at. To me, some of the most valuable hours I've spent in my life came when I was obsessed about becoming a better writer. I would spend hour after hour, reading the best writers out loud. I would study their prose and try to understand it. There's no question that moved me up a level or two. But I also think that there are real risks to specializing as a young kid, either academically or athletically, and I like that, even now, my two younger kids --- despite playing soccer fiver or six days a week for an elite soccer club in Queens --- still do all kinds of other sports. This evening, in fact, my elder son is about to do a time trial for his high school swim team. And I spent last weekend playing baseball with the little one.
When your soccer player kids run do they look like runners?
One thing since I moved to SF, is I see a lot more XC teams just being in a city.
A high school XC team just ran by and anytime I see a high school team running around I’m amazed awkward everyone looks running. But if I see a 45 year old running the same pace they often look more natural.
I haven’t figured it out. My theories are 1) running efficiently takes time. It’s an acquired skill. 2) the non-athletic kids have opted for cross country. and 3) if the average 45 year-old was as lean as a high school kid they might bounce around more and look less smooth