Hello hello runner 👋 Today’s edition of RunLetters is packed with some running gold. But before we start:

Voted? Cool. Then let’s dive into today’s edition! ⤵️

“This series, The Courage To Try, is for anyone looking to be inspired. It’s not about training, or elite racing.”

That’s how 100 Miles of Hope kicks off. Episode 1 of The Courage To Try series. A tear-jerker. If you can watch this without getting emotional… well, I can’t imagine that. What it will do is leave you feeling inspired and grateful.

Props to Heather Jackson for starting this series and massive respect to the star of the first episode, Jennifer George.

Liz (@resiliencyinrunning) is a running coach and content creator, and she’s definitely raising the bar in the latter. Some credit probably goes to her partner, who works in filmmaking. Either way, she’s sharing genuinely good running advice, and the videos are both creative and a treat for the eye. It’s refreshing to see someone who isn’t just recreating trendy videos, but focuses on high-quality, creative content with her own style.

Her “12 Lessons from 12 Marathons” series is a particularly good one, packed with useful takeaways for all of us.

If you’ve ever considered going to the Netherlands, I’d say May is a great time to do it. Combine that with a running event and your trip instantly gets better. The problem is that getting into the Amsterdam or Rotterdam Marathon is no easy feat. They sell out in minutes.

Luckily, there are plenty of other beautiful options in the Netherlands. And they’re incredibly easy to get to. The country is extremely well-connected by train.

My suggestion is the Marathon of Leiden. Leiden is a smaller, very picturesque city, and it’s only about 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam’s airport, Schiphol.

You could easily stay in Amsterdam if you prefer. But as a Dutch person myself, I’d really recommend spending at least one night in Leiden too. The city has a lot to offer and gives you a very different perspective on the country.

Oh, and: the entry price is a lot cheaper (more than 50%) than, say, Amsterdam’s marathon!

If you’ve ever considered getting insoles, you’ve probably heard of Enertor. They’ve been around for a while and have built a solid reputation.

For a long time, their sole product (pun intended…) has been insoles. Now they’re coming with something new. Recovery slides.

I haven’t been able to test them myself yet, but their launch page definitely made me put my name on the waitlist. “Revolutionary shock absorption, reducing muscle and joint strain, easing muscle fatigue and accelerating recovery” sounds pretty appealing. So does the 20% discount they’re offering to people on the waitlist.

So if you’re ready to finally retire those hotel flip-flops you’ve been shuffling around the house in, this might be worth a look. You can put your name on the list here.

One heads up: right now, Enertor only ships to the US and EU.

Saw this video on YouTube the other day and thought it was pretty… epic?! I don’t know about you, but I wish they had “running stations” like this at every airport and train station around the world (including an easy runnable loop, please!).

That’s it for another edition of RunLetters ✅
What was your favourite section this week? Hit reply and let me know.

Here’s to a great weekend 🏃

Caroline

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