Yesterday I turned 32 and treated myself to an incredible trail run in the mountains of Colorado:
Of course, I had to justify the heaps of birthday snacks I treated myself to during the day!
In between running and eating, I kept thinking of how incredibly fortunate I am. I’m trying to practice more gratitude so I spent time thinking about everything I’m grateful for in my life.
And I couldn’t stop thinking about Strength Running.
I believe so strongly in this community – and you. Every single runner who I talk with via email, Twitter, Skype, or in person reminds me that running has the power to bring us together.
It doesn’t matter if you just started running yesterday and couldn’t make it down the block or you’re hoping for a sub-3 marathon soon.
Despite any differences in ability, what binds us together is our love of this sport. The passion we have for improving and becoming better versions of ourselves brings us together as one “team.”
And I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of this community.
Just as important is the work we’re doing here together:
- Injuries are common – but we know they’re not inevitable. The training at SR has kept thousands of you healthy – and we should all be proud of that
- We know that conventional advice like, “follow the 10% Rule” or “beginners should never run fast” are incomplete and there are better ways to accomplish our biggest goals
- We ignore training fads (CrossFit, anyone?) and gimmicks to focus on fundamentals. And the race results of the SR Team prove we’re doing good work here
I know there are a lot of people you can turn to for running advice – and I appreciate you being here, focusing on what really works, so that you can get stronger, stay healthy, and race faster.
Whenever I get a glowing note from a runner like Christie, Nick or Aimee (and there are so many more I don’t have time to publish!) about their huge personal bests or how much weight they’ve lost it makes my day.
I share your successes with my family at dinner – and I know it’s a good week when I have something to share every day! Please keep them coming 😉
And for those who haven’t yet had a breakthrough – please let me know how I can help. When you’re on the team, your success is my priority.
Birthdays are a unique opportunity to reflect on what’s coming down the road in the future. So today I want to share what’s next at Strength Running.
What’s Coming Soon at Strength Running
There are big, exciting projects being worked on at SR HQ. Now that we reach so many runners, we have the resources to hire video and content editors to help make this community even better.
You might have noticed some big projects and investments in SR throughout the year:
- Q&A with Coach is filmed in 1080p HD video – with enhanced audio
- The site was totally redesigned last January
- We launched Nutrition for Runners and it quickly became one of SR’s most popular programs
- My book Running for Health & Happiness debuted as a #1 Sports book on Amazon
But there are also other projects – arguably a lot more exciting! – being developed right now. Runners on the team will be the first to know about these projects, but here’s a quick preview:
1. SR is getting smarter about how to help you more specifically. We’ve invested close to $10,000 in a new email system that will tailor the right training content for you.
And when I can give you the right training advice at the right time – with the kind of results we saw earlier – I know you’ll be a Strength Runner until you hang up your running shoes.
2. The new coaching program is almost here! Over the last year, I’ve invested over $10,000 into a new program that will make coaching more affordable, helpful, and (most importantly) effective at helping you reach your goals.
It’s taking longer than expected, but I hope to have more information in 1-2 months. If you’re interested, get on the early-bird list and I’ll send you all the juicy details when they’re ready.
3. Soon I’ll be focusing more on true beginners – runners who are brand new to the sport and may not be able to run for more than 5-10 minutes.
These athletes are the future of our sport. They’re the runners who will be lining up at Boston, New York, London, Berlin, Chicago, and every other major marathon around the world.
And I’m thrilled to help this next generation of runners thrive and succeed.
If you’re not part of the team on the Strength Running email list, then you’ll miss out on these projects so join us now. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m more excited than ever to share these with you!
It’s Time to Celebrate
Since I just turned 32, I want to ask you for an unusual birthday present: I’d like to know how Strength Running has helped your running.
Did you run a new PR? Did you stay healthy for a whole training cycle?
Maybe you fueled properly for your goal race and finished strong. Or focused on consistency and reached a new mileage record.
I’m really interested in the numbers – how big of a PR did you get? How long did you stay healthy?
This is all I want for my birthday this year and it would mean the world to me if you shared your successes. And you can bet that I’ll be reading every comment on this post!
If Strength Running has helped your running in any way, leave your comment below.
As always, thank you for being part of this wonderful community. I’ll talk to you soon.
– Jason.
