BEATRICE RICHARDS LEANS OVER THE TAPE AND CRANES HER NECK. IT'S NOVEMBER 7, 2021, AND SHE'S STAKED OUT A SPOT ON THE CORNER OF LAFAYETTE AND BEDFORD AVENUES IN BROOKLYN, JUST PAST MILE 9 OF THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON. HER SON, THAI, SHOULD BE ALONG ANY SECOND.
Beatrice wasn't always there for Thai. Not like this, at least. She had him when she was 16; by 23 she was working long hours at the post office. As a single mom, Beatrice was determined to make a good life for herself and her son. That meant finishing college and holding down a job, sometimes more than one. It meant sacrifices. Beatrice left for work early in the morning, leaving Thai to get himself to school. Oftentimes he just stayed home.
Still, Beatrice always believed in her son. Life could be hard, but he was strong.
Standing at Lafayette and Bedford, Beatrice holds a sign she made: "Hey Mr Rager," in big green letters, underscored by three lightning bolts.
The sign refers to Rage & Release, the cannabis-centered lifestyle community Thai founded in 2017. The group meets several times a month to meditate, do breath work, share meals, and run the streets of Brooklyn, often along the same stretch of road where Beatrice is now waiting. Thai says Beatrice was furious the first time she caught him with weed. He insisted she had nothing to worry about.
Beatrice waves her sign and holds her cellphone in her other hand, ready to take a photo the instant Thai runs by. The moment is significant. In his late teens and early 20s, Thai could have easily landed in prison or been killed. Instead, at the age of 30, he's the literal face of the 2021 New York City Marathon, featured in its marketing banners, social media posts, and commercials.
Denne historien er fra Issue 03, 2022-utgaven av Runner's World.
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Denne historien er fra Issue 03, 2022-utgaven av Runner's World.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TO RUN 26.2 IS TO FEEL ALIVE
THE SUN IS rising from the east, and the waves of the Pacific crash below to the west.
LEAVE IT UP TO A PIECE OF PAPER TO TEACH YOU TO RUN EASY
BEFORE I FELL for running, I thought the hardest thing about the sport was the fast stuff: the speedwork, the sprints, and the intervals.
WHY-AND HOW-YOU SHOULD RUN DOUBLES
Those are just a few of the titles entered into my training log for the second run of a day.
FIND YOUR RUNNING COMMUNITY, ONLINE OR IN PERSON
I SIGNED UP for my first marathon while sobbing in the back of a rideshare, on my way to the airport to fly to my uncle's funeral.
FUEL WITH WHAT YOU WANT TO EAT
AS AN ULTRARUNNER, I'm all too familiar with the saying that long-distance running is an \"eating contest with a running component.\"
AT THE FERTILITY CLINIC, MY PAST CAUGHT UP WITH ME
I SAT IN the fertility doctor's office white walls, bare wooden desk, opaque window-alone.
THIS IS NOT AN ESCAPE STORY
AT 15, DARLENE STUBBS WALKED AWAY FROM A POLYGAMOUS CULT-THEN DISCOVERED A NEW LIFE AND COMMUNITY THROUGH RUNNING.
RUNNING WITH HANK
How my daughter's rambunctious mutt saved my sanity while she was lost to the darkness.
WHEN I FOUND OUT I HAD MS.I THOUGHT I'D NEVER RUN AGAIN.
I checked the pins on my bib, shimmied my spandex shorts into place, and teed up the stopwatch on my wrist.
A RUNNER'S GUIDE to sleep
Nike rocked the running world in 2018 when it released the Vaporfly 4%, claiming that the shoe could boost a runner's efficiency by that amount.
