A growing focus of Running for Real is the climate emergency and the ways in which runners are impacted by climate change and global warming. In addition to having guests on the podcast who could speak to these topics, we wanted to provide our community with actionable steps they could take.

As part of that, Tina created a “100 Days of Sustainability” series of Instagram reels and emails, demonstrating ways to be sustainable in our daily lives. 

We also launched a series of Sustainable Runner’s Guides to cities in which major races are held. So far we’ve covered Chicago and New York, and while the guides refer to the marathons held there, you can use them for any trip to those cities. They include suggestions about transportation, accommodation, restaurants, shopping, and green spaces to visit, so you’ll find plenty of fun things to do while being kind to Mother Earth. We also have a Sustainable Packing Guide that you can use for all your travels!

Speaking of the Chicago and New York City marathons, this year Tina worked with the sustainability team of the Chicago Marathon, and hosted a plogging event with the New York Road Runners as part of their marathon activities. Plogging originated in Sweden – the name is a combination of “jogging” and “plocka upp,” the Swedish phrase for “picking up.” It’s very simple to do; you just pick up litter while you’re out for a run or a walk!

The Running for Real podcast explored what it means to live sustainably as part of the wider running community, and introduced our audience to guests with a broad range of life experiences, abilities, and stories. Tina’s interview with Jordan Marie Daniels won the award for Best Podcast Episode of 2021 at the Outdoor Media Summit held this fall.

In addition to the regular podcast episodes on Fridays, Tina has continued to take the Running for Real community with her on Together Runs. They almost always include a nature check-in, a senses check-in, a body scan, and a mental health check-in. There’s an opportunity to practice those on this episode!

This year, we also featured a special, limited podcast series called Running Reunion, short episodes where Tina caught up with former podcast guests.

The shorter episodes proved popular, so in the summer we transformed Running Reunion into Weekly Strides, where Tina answers listeners’ questions about running. The podcast episodes are on hiatus, but we’re releasing new video episodes on our YouTube channel. 

Be sure to subscribe to Running for Real on YouTube, because we have a project coming up there that we’ve very excited about! RED-S: Realize, Reflect, Recover is for anyone affected by Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, from beginning runners to elite athletes. Whether someone wonders if they should be concerned about health symptoms or knows that they have RED-S and is struggling to recover, these videos provide education and support, and the program offers the opportunity to connect with experts in the field. We’ll be sharing more information about it in the coming weeks, so if you’d like to learn more, the best way is by getting Tina’s weekly newsletter.  There’s a link to subscribe on the website.

By subscribing to the weekly emails, you’ll also be kept up-to-date on Tina’s book, Becoming a Sustainable Runner, co-written with Zoë Rom. It explores the multifaceted nature of how the running community can create healthier attitudes towards running that focus on long-term, sustainable approaches to participating in the sport for the benefit of individuals, community, and  the planet.

Running for Real couldn’t exist without our community. “Thank you” to every one of you. If you have any questions or thoughts you’d like to share with us, always feel free to reach out. You can email kat@runningforreal or sally@runningforreal, and they’ll direct you to the right place.

Happy 2023 from Tina and the Running for Real team!