Disconnected Connection

Hello! Welcome back to Footprint – and happy Friday.

We live in an overconnected world, and often overwhelming times. This week’s newsletter – inspired by an answer Kílian Jornet gave in a recent interview – is about how running can help chart a course.

The elite fields for the Boston and London marathons have been revealed, with Sharon Lokedi, Jess McClain and Calli Hauger-Thackery among those preparing for Boston, and Sifan Hassan (pictured), Hellen Obiri and Tigst Assefa gearing up for London • Read / Read

US marathoner Fiona O’Keefe reflected on immigration, and her experiences in running, amid alarming developments in Minneapolis. “We are all human at the end of the day,” she writes, “and the sport is a beautiful reminder of how simple that can be” • Read

Quincy Wilson, the youngest male track and field Olympian in US history, is trying to enjoy his final years as a teenager. Eli Cohen profiles him for The Washington Post, and its brilliant sports section • Read

Tracksmith’s Matt Taylor is stepping down as CEO, just over a decade after its launch. “I thought running deserved better,” writes Taylor, now the brand’s chief creative officer • Read

Olympian Jeff Galloway, 80, is determined to complete one more marathon. Danielle Friedman meets him for The New York Times • Read

The mountain athlete Kílian Jornet is fêted among the world’s greatest athletes. He has, after all, won most major ultramarathons; climbed Everest twice in one week; and over a month last fall scaled 72 peaks of at least 14,000 feet across Colorado, California and Washington, cycling in between, to cover the equivalent of a Tour de France stage and a marathon, every day.

Jornet has been asked many times what drives him: why he pushes higher, faster and further, beyond lines that others see as limits. Traversing mountains at speed brings “freedom and connection,” he has written.

It’s 2026. From phones, computers and watches to televisions, tablets, glasses and rings, we rarely stray far from a device that’s wired to the world. Days are punctuated by push notifications, prompting our thumbs and eyes to resume scrolling. We’ve arguably never been more connected, for better or worse.

So how exactly does running full pelt up a mountain move the dial? “In the first instance, it’s to connect with oneself,” Jornet explained to The New York Times in a recent interview. “We are overconnected with so many things.

“Every second we are getting information on social media, on the news, of things that are very far away, and we don’t often find the time to connect with ourselves, our body, our mind and with the people we love. When I run in the mountains, it’s to find this connection.”

It’s the penultimate day of January – typically a challenging month, with inboxes stacked high as temperatures tumble low, short bursts of daylight teeing up a long year ahead. But recent weeks, dominated in the US by horrifying headlines from Minneapolis and beyond, have proven particularly trying.

Covering the news is my job. I’m lucky enough to work with some of the best in the business to report, explain and analyze what’s happening. Even I sometimes feel the urge to look away, despite the need for everyone to pay attention.

Every notification and social media post, whether worthy of your attention or not, is another attempt to grab it. Once you’ve sifted through the slop, what remains is often hard to process.

Constant connection with all of this can easily leave anyone feeling overwhelmed – and, at times, disconnected from the people and parts of life that matter to you most.

While Jornet runs up mountains at mind-boggling speeds, you don’t have to scale a 14,000-foot peak to encounter what he describes. There’s something about running anywhere, at any pace, that can somehow leave your fundamental ties feeling stronger.

As much of the US geared up for a massive winter storm last week, I went out for a run with my wife before it hit. The sun was setting over Boston. Along the banks of the Charles River it was as face-achingly cold as it was breathtakingly beautiful.

Exposed to the elements, the bracing wind and fading light offered a fleeting reprieve from the forces that pull you away from the here and now.

For a few moments, there and then, I was able to focus squarely on putting one foot in front of the other. The extremities of the New England dusk disentangled me, briefly, from an overconnected world.

FP35 • Historian Sarah Franklin on exploring running’s past • Read

FP34 • Olympian Patrick Dever on running his debut marathon – and finishing fourth • Read

FP33 • Athlete and race director Cal Neff on memories and records • Read

As Minnesota continues to grapple with a surge of federal agents, runners in the state are banding together. This report for Outside, by David Gleisner, is worth your time.

Chris Lundstrom, head coach of Minnesota Distance Elite, described in his newsletter this morning how members of the team have been delivering groceries and supplies, and providing legal support to people who need it. “We’re heartened to see a diverse group of people representing different political, religious and spiritual beliefs come together to stand up for what’s right,” he wrote.

Mill City Running in Minneapolis is still holding group runs, despite the frigid temperatures. Andrea Haus, the store’s community and marketing manager, told Outside: “If running helps people take a breath or take a pause… then we want to be here to keep doing that.”