The Calories

Trailcon 2025 title sponsor and Swiss sneaker maker On has shipped a Fall ‘25 marketing campaign in collaboration with Zendaya. I have seen a few slogans including “Be Every You,” “Power of Movement,” and “Zone Dreamers” depicted through sensational and calming visual ethos - highlighting On’s new Cloudzone Moon product line. Directed by Bardia Zeinali and captured by photographer Emily Lipson, the series promotes what I believe to be On’s entry into everyday wear - “athleisure.” This strategy parallels recents Alo’s signing of Joe Burrow (brand awareness market expansion to males) and American Eagles viral Sydney Sweeny ads (promotion through a cultural magnet). On leveraging a global icon affords further penetrating a growth market for them, the US, through brand awareness and expanded closet capture while they continue to grow their talent portfolio. On has recently entered the tennis world (Iga Swiatek and Ben Shelton), trail running (Kate Schide), and now non-athletes in Zendaya. I am curious to follow how they position themselves against incumbents Lululemon, Alo, Athleta, and Vouri in shoppers reaching for non-technical threads. 

Are Ultra Runners vulnerable to Pre-diabetes? Imagine consuming 5 Krispy Kreme donuts, 4 packs of Swedish Fish, or 3 cans of Coke per hour for 5+ hours. That’s basically what modern endurance fueling can look like. Athletes now routinely reach for syrup sachets (Maurten, Science in Sport, Gu, etc.), pushing 100+ grams of carbs per hour. The logic is simple: muscles need glucose to generate energy, and their stored glycogen runs low during long efforts, so active fueling keeps them going. When you’re hammering gels for hours, blood sugar can spike, and you can feel symptoms like fatigue, blurred vision, headaches, and frequent peeing. I targeted 100g/hour during my 10-hour Superior 50 Mile and felt some of these. It’s impossible to know if that was blood sugar, dehydration, or something else, but it got me thinking. The current research (most of it done at lower carb intakes) suggests it takes far more chronic stress to develop real insulin resistance or pre-diabetes, and endurance athletes generally have excellent insulin sensitivity at rest. But as fueling volume increases I would like to follow how long-term effects develop!

Summer is setting here in Tahoe as the alpine evenings fall colder faster and darker sooner. Children are back to school and Truckee has become a bit quieter. After two decades of embracing the return to a new school year, my mom is now retired. I am proud of her. She now enters her perpetual summer. No more commuting, no more angry parents, no more kids’ fits and tantrums. The days of youth where a Wednesday was no different than a Saturday. Each day a blank canvas to chase imagination. Liberated from calendars, obligations, stand-up meetings. Cheers to you mom. Kick off your socks and walk barefoot. 

Our proudest achievement. A promotion, becoming a father, summiting that mountain. A single point in time. Given our finite time on earth, at some point each of us will encounter it, and then we will be beyond it. Maybe that’s not true. I wouldn’t imagine people who win the lottery feel that is their proudest moment. Achievements and moments people feel most satisfied with are nurtured seeds of goals and motivations which have come to blossom. Maybe it’s not a point in time but the integral of decisions along the journey. What seeds are you planting today? 

I have recently found myself revisiting these Collaborative Fund blogs from March 2020. The world entered a new, highly ambiguous, reality overnight. The current state of the union (and humanity) seems similarly overwhelming and dire. I am challenged with which ever-changing global and local issue to focus my emotional capacity and energy on. Conversations quickly turn pessimistic or hostile. Morgan Housel brings me some relief in how resilient, community driven, and empowered we can be through difficult times. 

World Athletic Championships are off and running (literally) in Tokyo. My summer training block started to incorporate more speed, flat, and track work. Having not come from a track or cross country background, I found terms ‘tempo,’ ‘fartlek,’ and ‘posterior chain’ as foreign as the moon. Thankfully athletes, through sponsorship agreements and alternative engagement channels, have been welcomingly vulnerable, sharing their plans on Strava and long-form via Youtube. Clayton Young (American mid-distance and distance runner) Youtube sub is not just educational, but motivational, personable, and visually compelling. I highly recommend it. Good luck to the American’s overseas this week. Follow the Championships timetable here. 

Workout of the Week 

Tapering and I don’t have the healthiest relationship. I struggle the most the week(ish) leading up to race weekend. I begin to question the volume of carbs I maintain eating. “Could I squeeze another workout to get me that extra percent?” I sleep poorly because my mind and muscles grow restless. I struggle.

The Purpose: A few days (2+) from your race, allow yourself to move fast, feel fast, and sweat a little in a targeted compact block. My goal was to elevate my cardio without overly stressing my muscles. 

The Venue: Track (flat) 

The Workout: i. A proper, painfully slow, warm-up (15-20min) ii. Typical track dynamic stretch and calisthenics iii. 1x each with walking rest to comfort - 800m (aerobic threshold), 600m (sub lactic threshold), 400m (as comfortably fast as possible), 400m (as comfortably fast as possible), 600m (sub lactic threshold), 800m (aerobic threshold) iv. Stretch and painfully slow cool down (15+ min walk for me to end too). 

The Sensation: Euphoric movement without material muscle fatigue.