Borderlands Trail and Ultra Running8 Apr

Why Running Changes You (It’s Not Just Fitness) with Raz Rauf

Trail running and running culture go beyond training plans, races, and performance. Raziq Rauf explains why running isn’t just a sport, but a reflection of identity, place, community, and modern running culture.

Raziq is the author of This Is Running and writes the newsletter Running Sucks. In this episode, we talk about running as culture, not just competition: place, community, creativity, solitude, fashion, consumerism, and why a run can change the person who started it. We also get into Haruki Murakami, narrative writing, run clubs, The Speed Project, and the strange modern shift from running as a sport to running as a lifestyle.

This episode is for runners who care about the meaning of the sport, not just the metrics.

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Topics / Timestamps

00:00 - The Deeper Meaning of Running
01:12 - The Meaning of Running
15:19 - The Evolution of Running Culture
16:43 - Shifting Perspectives on Running Culture
25:02 - Running as a Radical Act
30:50 - The Intersection of Running and Self-Improvement
43:01 - Exploring Creativity in Running
46:05 - The Solitude of Running and Creativity

Resources / Links

Related Episodes

Presented by Kiprun.

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Want to run in the Salt Lake area? Check out the Salt Lake Foothills Trail Races happening May 30, 2026.

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