
A beautiful 35-degree run near Oval Beach in Saugatuck, Michigan.

“What do you think of the marathon world record [2:02:57]?”
“I remember when [Geoffrey] Mutai went 2:03:02 [at 2011 Boston], but it didn’t count because it was wind-aided. At the time, that was the fastest marathon. And I remember seeing 2:03:02 and thinking, Wow that’s so close to 2:02, and thinking, That’s stupid fast. To put it in not-runner terms, so people can fully understand it…like, most people can’t sprint that fast. I mean, I doubt the average person could run a 400 as fast as all the elite marathoners’ pace. But let alone, that world record is just like…I mean, that’s gonna stay for a while, I think. There really is no words to describe it. You can say it’s ridiculous, it’s stupid fast, it’s unbelievable—but the fact of the matter is, until you’re there to see someone run that fast for that long in person, I don’t think you can fully understand just how fast that is. Or if you tried to do it even for a little bit yourself. Like go out there and set a treadmill at 4:42 [mile pace], and then just see how long you can do that for. I mean, they’re crazy.”

“I was cut from my seventh- and eighth-grade basketball teams. Me and Nick Ready were the only two kids to be cut from both teams, both years. At that point, I decided that maybe basketball isn’t my thing. Then after playing basketball this weekend with the boys, that thought was only solidified by me going 1-for-17 from behind the arc. … I’ve been on plenty of long runs when I thought, I think I might’ve missed my calling. Ya know? If I was just a little bit taller, a little bit bigger and a little bit better at basketball. … Nothin’ but net.”