Fall races are won in August 🍂 (+ Carl Lewis)

The runner's calendar

AUGUST → September → OCTOBER

Fall races are run in October and November. But they're won right now.

Your week in three steps

① Pick the race. This week. Date, distance, location. Without that, everything else is improvisation in running shoes.

② Count the weeks backward. From race day to today. That number decides everything: how much base you build and when intensity enters.

③ Build base before speed. Easy volume first. Intensity comes later, when the body can absorb it without breaking.

📖 Full article — how to periodize from today to your goal race

Quote of the week

"Who is initiating the items on your to-do list? When I'm most productive, I decide what I want to create and work on the task that will help build my vision. When I am less productive, I spend my day responding to what someone else sends to me — emails, texts, etc. — and often that means I end up building someone else's vision."

— James Clear

Apply it to your training: who is deciding your miles this week?

🌍 This week in running

Track · European Champs

Birmingham closed its first European Championships — 50 titles at Alexander Stadium

From August 10 to 16, the English city hosted the event for the first time. Spain travelled with its largest delegation ever — over 90 athletes — chasing more than the eight medals it took in Rome 2024.

Sprint · 100 metres

Romell Glave stuns the field with 10.09 — and Marcell Jacobs pulls up mid-final

Nobody had him on the card: European gold running at home. On the other side of the coin, the Olympic champion withdrew with a physical issue. In the 100, the body forgives nothing — and that lesson applies to any runner who ignores a warning sign before a key race.

Track · Women's sprint

Amy Hunt takes a treble and Dina Asher-Smith matches a historic mark

The interesting part isn't one isolated star: it's a lineage. The established name and the new generation training together, pulling the whole group up. If you train alone, take this as your sign to find people who push you.

Distance · Injury return

Ingebrigtsen returns from Achilles surgery — and chose the 5000, not the 1500

Almost a year without racing and the entire 2026 season gone. The detail worth gold: he came back in the event with fewer sharp pace changes, not his signature distance. Risk management, not impatience. If you're returning from injury, copy that.

Shoes · Supertrainer

CEP Pro Run Optaspeed BowTech — dual plate and supercritical foam

The compression-sleeve brand steps into plated shoes. 37/30 mm with a 7 mm drop — lower than typical racers, aiming at control alongside bounce. Good for intermediate-to-advanced runners who want versatility. Not for beginners still building base.

Shoes · Launch

Hoka moves three pieces: Clifton 11, the new Clifton Pro and Bondi 7 x Beams

The Clifton 11 is evolution, not revolution — fit tweaks, same CMEVA foam. The real news is the Clifton Pro: more rocker and PROGLIDE+ foam, a bridge between the comfortable trainer and the fast shoe. The Beams collab is pure design.

Gear · Hybrid training

Nike Hybrid: a footwear system for the hybrid athlete

Two models, not one. The Hybrid RN for training (global October 8) and the Hybrid Fly for racing, which won't land until April 2027. If you do Hyrox or competitive CrossFit, this matters. If you're a pure road runner, it doesn't.

🧠 The thread connecting all three: every launch is selling geometry and foam. But the evidence is consistent on one thing — the durability of your running economy, the kind that holds pace once you're already fatigued, is built with strength work. No plate replaces it. If you're investing in anything this fall, make it two strength sessions a week before a new pair of shoes.

Carl Lewis returns to Los Angeles 44 years later — this time without spikes

In 1984 he won four golds in that city. Today, at 65, he's heading back for LA28 as a coach at the University of Houston, developing the sprinters who will actually be on the line. What stands out most: when his athletes describe his influence, they don't talk about intervals or technique. They talk about support, guidance, an almost fatherly presence.

And the science backs it: perceived fatigue during effort isn't purely muscular — it's deeply shaped by the athlete's emotional state. A coach who builds trust lowers perceived load and improves training adherence.

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Coach Henri

USATF · TrainingPeaks · Certified Functional Strength Coach

Reply to this email any time. I read them myself.