Table of contents for Fall 2025 in Runner's World

IF YOU LIKE WHEN YOUR BIG IMPORTANT GOAL DOESN’T LIVE UP TO THE HYPE/P.12 CHECK OUT YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR THE ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS IF YOU LIKE IS THIS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PIECE OF RUNNING APPAREL EVER MADE?/P.64 CHECK OUT THE BEST SPORTS BRAS FOR RUNNERS FOR ULTIMATE COMFORT AND SUPPORT IF YOU LIKE INSIDE THE WILDEST WELLNESS EVENT YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF/P.24 CHECK OUT 12 BUCKET LIST WORTHY RACES IF YOU LIKE GRANDPA JELLYBEAN AND THE POWER OF PERSEVERANCE/P.20 CHECK OUT 9 WAYS TOP MASTERS MARATHONERS STAY FAST AFTER AGE 50 IF YOU LIKE ARE YOU STILL A RUNNER IF YOU CANNOT RUN?/P.16 CHECK OUT HAVE YOU BEEN RUNNING FOR YEARS AND STILL STRUGGLE WITH CALLING YOURSELF A RUNNER?…

I MET A guy on a cool Friday evening in May. He asked me what I like to do. Normally, I’d answer that I’m a runner. But ever since a mysterious pain started radiating through my right leg each time my foot struck the ground on a run a few months ago, I haven’t laced up my running shoes. I started articulating that but didn’t get further than saying “injury”—the word awoke a thought in the guy he couldn’t hold back. He, too, got injured a few months earlier and wasn’t able to run much, although he wouldn’t call himself a runner to start with, but still, he sure was bummed…and there was more to his story I couldn’t hear because I was busy swallowing the rest of my sentence.…

Finding a sports bra that fits well can be challenging because sizing varies between brands and body shapes are so diverse. “It’s impossible to create a sizing scheme that works for 100 percent of women,” says LaJean Lawson. However, you can estimate your size with these three steps: 1/Record Three Measurements Bust: Around the fullest part of breasts. Round up to the nearest whole number. Chest: Around your rib cage just under your breasts. Round up to the nearest whole number. Band: Around your upper back, tight under armpits, and across upper border of your breasts. Round an odd number up to the nearest even number. 2/Calculate Cup Size Subtract chest from bust. The difference in inches roughly equals cup size: 1=A, 2=B, 3=C, 4=D, 5=DD/E, 6=DDD/F, 7=G. 3/Determine Bra…

Runner’s World+ members had a blast at the NYRR Brooklyn Half on Saturday, May 17, 2025, starting in Prospect Park and finishing on Coney Island’s iconic boardwalk. Members like Kristian Mines (bib 32823) from Columbus, Ohio, Peter McGlashan (bib 19456) from Daytona Beach, Florida, and Frank Alexander (bib 20642) from Northlake, Texas, enjoyed free race entries, training plans, and face time with RW staff (like fitness editor Monique LeBrun, below) and earned lifelong bragging rights at America’s largest half marathon. Don’t miss your chance to race with us!…

ASKER JEUKENDRUP  (@ajeukendrup) A renowned sports nutritionist, Jeukendrup uses easy-to-understand graphics to communicate food science to athletes, coaches, and a non-academic audience, says Tiller. JAE GRUENKE (@the_balanced_runner) Thoughtful posts and perspectives on running technique, says Zillén. NATHAN CARLSON  (@runningmatekc) A physical therapist with rock-solid content on injury and rehab, says Weeks. (He also produces an informative podcast with fellow PT Chris Johnson @chrisjohnsonthept.) FEMALE ATHLETE SCIENCE AND TRANSLATION RESEARCH PROGRAM (@stanfordfastr) A Stanford University program that addresses the gender gap in sports-science research and frequently posts running, nutrition, and health advice. LUKE NELSON (@sportschiroluke) Australian chiropractor and running coach. “I’ll often reshare his posts because he’s excellent,” says Weeks. Sometimes he might say something controversial, “but he’ll always back it up with the study it came from,” she says.…

MYTH I RUN SLOW, I DON’T NEED A SPORTS BRA. Joanna Wakefield-Scurr has found the opposite in her research: A slower pace actually causes the most bouncing. “Slow running is where we see the most breast movement,” she says. MYTH MY BREASTS ARE SMALL, SO I DON’T NEED THE SUPPORT. Chest size doesn’t matter. A good running bra helps prevent and reduce breast pain, which is not necessarily related to size but rather to hormonal fluctuations and tension on the supporting structures of the breast, Wakefield-Scurr says. MYTH I ONLY NEED TO GET MEASURED ONCE. Nope. “Our bodies change all the time,” says LaJean Lawson. Remeasuring yourself every few months and after major life events like weight loss/gain, pregnancy, or breastfeeding will help you stay comfortable and feel supported.…

START WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU CAN’T COMPROMISE ON? COMFORT “I can’t stand when straps dig into my neck.” TRY H-back AVOID Racerback or Criss-cross VENTILATION “I need to stay as cool as possible.” SECURE FIT “Ugh, my straps always slide down!” TRY Racerback or Criss-cross AVOID H-back ADJUSTABILITY “I like to dial in my fit to the millimeter.” TRY H-back or Criss-cross AVOID Racerback…

I RUN PAST Buckingham Palace and, after 26 miles, can finally see it: my sixth World Marathon Major finish line, the moment many runners dream about. After running through the arch, I am shepherded through the chute with hundreds of other marathoners. A volunteer hastily puts a London Marathon medal around my neck, and another adds the Six Star Medal. I hobble behind other finishers in a queue waiting to get their photo taken in front of an Abbott World Marathon Majors poster. A fleeting thought comes to mind when it’s my turn to pose for the photographer: Is this it? The next day, I sit in Heathrow Airport, scribbling on a blank page in my training journal: I just did something amazing—two marathons in one week. But I feel…

THE MORNING SUN beats down on the practice area next to the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field as Success Academy’s girls’ relay team runs through their 4 x 100 handoffs. Head coach Natilee Dawkins stands nearby, watching closely. The team is fast, but the baton handoff between the first and second legs keeps falling out of rhythm. With less than 30 minutes before the race start, Dawkins must make a decision. Not because she doubts her athletes, but because after more than 20 years as an elite runner and coach, she knows what the team needs to do on this day to win. She swaps in an alternate for the first leg. Time ticks down as the girls make their way to the staging area and take their spots on…

LONG BEFORE DIANA WOJSZNIS of Portland, Oregon, became an avid trail runner, she was a teenager with unexplained chronic pain. After years of suffering, at 28, she was diagnosed with a severe form of endometriosis, a condition in which tissue similar to the uterine lining grows elsewhere in the body. Her 30s were filled with doctors, ER visits, and several surgeries. She felt like her body was failing. To regain a sense of control over it, she prescribed herself daily walks. The simple act of mindful movement helped her cope, and soon walking became run/walking, then slow, continuous running. Within three months, Wojsznis signed up for the 2009 Portland Marathon, finishing it in under six hours. But while running did wonders for her mental state, it created another physical problem: It…