Time Spent

Slowing Down For Others

We live a pretty fast-paced life—or at least we like to think so. We fill it to the brim with work, interests, passions, hobbies. We prioritize our “alone time” (cue audible laughter from every parent reading this) and just soaking up time with each other’s favorite person (we really like each other). Our daily lives revolve around a very selfish endeavor—running. And sometimes, we forget just how much.

Running is a lot of things. It’s self-fulfilling. It’s a career (thankfully allowing us to eat more than just rice and beans or Cup O’ Noodles). It gives us the privilege of seeing the world. But it’s also a relentless time-sucker and energy-depleter. And when you’re running low on both, the people in your life are usually the first to take the hit. Not in an "Adios, I’m a serious athlete now, no time for you" kind of way. More like getting invited to a friend’s birthday on a Saturday night and realizing… yeah, that’s not happening because Sunday’s long run is calling.

And look, we get it. We fully support committing to training and striving for excellence (back to our rule of not half-assing life). We are also completely guilty of bailing on plans—not for some noble, high-performance reason, but simply because we’d rather sit on the couch, watch Netflix, and be in bed by 8 p.m. so we can do our thing in the morning.

But recently, we had one of those life moments that made us pause. Made us think about how we’re treating the people who matter most—how to actually spend time with them, even when it’s not the most convenient for us. Because at the end of the day, what is running, really? Just an evolved version of chasing down prey that we now glorify as something more.

Is this a deeper Substack than we intended? Probably. But we want to write about everything—the fun, the hard, the challenging. We want to show who we are, how we think, and what makes us more than just "those runners you follow."

We realized we’d gotten so caught up in our routine, our goals, and our priorities that we were neglecting the people who make life full—our parents, childhood friends, teammates. And honestly? This little epiphany might have come from less screen time (huge win), because who knows what slippery slope we were headed down. Just imagine Eli and Tabor, fully off-grid, living in a yurt, growing our own food, and abandoning all human contact. Not the worst thing (kind of appealing, actually), but probably not great for two people under 30.

In our very selfish pursuit of trying to be some of the best trail runners in the world, we’ve realized that the only way we’ll ever get there is with the people around us. And if we neglect those relationships? We’d crumble like a sandcastle in a hurricane. Not only would that suck for us, but it’d also be a huge disservice to everyone who’s helped us get here.

Without “our people,” we’d be lost. And honestly, the journey wouldn’t even be worth it. So we’re making a shift—saying yes to dinner plans, reaching out for coffee or a run, actually calling our parents and siblings just to chat. Because these are the moments that really matter.

Being on top of a mountain? Hell yeah, that’s cool. But doing it alone? Hard pass.

So here’s your first week of March PSA: Slow down. Take time. And remember—it’s just running.