The Wrinkled Runner
The Wrinkled Runner
The Boston Run Show Recap
Hey Running Friends!
The Boston Run Show has transformed into an extraordinary event combining running with outdoor adventure at the massive Boston Convention Center. It featured running legends like Des Linden, Meb Keflezighi, and Laz Lake alongside innovative gear and community activities.
Give this episode a listen, and plan NOW to be there for next year. Those of us who are ambassadors just found out it will be held at The Royal Plaza Trade Center on February 28-March 1, 2026. This change of venue will allow for a better vendor experience, free parking and an outdoor space. The event space is 30 miles outside Boston in Marlborough, MA.
Make sure you're subscribed to my newsletter and following me on social media for free tickets to next year's show, which I give away from September right up to the event weekend.
Resources from the Episode:
Run Buddy - app for personal safety
Kickr Treadmill - allows you to run without "help", the deck will respond to your pace for a more realistic experience
If you are looking for a coach to help you reach your running goals, even if it's just to start to run, take a look at my Coaching Services page on the website. I do virtual, in-person (Buffalo, NY area) and also offer single zoom sessions for those would just like to chat with a coach one time.
I am also a Personal Trainer, and offer virtual training as well, in addition to Nutrition Coaching.
Find my additional outlets over at the YouTube channel and at wrinkledrunner.com. Sign up over on the blog for the once-a-month newsletter! If you would like information on utilizing a running coach, check out what I can do for you here.
If you have any running-related questions, please send an email to sherry@wrinkledrunner.com…I answer every one.
A few weeks ago I was an ambassador to the Boston Run Show, which is an expo and convention for runners. This year it was combined with the Outdoors Show, which turned out to be a really cool thing because we had so many people there and this show just keeps growing and growing, and so this year we had to move to the actual Boston Convention Center, where before it was at the Heinz Convention center in Boston still, but that was a smaller venue, that. So this is the the big venue and it is enormous, like we actually, when we went in the front doors a guy came and took us by those little go-kart kind of things, golf cart II kind of things, through the whole convention center back to where our space was, because it is just an enormous place. So in doing this episode I am trying to encourage you to put this on your radar for next year. I don't know the dates yet, but this year was phenomenal. I've been an ambassador since the beginning and this is year three that they've been putting this on and it's so much fun because you get to connect with runners, you can meet brands that are shaping the future of the sport, in addition to the brands that we all know and have been associated with for a long time. It's also a great place to see some really incredible new gear, and this year we had some huge running legends in attendance, which included Des Linden, mebka, flesky, laz Lake and Tina Muir.
Speaker 1:So before we even get to the expo, I'm based in Buffalo and so we decided to drive to Boston. It's about six and a half hour drive and I love road trips and I'm getting ready today to actually go on a 12 hour one, but we're going to stop after six hours and spend the night, but Dave the hubs, he hates them. So I try to keep him occupied with podcasts about things that interest him, like beer Shout out to the beerists and I also hook up stand up comedy. And if you like stand up comedy, I am really into Zoltan Kazas. Right now I can't I don't know if I'm butchering his last name or not Nate Bargetzi. So that passes a lot of time too. So if you go on a road trip just side note you know you can hook up like Netflix or whatever YouTube and stand-up comedians, and that can pass the time away really well. Now, if it was just me going, I'd be listening to other running podcasts and personal training ones, since I also do that, but not with Dave in the car. He likes to run with me and he does it as exercise, but he does not want to be reminded of it otherwise.
Speaker 1:So we drove there and the moment we arrived at the venue it was so great to be to feel that energy again. And both mornings of the run show they had runs planned, which is different than in other years, so some of us were there very early getting ready to go on some runs before the actual run show. So as an ambassador, I had the chance to help out in the mornings and I got to hand out merchandise to the runners who were waiting in line to get in. They give out a ton of free stuff at this convention Little things like keychains and water bottles, two t-shirts. There were some really cool bottle openers, gift cards to some of the vendors. Also, in some of the workshops inside they were giving away like $50 gift cards to some of the vendors that were there. So it was a lot of fun being able to meet runners as they were going to be going into the show and they just loved getting some of this merchandise and some of them got like almost everything, because they were there early enough, so they were getting the water bottles and the bottle openers and just everything. But those little things really set the tone for the day because everyone is super excited and what they also do is they have the speakers come out right in the beginning and kind of have a little like a selfie picture taken and introducing like Des Linden was there on the second day opening the show before everybody was let in. So it's kind of an exciting thing to to be around so many people who just love running and who knew who she was before we even got into the expo itself.
Speaker 1:So when Des Linden spoke, I would say she definitely stole the show. Her session was absolutely packed and she spoke like 15 minutes after the show opened and because I was doing some filming for the show, I didn't get there until I don't know, maybe 10 minutes, five minutes after the show opened, but already every seat was taken. There were people sitting on the ground along the sides of the walls. Her session was just jam-packed before the time that she was even going to be on. But she is a very engaging speaker and she talked about her journey to winning Boston in 2018, and that was one of the most brutal weather days in the history of the race. It was cold, it was windy, it was pouring rain, and she powered through and made history.
Speaker 1:What stood out to me, though, was how genuine and relatable she was. She shared stories and, you know, she gave some insight into what it means to go inside the mind of an elite runner, but she's also very, very relatable. So one fact about Dess is she lives in Charlevoix, michigan, which is where some dear friends of ours lives. Shout out to Chuck and Elizabeth, and they own the View Wine Bar, which is on Lake Michigan. They own the View Wine Bar, which is on Lake Michigan, and so, being there and watching her and wondering like I wanted to talk to her after she spoke to see if she had ever been to the View Wine Bar, because I know she likes her beer and she likes her whiskey, but there was just there were too many people. There was no way I was going to get anywhere near her because so many people wanted to talk to her. But if you ever go to Charlevoix and you see Dess running, you can also go to the View Wine Bar and say hello to Chuck and Elizabeth if they're there. We also had Tina Muir there, who was a former elite runner and she right now is an advocate for sustainable running. Also, laz Lake, and he's the mastermind behind the Barkley Marathons. This is the one that hardly anybody finished I want to say in 2024, it was the first year that a woman finished, so he spoke there as well. Meb spoke he's an Olympic medalist, boston Marathon champion, I believe he also won New York City Marathon. So we had a lot of really, really good speakers there.
Speaker 1:One of the unique events that I got to participate in was a plogging run, and that was with Tina Muir, and if you've never heard of plogging, it's a mix of running and cleaning up. Basically, you take a garbage bag with you and as you're running, you obviously have to stop and bend over, and as you're running, you obviously have to stop and bend over. So this isn't going to be on a very fast run, but you run and you pick up garbage along the way as you're running, and I'm going to be doing a full episode on this in the future, but it's what stood out to me was how easy it was to make a difference, even if you're not on an organized plogging run. Just picking up one or two pieces of trash on your run instead of stepping over them can make an impact, especially if every runner were to do that. There are some areas in my city, which is Buffalo, that is just covered in trash. And also here's a thing cities have garbage cans available so that people can throw out garbage. I mean, I don't understand that. One thing we can do is encourage our cities to have more garbage cans available, but if you do have a garbage can available where you are and just picking up one or two pieces of trash, it can go a long way to keeping our cities a lot more pleasant. Looking Now, what made that special for me was being able to meet Tina Muir.
Speaker 1:Her podcast was actually the first running podcast that I've ever listened to when I started training for marathons, so running alongside her felt like kind of a full circle moment, and she is the sweetest person. I was able to talk to her after she had a panel discussion and she is really truly passionate about what she does and it was really cool to be able to talk to her. So if you love testing out new running gear, this expo is really a dream come true. There were so many brands showcasing their latest products, and I'm going to talk about a few that really stood out to me and if you go, you will probably have things that will stood out to me, and if you go, you will probably have things that will stand out to you that you really enjoy. First of all, it's an app. There's an app that I really liked, which is called the Run Buddy app. It's a simple but brilliant idea, because you can select up to five buddies and they will get an alert if something goes wrong during your run, whether you're running early in the morning, late at night or just want that extra safety net. It really is an awesome tool, and I got to meet Scott and Ruthie, who are the people behind it, and I'm going to be diving deeper into this app in a future episode.
Speaker 1:I was hit by a car and the watch that I wear actually flew off of me, and it does have emergency capabilities on it Didn't do a thing. Did not do a thing. I didn't realize until my husband was looking at my stuff when I was in the hospital. It was six hours later and it looked like I had only run like three miles in six hours because it was continuing to record my quote unquote run, even though I had stopped violently to record my quote-unquote run, even though I had stopped violently. Where before I've I've clapped seeing my grandson on a run? And it started notifying all my emergency contacts. So having a different way of alerting people that something might be going wrong is something that I am actually very interested in.
Speaker 1:Another cool station was the High Rocks station. So if you're into combining strength training with running, that was the place to be, and they had a whole thing all set up so that people could try it out. They were doing challenges, they were mixing in their functional fitness with their runs, and it looked like some of them were really pushing themselves. Now, I haven't explored the High Rocks thing very much, but it did look like a lot of fun and, as someone who also does strength training, it's something that I might look into doing in the future. Now then there was the kicker run treadmill, and so that's a treadmill that lets you run, naturally with no assistance from the belt if you so desire. So runners were signing up to try it out all day, each day, and there was a leaderboard to see who was the fastest, and some runners, of course, took this competition very, very seriously. Even those who weren't wearing running shoes were signing up and trying out this really cool treadmill to be able to run as if you were outside, without the help of the belt. It just let you do your own paces.
Speaker 1:Another thing that I loved about Boston itself in going there was this place called I think it's Mecca M-E-C-H-A Noodle Bar. Their ramen was so good. I lived in Japan for a few years so I feel like I know my ramen and this was so legit. Even in their description they listed the tare and the broth and how they put it together, and it is a very traditional way of doing it. It was so, so good. So if you're in Boston even not for the run show and even not for anything related to running if you like ramen, go to the Mecca Nudabar.
Speaker 1:So if you love running, this event is a hundred percent worth it. Whether you're there for the speakers, the gear, the community or just to soak up the atmosphere. The Boston Run Show really has something for every runner and if it stays connected to the Outdoor Expo, which I really hope it does, it's a great opportunity to get a bunch of adventurers together, even if all of you aren't runners With the Outdoor Expo. There's camping, there's fishing, there's these tents that instead of poles, they blow up. They have really cool stuff for people who like to do outdoor things. Now, if you want to go for free next year this year it was $20 a ticket, but because I'm an ambassador, make sure that you are subscribed to my newsletter and follow me on social media newsletter and follow me on social media because I give away free tickets, usually starting in September all the way up to the Friday before the running show. So make sure that you're connected. I can connect you to those free tickets.