As the Crow Flies

the crow athletics newsletter | issue 1
curated by patrick caron

Dear Subscriber First Name,

Good morning and welcome to our very first Crow Athletics newsletter, Issue 1 of As the Crow Flies!

This has been a project in the making for some time now, and it's a pleasure to finally be able to share it with all of you. There are a number of superb newsletters that exist within our running community, many of which the staff at Crow Athletics read and subscribe to, but we thought creating a newsletter of our own would allow us to offer a new and unique perspective. As a result, As the Crow Flies was born, and today marks the official launch, with Issue 1 making its way to all of your mailboxes.

As the Crow Flies will be a weekly roundup of running related content for the greater Crow Athletics community, including curated lists of news articles, training tips, blog posts, podcast interviews, and videos that we think you'll find both intriguing and relevant to your lives as runners, but also to your lives outside of running. In addition, we'll include content we've gathered from all of you, updates on Crow Athletics races and events, quotes on which to reflect, and much, much more.

The creation of As the Crow Flies will be a continuous process, and we'll constantly be evolving and improving this newsletter going forward to best serve you, our readers. Your feedback will be critical to our success, so please don't hesitate to reach out and share your thoughts!

Some of you are receiving this newsletter as a result of being a current member of Crow Athletics. If you'd like to continue to receive As the Crow Flies, please subscribe via the link below. We're excited for the journey ahead and hope you'll join us!

A Little About Me

Hi! If we haven't met already, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'll be the editor of As the Crow Flies, a job I feel honored to have.

My journey with Crow Athletics started somewhere around January 1st, 2016, when I joined a few fellow crazies and woke up in the wee hours of the morning to run the New Year's Day Boston Marathon, from Main Street in Hopkinton, to Boylston Street in Boston. This is where I first met Gary Allen of Crow Athletics, the visionary behind the event, and shortly thereafter, I became a member of the club. It always brings me great joy to yell “CAW!” whenever I come across other club members out on the road and trail, and even though we may at first appear as strangers to one another, we are all members of a close knit but far reaching community, and can call one another family. This in and of itself is incredibly special.

In creating this newsletter for Crow Athletics, I hope to continue to build upon this community of ours, strengthening the connections we all have with one another, and finding new ways to better appreciate all of the unique and diverse individuals who create this beautiful family.

Speaking to my own relationship with running, it has been a part of my life from the very beginning, and has become an integral part of who I am and how I define myself. Running has been the avenue through which I approach many of life's questions, and in my explorations, I've learned so much, not only about life but about myself as an individual. From the magnificent places I’ve traveled, to the remarkable individuals I’ve met along the way, running has opened so many windows of opportunity I have been eager to accept. Writing As the Crow Flies is just one more of these opportunities, and I appreciate the chance to share my love for running with all of you.

The CAW

You may have seen the announcement, but earlier this month, we launched our very first blog!

The Crow Athletics Wire, a.k.a. The CAW, is a place where we'll feature voices of the greater Crow Athletics community, with the hope to learn more about one another and form closer connections in the process. As much as running can be viewed as a solo endeavor, it is also an incredibly social one, and whether we run alone or with company, we are all members of a community that reaches out to every corner of the planet. As the curator of this blog, my hope is to let this be a space to share and appreciate the stories, thoughts, reflections, and insights of all those who find passion, meaning, and joy in the simple yet beautiful act of self propelled motion. Running is an incredible gift, and it has the ability to teach us so much about ourselves and about this world we inhabit. I invite you to use this space as an exploration into your own relationship with running and to share with all of us your journey and the discoveries you experience along the way.

We're releasing content on a weekly basis, and already have our first four posts out in the world. Along with myself, sharing an introduction to The CAW, Greg Soutiea, Josh Katzman, and Ryan Woolley each share with you reflective pieces, exploring what it means to be a runner, how to appreciate your own "backyard," and how running can be a unique form of self-expression.

Introducing The CAW! by Patrick Caron

Read More ➝

What Does It Mean to Be a Runner? by Gregory Soutiea

"To define something means to state the exact meaning of a word. What defines us as runners is inherently personal and individual, and furthermore, it will change for all of us. It may change from one week to the next, or after many years of running. What defines me as a "runner" today should not have any bearing on what defines you as a runner today or tomorrow."
Read More ➝

The Backyard by Josh Katzman

"...To think clearly we must avoid narrow interests or entrenched opinions... Being regional, being in place, has its own sort of bias, but it cannot be too inflated because it is rooted in the inviolable processes of the natural world. Philosophy is thus a place-based exercise. It comes from the body and the heart and is checked against shared experience."
Read More ➝

Express Yo'self! By Ryan Woolley

"What do you express through running? Are you bold and a little brash? Or do you express a part of yourself that is careful and diligent? Perhaps, you're a risk taker or an explorer - curious and wandering. Running can be an outlet for the best parts of ourselves."
Read More ➝

Share your story!
If you have a story to share (and we all do!), we'd love to have your contribution. We have a submission form on The CAW's homepage that you can access at any time, or you can email me directly with your ideas.

Along with stories we've featured on The CAW, in future editions of this newsletter we'll be including a number of other links to worthwhile reads we've discovered. There's a lot of content out there, and we'll do our best to share with you all the gems!

Crow News

Our very own Gary Allen, founder and race director of Crow Athletics, would also like to share a few updates with you in regards to our upcoming events and what's on the horizon for our club.

Off to you, Gary!

Greetings everyone, I hope you are all doing well and running strong! Very cool to see our presence continue to evolve and grow. CAW! As many of you know, we had to sadly postpone our Bridge the Gap Race and the Down East Sunrise Trail Relay. We do not have make-up dates officially scheduled yet and are monitoring developments closely and look forward to sharing news when we have it. Once we know more, we will give participants many options should they not be able to attend any of our rescheduled events.

The better news is both our MDI & Millinocket Marathons are ON as I type. We definitely have our wingtips crossed that we all will be able to run in these events scheduled for October and December.

The future of Crow Athletics is bright! Our general membership is way up with over 600 members all across the USA, Canada, and beyond. Overall, our brand/club recognition has never been bigger or better! We recently entered into a relationship with VOMax to create our unique branded gear, and we extended our existing relationships with Topo, Running Warehouse, and others to continue to offer our members discounts on shoes, gear, and much more!

Why Crow? Because, like our mascot, we are always on the road and always out there. Be safe, everyone, and I hope you are enjoying both our new blog and this first edition of our newsletter.

Cheers,
g

Weekly Musing

Each week, I'd like to share with you a quote to reflect upon, one which speaks to us as runners, but more importantly, as humans. This week, the words from a Rarámuri proverb enlivened me. 

"When you run on the earth and with the earth, you can run forever."
~ Rarámuri proverb

Thanks for reading Issue 1 of As the Crow Flies by Crow Athletics. We encourage you to forward this email and share it with friends, family, and anyone else who may have interest!

Also, if you have any comments or suggestions about the newsletter, or just want to start a conversation, feel free to reach out by simply replying to this email or connecting with me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Be well and run gently,
Patrick