Running Sucks. We Can't Stop, with Raziq Rauf

What does it really mean to run, not just as exercise, but as a culture, a community, a way of being in the world? Raziq Rauf has spent years thinking about that question, and now he's turning those thoughts into a book. This is Running is his debut, and it arrives backed by the loyal readership of his newsletter, Running Sucks, a name that captures exactly the kind of honest, irreverent love for the sport that defines his voice. In this conversation with Mau Díaz, Raziq talks about what drew him to write seriously about running, the people and stories that shaped the book, and why he believes the sport deserves the same depth of cultural attention we give to music, food, or film. It's a conversation about obsession, craft, and the strange beauty of a thing millions of people do every day without ever quite being able to explain why. Raziq brings to the conversation something rare in running media: a literary sensibility that doesn't take itself too seriously. He's not here to optimize your training or sell you a shoe. He's here to ask why any of us lace up in the first place, and what we find, or lose, or become along the way.