You’re late.
And by you, I mean us. And by us, I mean this newsletter!
We normally aim to get this little weekly update out on a Wednesday morning, but the sharper among you may have noticed it’s Thursday today.
I know.
If it’s any excuse at all, we have been really busy at Running Tales HQ.
We’ve got a host of what we hope are really exciting podcast episodes coming up, the latest of which went live on Tuesday.
In that episode, we spoke to triathlete Mario Massarelli.
Mario is a 20 times IronMan finisher, with his best performance having seen him qualify for the World Championship in his over 50's age group.
But he told the Running Tales Podcast that it is the joy of taking part in triathlons and the valued time he gets to spend on and with himself that makes running, cycling and swimming - whether in one event or together - such enjoyable pastimes.
Mario has now expanded his love of the sport to become a professional triathlon and running coach with his Lifestyle Triathlon business.
Running Tales spoke to Mario about why a 'no pain, no gain' attitude isn't normally the right answer, how someone's first triathlon is most often not their hardest, and about whether the running, cycling or swimming came first for him.
The clip above gives a short flavour of the interview. It can be found on our YouTube channel - we’d really love it if you were able to subscribe to our page, which we will be continuing to build in the coming weeks and months.
We’ve also already recorded episodes with the following fantastic guests, so keep an eye (ear!?!) out for their interviews in coming weeks:
🏃♀️ Queen of the Running Punks, Dr Ashley Morgan
🏃♂️ Ultra marathoner and SRT race director Ken Posner
🏃♀️ Author, trail runner and marathoner Rachel Ann Cullen
A quick reminder that Running Tales comes out at 5.30am UK time every Tuesday, so make sure you are subscribed wherever you listen to your podcasts.
If you like what we do and are able to leave us a rating - five stars please - or a review, we’d be really grateful.
As well as the podcasts, we’ve been busy looking into the ongoing story of the appointment of former Sun editor David Dinsmore as a parkrun trustee (there’s a short update below but we’re hoping to have more to come in the next few days), and we’ll be bringing you a written version of Mario Massarelli’s story very soon.
Thanks for your support - and sorry for being late!
Ex-Sun editor defends new parkrun role
As reported on Running Tales earlier this week, the former editor of The Sun and current News UK executive David Dinsmore has been named as a parkrun trustee.
Mr Dinsmore was one of seven new trustees, but it is his appointment which has caused controversy.
During his time at the newspaper, Mr Dinsmore defended the publication of Page 3 girls, leading to him being named Sexist of the Year by End Violence Against Women in 2014.
He was later found guilty of breaking the law after the paper inadvertently identified the victim of a sexual offence while under his watch.
At least one parkrun ambassador has since resigned from their role, while several other participants have said they will no longer take part or volunteer while Mr Dinsmore continues to hold the role.
On Tuesday, parkrun streamed a live Q&A with Mr Dinsmore in an attempt to address any concerns over his role and values.
During the session, he spoke about his long-held love of parkrun which dates back to the 2000s and has seen him run 280 times, about how he was upset by criticism of his appointment and about how he believes his skills as a journalist can help improve parkrun.
Mr Dinsmore dismissed accusations he is a misogynist, saying he had found them upsetting.
He said the award of Sexist of the Year wasn’t one he had sought, and had been part of a campaign by a group called No More Page 3.
Mr Dinsmore said his conviction for publishing a pixilated but ultimately identifiable picture of the victim of footballer Adam Johnson had immediately become spent on payment of a fine, and added that The Sun had done all it could to prevent her being identified.
The full Q&A can be viewed on parkrun’s YouTube channel.
Come and say hi at the Running Show
A quick reminder that while we’re not big or important enough to have a stall or anything funky like that, Running Tales will be attending the Running Show at the NEC in Birmingham on Saturday.
We’ll be wearing our Running Tales/Step Forward With Lewis merch and probably looking a bit sweaty after doing a nearby parkrun.
Come and say hi if you spot us. We’d love to meet you.