(The whole range of responses are welcome here.)

You have a very intricate (dare I say) life-long relationship with your body and movement. Our individual and collective relationships to running are complicated.

Running might feel complicated to you because of…

Systemic Issues
Running might feel complicated to you if you want to run but it is inaccessible to you— and that inaccessibility can range from not having the resources for proper gear, to being time poor, to not feeling like your context is safe for you to run in because of your race, gender expression, size, or ability. These are systemic issue rooted in racism, white supremacy, and patriarchy, and they are worth spending our time, energy, and attention— individually and collectively as the running community. To say that these factors “complicate” the space of running is an understatement.

Personal Body-Stories
Another source of complication for us are cultural and personal narratives: Who do we say we are and how has this story been shaped? What’s our self image? We might have been given and internalized narratives about ourselves that no longer serve us or that were never true. And we might feel the effects of these narratives when we start a new running program, when we go for a run, or when we miss a run. These narratives might even charge each workout with a specific meaning about who you are or who you’re not or who you’re supposed to become. That's really complicated.

Injuries
Your mind might feel sharp for performance, but your “body isn’t cooperating." We might hear ourselves use language like “it’s breaking down” or “falling apart” or “keeping us” from moving how we want to move. This can leave us feeling like we’re at war with a deviant body. That’s really complicated.

Food Relationship
You might discover that you were given and have adopted a certain kind of dove-tailing between food and fitness as a way to relate to your body, to manage your body, or to punish your body. When you’re unraveling from complications in running, chances are you’ll feel the friction in your relationship with food. They're paralleled in so many ways because of how our culture has connected them as a way to a manage our bodies. That’s really complicated.

Let me say it again: there are a lot of complications to unravel from.

I share all this so you can take a step back at look at the landscape. Running isn’t just about getting yourself to do the workout or stick to a plan…there’s a lot to navigate.

here's my hot take: most running guidance is falling short.

It focuses on getting you the calendar and mechanics, but overlooks the the self-talk and personal narratives that color your experience of running.

And that's where the intuitive amongst us stumble.

You’ve been in a process of expanding, taking up space, using your voice, prioritizing your pleasure. And you know deep down these things are good and necessary. You want to keep a pulse on your sensations, and are continually learning to to listen and hear and yield and honor your body’s cues.

Then you flirt around with a new running program and UP POP all the old rules about adhering to the plan, making yourself small in all senses of the word, or using exercise to keep yourself "on track" or "in line" or “in submission,” or having your self-worth and self-esteem be contingent on your performance.

You want to honor your body’s cues, but also, you’ve got questions:

• How do I know if I'm doing "enough"? ⁠

• If I always go easy, will I ever improve?

• Running is supposed to feel hard, right? Maybe it’s not for me anymore?⁠

• If I'm not exhausted, it doesn't feel like a good workout. Am I doomed for feeling like I’m only having bad workouts if I go soft and easy?

• If I don't run because I'm tired, then chances are "letting myself off the hook" will become easier in the future. How do I actually let myself choose rest (mentally & emotionally)?

These are big questions and the tension probably causes you to either bury your head in the sand or become rigid.

…Hi, it’s me. Karly.
And I’ve done these things 👋

And both of those tactics—denial and rigidity— worked in the moment to help with the anxiety and stress and chaos I felt within my relationship to movement.

But they didn't feel good.

And they certainly didn't match how I approach the rest of my life.

✨Because I'm an Intuitive Athlete ✨

I talk to my body, ask for her opinion, laugh at her body humor, encourage the hell out of her when she’s doing something new or challenging or disruptive,

Why wouldn't I treat myself the same inside of my running, too—whether it’s a season of racing or a season of recreation?

I hype-girl her when she’s nailing 400’s, tell her to pick up her knees when she’s getting those hill repeats, walk her through her very essential hip strength sequences, talk with her in the disappointment of a missed PR, remind her of the importance of sleep before our long runs.

Running consistently in a kind way might seem impossible, but I’m here to say it’s doable, and absolutely worth it, and you have some very good things going for you right now:

For starters, your relationship to running is hitched to everything (yes, that’s a good thing.)

Whether you’re running curious or an ultra veteran, when you talk about your relationship to running you are ultimately talking about your relationship to your mind and to your body.

Your relationship to running illuminates
how you motivate yourself,
how you reward yourself,
what you think you’re capable of,
what you think you deserve and why.

And this is a good thing because you can use running as an arena to practice and prove to yourself new beliefs about ourselves that better align with your embodied values.

Because here’s the truth: whatever you practice, you will improve at.

And I know as much as that might resonate — "yeah, yeah, that makes sense. Practice!" — the path forward for Intuitive Athletes is, welp, kinda unclear.

If that's you (hi, so glad you’re still here!) I have a message for you:

You can be intuitive and athletic. (And perhaps this combo is the winningest combo. When did we decide these words were antonyms?)

The trick is to develop your personal preferences, effort-range, and ambition.

As an Intuitive Athlete, you’re someone who tries, tries, tries again. (Hello, you’re here, trying trying trying to figure out how to run in a way that works for you in all your evolving embodiedness.)

But consider this: your persistence might be misplaced.

Instead of directing all of your persistence on adhering to a plan, why don’t you experiment for a season: make a pivot and direct your persistence towards developing range inside of your running.

Imagine if you used your grit, endurance, and focus to access the spectrum of deep rest, consistent ease, and ambitious effort as an intuitive athlete.

Here’s what it could look like…

• Scheduling in breathwork before your monthly benchmark Magic Mile (because you know fear is just excitement without the breath)

• Doing a weekly easy run on your lunch break so you can run with your fav coworker

• Scheduling one run a week to be solo because you need the alone time (and to catch up on your fav podcast)

• Choosing an extra rest day after your weekend Long Run because it was h-o-t

• Running Repeats on a track for the first time

• Running Repeats on a track and nailing your lap time every lap

• Creating the most personalized, effective, and luxurious sleep routine you could imagine

• Feeling the turn over of your legs during your post-easy run Strides

• Noticing your newly found confidence in your pre-run drills because you’ve been consistent with them even though you felt like an imposter (and now you know drills aren’t just for the pros)

• Pep talking yourself into doing one more Hill Repeat to top out on this week’s range of 4-6

• Listening to your body and stopping after the first mile repeat because you’re in the second part of your cycle and restorative yoga is a better fit for today.

🤝 …Meet the Intuitive Athlete Bootcamp

A 5-day cohort to give you the ⁠⚡Intuitive Athlete Blueprint⚡ ⁠for embodied ⁠ preferences, effort-range, & ambition inside your running.

Intuitive Athlete Bootcamp uses two motivators to help you make progress as an Intuitive Athlete while prioritizing your pursuit of embodiment:

• Built for Action & Implementation: My pal likes to say, “Too party to busy.” I want you to be too party to busy, too. All of the lessons and 5-minute assignments—even the digital Intuitive Athlete Blueprint— are built for you to implement intuitive athleticism inside of your running practice (yes, even at the end of 5 days).

• Live Calls & Replays: Each day, you’ll have a 45min live lesson with me, Karly 🫶 I’ll teach you the Pillar of the day, and upload the lesson immediately into your private podcast so you can listen or re-listen to the concepts (…especially helpful for those of us who can’t listen to anything if its not in x2 speed…)

The process works like this:

• Do — every lesson starts with an active embodiment exercise (this is what we’re practicing here after all)

• Learn — each day I’ll teach you a new Pillar of Intuitive Athleticism in a 45min live lesson (listen to the live or replay on-the-go, in the background while you get ready for the day, or diligently with pen or paper.)

• Apply — you’ll translate and implement what you uncover into your own running each day with a ~5 minute daily assignment.

• Connect - you can insights/hurdles/ wins and get ideas from others in our Intuitive Athlete Bootcamp Community Group. This can be where you dish out anything from

…I feel a lot of anxiety and don’t know how to move forward, anyone else?? and

…I’m feeling excited but also really afraid of disappointing myself, what do I do now?? to

…Umm, I feel like running for the first time in 6 months, wtf! and

…I decided to not move today and I didn’t. feel. any. guilt!

🫶 By the end of our 5 days together, you’ll walk away with…

Day 1: Your Intuitive Athlete Era
In the Intuitive Athlete Blueprint, we’ll use Pillar #1: The Cycle to determine which of the 3 era’s you’re currently in (everything else builds on this little piece of data for yourself!)

Day 2: Your Anchors
Instead of drifting off into no-running zone, you’ll constantly come back to Pillar #2: Anchors as your specific Commitments, Goals, & C.L.E.A.R Alignment depending on what era you’re in.

Day 3: Your Principles
Shift away from rules and into specific era-principles using Pillar #3: Principles that support your embodiment, freedom, and calmness inside of running.

Day 4: Your Parts
After learning Pillar #4: Parts, you’ll have tools to navigate the tension between the Part of you who wants to run for the love of it & the Part of you who insists on absolutely not running today.

Day 5: How to Put It Together
Learn how to use the 4 pillars inside of your running, whether you’re running solo, buddied, or with a crew.

Bonus: Your Digital Intuitive Athleticism Blueprint Think of it as part-calendar, part-training journal, part-diary, part-command center, part-digital scrap book.

No self-discipline, no tiring motivation-stoke, and no helicopter-accountability required. Just guided space with me and a few other runners to connect with, process, and unburden the stories showing up as we move through this process.

✨ Join INTUITIVE ATHLETE BOOTCAMP waitlist ✨

Includes:

• 5 audio lessons in the private podcast (lifetime access)

• Digital workbook (lifetime access)

• Lifetime access to every Intuitive Athlete Bootcamp in the future (for f-r-e-e)

JOIN WAITLIST

Any questions? Email me at karly@thepublicrunclub.com.

Onward, upward, and inward,

Karly