How is it already June? It’s almost high alpine time. The trails are clearing, race season is here, and I'm staring down a summer I'm fired up about.

I'm writing this one a little reflective, because the end of May marked one full year of betting on myself and doing this full time. A year of growth, of taking real risks, and of a whole lot of running. So many unlocks packed into twelve months. And the thing I keep coming back to isn't a number or a milestone. It's that I finally get to show up. In person. For the conversations and the people that made me start For The Long Run in the first place.

For a long time, the show was the thing I squeezed in around the edges of a full time job. I loved it, but it was always competing for scraps of my attention. This year it got to be the priority instead of the afterthought, and you can feel the difference in the work; at least I hope so! The conversations got deeper because I had the room to chase them.

What that actually looked like was being fully present at the events that make this sport what it is. TrailCon. The Running Event. Leadville. Not flying in, doing one thing, and flying back out or worrying that someone was watching me and my status in Slack, but being there long enough to make something happen. And when you have that kind of room, you get to build things. At Boston, we partnered with Mount to Coast for the Double Boston, with a panel on Sunday and a 3am marathon on Monday. At TRE we put Gabby Thomas and Lindsey Hein on stage together and packed a room to hear them. Closer to home, we ran activations around Boulderthon with the crew at Fleet Feet right here in town.

On the training front: I’ve been doing a lot of running, but this damn hip has been bothering me pretty much the entirety of 2026 so far. I’m able to run on it, and I’m dreaming of big adventures coming up these next few weeks. And I tried strength training last week for the first time in months, and go figure, my next run felt great. And so did the one after that. So I lifted again, and it feels even better. Go figure. Do your strength work before your body demands it!!

Anyways… here's my ask, and it comes in two parts.

First: the easy one: come find me. We’re hosting a group run with Amazfit on the Thursday before Western States out in Tahoe. If you're there, come say hi. Reply back and I’ll make sure to share the details when confirmed. I’ll also be doing a handful of events this summer with Boulderthon and Fleet Feet here in Boulder, and I’ll be at Hardrock (finally) and Leadville (again). I’m also hoping to get out to UTMB but need to dial in a few events to make that possible. The whole point of this past year was getting to be in the room with you, and I have no plans to stop. I love meeting new people and people who have been tuning in to the pod. I’ve had the joy of meeting so many listeners over the last couple of years, including many who hit me up when they’re visiting Boulder. I love being able to share a meal or a run!

Second: If you're reading this, you are part of what made this year possible. Your listening is literally what lets me keep doing this, and what lets me work alongside athletes, races, and fellow podcasters to push this whole thing forward. I don't take it for granted.

So do something with it. Commit to one hard thing for yourself. This year, this month, this week, today. Big or small, it doesn't matter. Then hit reply and tell me what it is. I want to hear it. And I want you to share it with someone else too!

None of this works without the people (you!) and the brands making it possible, so thank you to them. Two easy ways to keep it going: support the brands, and, if you're able, become a paid supporter of the show at forthelong.run/subscribe.

If you want the longer, behind-the-business version of this year, the risks, the math, and what I actually learned building it, I wrote the whole thing up over on Substack (will add the link to longrunlabs.substack.com)

We’ll see you out there!

— Jon Levitt, Host and Creator of For The Long Run

Today's episode of Long Run Labs is out. I sat down with Doug Emslie and Dylan Bowman to talk about TrailCon, the trail running conference they co-founded that lives in the week between Broken Arrow and Western States (I’ll be there!). It's built for both industry professionals and runners who just love the sport and happen to be in the area, and it's an event I'll be at in a couple of weeks. If you want to understand what TrailCon is, why it exists, and where it's going, this conversation is the place to start. Listen here.

Give this one a listen 🎧

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Precision F&H: LONGRUN26 for 15% off first order of a fuel that’s been onboard with me for thousands of miles

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Eternal: Download their new app for free and upload your blood data for a review done via a podcast created just for you!

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Jonathan is a runner, cyclist, and podcast host from Boston, MA, who now lives in Boulder, CO. For The Long Run is aimed at exploring the why behind what keeps runners running long, strong, and motivated.

Follow Jon on Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Substack, and Twitter.