Running Sucks

5 questions with Raz Rauf about writing, running, and place.

Midjourney generation.

I love the sociability of sport. And not just team sports. Running, climbing gyms, cycling—these activities easily include other people. Some of my best friendships are horizontal, defined by side-by-side shuffles with conversation unfolding across parallels of motion.

I’m certainly not the only one who makes friends this way. According to The Survey Center for American Life, nearly seven in 10 Americans have situational friends or place-based friendships—people they see in places like work, school, or the gym. Over half say they have ‘activity friends,’ whom they join in events like sports, hobbies, worship, or community service. We’re social animals, but often need a complex of space and structured interaction to develop relationships.

That’s why I’m delighted to share a short interview with Raziq Rauf, writer of Running Sucks, a series of stor…