Author Archives: Jon Waldron

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About Jon Waldron

Running and Racing have been important parts of my life for as long as I can remember. I ran Track and Cross Country at Amherst HS, back in the day, and am proud to have been training and competing with the Cambridge Sports Union (CSU) for more than thirty years. If my bones hold out, I hope to continue for another thirty. Sixteen years ago, I began coaching, first as an Asst. Coach at Newton North HS in Newton, MA, and for the past ten years, as Head Track and Cross Country Coach at Concord Academy in Concord, Massachusetts. I've been writing about running for almost as long as I've been running, dating back to high school, when I would write meet summaries for the Amherst Record for about $0.33 per column inch. I've been blogging about running since 2005, and began blogging at "the runner eclectic" in 2014. Until recently I also had a day job, working full-time as a Technical Product Manager for Nuance Communications, based in Burlington, MA. But I am now on what might turn out to be a permanent sabbatical. Thank you for reading my blog, and please consider leaving a comment.

Beer and Running, Running and Beer

“Exercise provides a wealth of benefits to brain and body, and is regarded as a protective factor against disease. Protective factors tend to cluster together — that is, people who engage in one healthy behavior, such as exercise, also engage … Continue reading

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From the Archives: Commuter Dreams

[It used to be a dream of mine to be able to commute to my job on foot. But for the past 15 years or so, I’ve had jobs that placed me in remote office parks, and I’ve had little flexibility … Continue reading

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You Can’t Be Too Careful

I consider myself a careful and cautious pedestrian. Whether I’m walking or running, I never assume cars can see me, or that they will slow down or stop if I’m in their way. I know that doesn’t make me immune … Continue reading

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Mindfulness and Mindlessness

“It’s not really about sitting in the full lotus, like pretending you’re a statue in a British museum, it’s about living your life as if it really mattered, moment by moment by moment by moment.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn, Founder of … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Animal Keepers

In the spring of 1985, Donn Behnke was a social studies teacher at Stevens Point Area High School in Wisconsin, and already a very successful Track and Cross Country Coach at the high school level. In nine years of coaching, … Continue reading

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Frazz at the Races

A confession: I read and enjoy the daily comics — or the “funny pages” as they used to be called — in the Boston Globe. Yes, every morning I flip impatiently past the world news and the brilliant feature writing … Continue reading

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From the Archives: Gradus ad Parnassum

[There was frost on the ground this morning, and idle thoughts of warmer places reminded me of the Thanksgiving eight years ago when Ann and I took an uncharacteristic vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This post was originally published November … Continue reading

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In From the Cold

  It’s enough to make you question the very tenets of free-market capitalism. I don’t mean income inequality or the disappearing middle class or manufacturing workers being left out in the economic cold. I mean actual runners being left out … Continue reading

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True Calling

The fall season’s over, and winter sports have begun. The die-hard runners still gather after school to run together, but the numbers are modest compared to the official practices that took place every day for almost three months. In a … Continue reading

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‘This Beautiful Sport’

My running friends will be happy to know that I no longer have any excuse to skip mid-week track workouts, tempo runs, and hill repeats. Saturday was the last meet for the Concord Academy team, and so, as of this … Continue reading

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