Well, hello.

It's been a month to the day since my last newsletter, and as usual for my summer trip to the UK, I had every intention of writing these, but it just did not happen.

I have a lot of catching up to do, and a lot to update you on, including the fact that I had to be resuced off a mountain a few weeks ago. That is a story for another day ;)

For now, there is something else:

May 16, 2026. The last newsletter was sent the day before my spring goal race, the Tillamook Burn 55K.

​I directed you towards a YouTube video, my first personal YouTube video in many, many years. I shared about the journey to get to that moment.

I was excited, and ready.

The course was perfect for me, set up to show all my strengths, and I was fit.

You know there is a "but" coming, and yep, here it is:

But,

sometimes when you feel you are most ready for (or if I am honest, deserving of) your opportunity, it doesn't work out that way.

For me, it wasn't my time to shine.

Or maybe I had already had my turn of things going well. I did have an amazing spring with my family, work, Racing For Sustainability, and a healthy season of high-volume training.

You see, when I sent that email a month ago, I was excited. I also knew I was not okay. I am not very good at ignoring those inner pleas, which, actually, is a good thing.

I had been dealing with a stomach medical issue. For my own privacy, I want to keep the exact inner workings of that to myself, but I will say that it is still not totally better, and that is on me, for my own stubbornness and refusal to ask for help. I am working on it, so hopefully I am on the road to recovery.

As race day approached, I began to panic, and did what I needed to do to help my body, but with some repercussions, repercussions that caused me severe abdominal pain the day before the race, and meant I barely ate anything that day as I just couldn't eat.

That abdominal pain led to me being a few miles into the idyllic, gorgeous, fairyland that is the Pacific Northwest, and being pissed off at ferns for being in my way.

That led me to trip over roots that were barely there, as I struggled to drink from my HydraPak flasks, something I can typically do easily.

That led me to dreading taking my Precision gels every 25 minutes, instead of my usual method of breaking the run down into Precision blocks as motivators.

By mile 7, I knew I was going to drop out.

At mile 11.5, I burst into the aid station where everyone clapped and cheered, the first female to arrive. My dear friend and co-author Zoë Rom and my good friend, Peter Bromka were waiting for me, ready to quickly change out my bottles and send me on my way.

Instead, I told them "I am done; I can't go on."

We went to the medic. She affirmed what I already knew. We sat there for 25 minutes until I began to shiver, watching runner after runner go by. Not once did my mind change to "I should go on." I knew something was deeply not okay, and my intuition told me going ahead was a dangerous choice that could do serious damage to my gut lining.

I wanted to be like those ultra runners who fight through anything. I also know I want to live a long and healthful life.

After asking for validation of my choice to drop from both Zoë and Peter, we went back to the Airbnb, where I lay on the floor in the fetal position for the next three hours.

The thing is, I wasn't devastated. Sure, I cried — a few times — and I went back to what happened many times as I processed, but I also laughed a lot, talked about other things, and was so grateful for that time with my friends.

My racing results don't say anything about who I am or my value in this world. I know what I bring. I know my friends and family love me regardless, and I now know that my choice to drop was the best one for my health, which is more important than anything.

It wasn't the result I trained for. It wasn't the result I wanted.

It also wasn't a waste of time to train for it. It also wasn't a failure.

I say to my girls on a daily basis, "There are good and hard things in every moment." That race day was a perfect example of that. It did suck and was disappointing, but there was also so much good in that day; I had my eyes open to see it.

Next week I head to the Western States 100 Mile to crew (support) and to run the last 20 miles of the race with Ryan Montgomery (who finished 7th last year and has worked so hard post-surgery to be fitter than ever going into this year!).

Pacing Western States was not what I envisioned as my training focus for the spring. I also love that I can both support my friend, and likely end up running HARD to even keep up with this speedster for the last 20 miles of this iconic race. It is the greatest honor, one I plan to celebrate (and execute).

I am 37 years old, and this is my final opportunity to be as fast as I am gonna be, to see what I can do. I also strongly believe it is my one life to live in this body and I need to respect it.

My goal race not coming together doesn't mean I should abandon my training.

It also doesn't mean I need to knuckle down and try harder.

Sometimes things work out the way you expect. Most often they don't.

All we can do is the best we are presented with in the moment. And I intend to keep doing that.

I have more stories for you ahead, including yes, my mountain rescue. See you next week!

Racing For Sustainability has had an amazing year, and we have a few bibs available for the following races:

• 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon
• 2026 BMW Berlin Marathon
• 2026 Marathon Beneva de Montréal Weekend
• 2026 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Weekend
• 2026 Philadelphia Marathon Weekend
• 2026 CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon & Half Marathon
• 2026 California International Marathon

Respond to this email, or fill out the forms associated with the races here, if you are interested; we would love to have you join us.

Alternatively, if you have a race you are already signed up for and would like to run on our behalf, come join us as a Champion.​

While I loved my time in Europe, I was sad to miss the Bank of America Chicago 13.1 for the first time in many years, especially as they launched refill stations on course, something I am proud to say I helped bring to life. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon team will be bringing this to race day in October, and I am excited to see this move extend to other races in the years to come.

​Marathon Journal wrote an article pre-race about the refill stations, and while there is some hesitation (which is expected from runners with something new), I feel this Instagram video a runner made shows that it will be well received, especially by those runners in mid and back of pack.

--

My friend Simran Jeet Singh has a new docuseries out, UNDIVIDED. Simran goes on a cross-country journey to discover how the fight for freedom has shaped and been shaped by our diverse religious communities throughout American history. See if you can find a screening near you or watch it.

“We are all failures – at least the best of us are.”

- J.M. Barrie

Thanks to our partner, HydraPak

While I was sad to not be at the Bank of America 13.1 for the refill stations, I LOVED seeing all the runners holding their HydraPak bottles for refilling on course. HydraPak is the best of the best (and actually makes bottles for a lot of the best-known brands like Salomon and The North Face too). The Tempo Pro is the go-to for marathon runners, and they are ideal for refill stations on road running courses.

I love the HydraPak pocket flask for my vest (and you can see me clutching it in the photo above).

As a friend of mine, you can get 10% off with code TINAMUIR10

--

Be kind to one another, yourself, and this beautiful planet of ours.

Enjoying these? Why not forward to a friend who may enjoy. Encourage them to sign up and get these emails too. And if you missed an email, or would like to reread one, you can find past newsletters here.