Gordon Clark
@ Death Valley
Agility Peak 5
The TSA agent poured a bit of white powder onto a petri dish and squeezed two droplets of clear liquid onto what I now realized looked eerily similar to cocaine. The liquid turned blue, which judging from the TSA agent’s reaction, seemed ok. I was cleared to go.
The recovery bath salts were a parting gift from Gordon, a wiry runner with a Zeus-like beard, who is a legend in the renegade running world. I’d spent the last few days with him at Huckberry headquarters in Austin shooting a Merrell collab, interspersed with two four-mile runs in the sticky weather that had settled over Austin.
I only saw Gordon tired once – the morning after we stayed out a bit late at Equipment Room, a vinyl listening bar in Austin. The guy never stops moving. He’s full of stories – one tale bleeds into the next – and his favorite topic is running. More specifically, he loves the pursuit of outlaw running – unsanctioned races, like the Speed Project, a relay race from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
Gordon gets animated when he talks about a race in the Atacama Desert, a runner he met who wears a motorcycle helmet during an unsupported trans-American run – symbols of a new brand of running, something more akin to skate culture or Burning Man than the more conservative images that get conjured when you mention ‘jogging.’
So as we zigzagged our way across Austin, en-route to Barton Springs, I pressed him on a few burning questions. Is zone 2 training legit? What’s the best way to avoid injury? We went deep into shoe design and he explained why Merrell’s trail runner was his favorite.
Here’s what he had to say.
Is Zone 2 legit?
Gordon Clark: Zone 2, so hawt right now… Ok, In theory, sure it's legit. But my spicy take: The Amateur is always on the hunt for the quick fix, the cheat. Spoiler: There are none. Zero. To quote one of my favorite bits of run literature, ONCE A RUNNER:
“What was the secret, they wanted to know; in a thousand different ways they wanted to know The Secret. And not one of them was prepared, truly prepared to believe that it had not so much to do with chemicals and zippy mental tricks as with that most unprofound and sometimes heart-rending process of removing, molecule by molecule, the very tough rubber that comprised the bottoms of his training shoes. The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials.”
But a basic idea that you should spend 80% of your weekly running mileage at Party Pace, being easy with it… Lean to that. Once you’re gobbling up 60-70 miles a week, you’re cross-training a few times a week, getting your sleep and diet dialed in, then, sure, THEN maybe grab that chest strap, monitor how your heart’s dealing with the process, zero-in on improvement by numbers.
How do you stay un-injured?
Clark: Stay running, roll through it. Not a popular answer, but I’m no PT. I view pain, niggles and such, as teachers. My body’s telling me I’m not doing something right. What is it? You need to master this, this feedback. Typically, for me, it’s overtraining. Generally it’s running waaaay hotter than I should be on easy days. I will forever keep running fun, a focused part of my day always. So that means staying in-tune. An elite once said, and I’m paraphrasing here, that everyone has access to Elite’s workouts today with Strava, YouTube, the internet. But the real secret to improvement, to gains (to jack some gym speak) is recovery. Elites are masterful at recovery. Winning a workout don’t mean shit if you can’t tomorrow go out and get your baseline 8-10 miles.
Also: Master the art of the JUNK MILEAGE. You recover better after a hard track session, for example, with a slow, 50-60% efforted run the very next day. However counterintuitive. 6-10 miles.
When you run, do you listen to music? Books on tape? Or are you one of these nuts that just runs sans anything?
Clark: For my money, running is a form of meditation. A moving meditation. To quiet all of the noise that rattles around in my head. On trail: I’m almost always just hearing footfalls. Trying to keep in lockstep with my surroundings. On road: I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts, NPR/KCRW (here locally), and [laughs} food pods. This is during most of my “regeneration runs”, those slower than normal, keep it chill and sexy paced trots to flush the legs. I’ll also kill 2 birdies with a single stone where I’ll run to the grocery store, make an errand out of the thing and train it back home.
Best running book?
Clark: Born to Run is mandatory reading for all. Changed how I see running in every way.
Born to Run by Christoper McDougall
Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured runner Christopher McDougall sets out to discover their secrets.
Favorite trail shoe?
Clarke: Obviously vibing on the Agility Peak 5 right now- Big s/o to that Huckberry colorway, baby! It’s my Swiss Army Knife in the rotation presently. Out the box, it’s a top tier run. Solid cushion, responsive, hugs the heal so there's no slippage, and it has a good toe guard in case you clip a rock. Bangarang.
What's the best thing to happen to trail running the past five years?
Clarke: The explosion of run crew/club culture.
What’s the worst thing to happen to running in the last 5 years?
Clarke: The proliferation of run crews/clubs.
Tell us about the Speed Project. Why do you run it every year?
It scratches so many itches. It’s the racers involved with the thing. It’s the organization. Seeking the unknown. It’s part orienteering, it’s managing personalities, it’s vibing and going hard in the paint post-race, making friends (true friends in the OG sense) that I count on and lean into when I’m visiting another part of the globe. It’s the fraternity of crazies doing it wild with zero glory, no prize winnings, no clout. From the tape breaking “Winners” to last-ins, we’re one big tribe. It’s a subculture unlike anything else I’ve seen or been apart of. I feel super fortunate to have found TSP when I did.
What gear do you consider essential for long runs?
Clarke:
For the long boys: A good hat, Ciele always, great socks like Near Earth or Stance, a workhorse of a shoe, some 3 inch split shorts to really flash some thigh. Those are my baseline. If it’s trail I’ll take some nutrition with me. I’ll have my phone. A good chance I’ll have a soft flask so I can be sure I’m taking in at least 8 ounces of liquid.
Post-run: Baby wipes because you’ll be a crusty, stinking heathen, and then beer because… well, just always beer. If you’re not communing with the squad after the fact, what are you even doing? There’s only 3 Olympic Marathon spots and those are all taken. Don’t take this running shit too seriously.