“I started running ultras to become a better person,” Jenn tells Christopher McDougall, documented in his bestselling book Born To Run - The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners and the greatest race the world has never seen.
“I thought if you could run one hundred miles, you’d be in the Zen state. You’d be the fucking Buddha, bringing peace and smile to the world. It didn’t work in my case - I’m the same old punk-ass before - but there’s always that hope that it will turn you into the person you want to be, a better, more powerful person.”
Jenn Shelton is a well known American ultramarathoner and running nomad. In 2007 she set the women’s U.S. 100-mile trail record at the Rocky Raccoon Ultramarathon. She has also won numerous trail and road races and has run a 2:45 marathon, which qualified her for the Olympic Marathon Trials.
In May 2007 she gained publicity by being the first woman at the Frederick Marathon in a women’s course record of 2 hours 53 minutes 44, racing in a bikini rather than a conventional running kit. And I was smiling when I read her Instagram bio: “Better to be crazy than go crazy”
Born To Run introduced me to Jenn. According to the book: Jenn could run a sub-three-hour marathon while wearing a string bikini and chugging a beer at a mile 23 - and she would, just five days after running a 50-mile trail race in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“When I’m out on a long run the only thing in life that matters is finishing the run. For once, my brain isn’t going blebblebbleb all the time. Everything quiets down, and the only thing going on is pure flow. It’s just me and the movement and the motion. That’s what I love - just being a barbarian, running through the woods.”
In 2015 Outside Voices documented the Bohemian lifestyle Jenn has embraced. The black and white documentary is as disjointed as Jenn may seem to some — jumping from her running in the mountains to helping out at an aid station to riffing about her lack of skills. It’s unfocused yet vibrant. Just like Jenn.
“I know I’m living a crazy life, but it’s my life,” she says. “It’s not crazy to me. I wake up every day and brush my teeth, just like everyone else, you know?”
At the end of the documentary, Jenn is in her small van under a moonlight sky. She’s on her cell phone, learning Italian. It concludes, with her repeating a translation, “You do not know who I am.”
And what is her favorite mantra:
“If you were conscious that is to say totally present in the now all negativity would dissolve instantly it could not survive in your presence.”
Now a quick recap of my articles that I wrote this week.
69% of nonprofits say the demand for transparency regarding funding has increased. One of the key findings from Salesforce nonprofit trends report 2020 - trends, challenges, and opportunities with technology. Transparency and trust still play a big role in the donor's mind.
However, it’s not just about being transparent with data, but also how it is shared, and ensuring it is trustworthy and used ethically. To make this happen, requires a whole new level of data collection, goal setting, automation, and reporting.
Read: Transparency still the key to success
According to the latest findings from Classy’s: “60% of people who check out on a donation page do so in less than a minute.”
However, the state of modern philanthropy 2020 report informs that when it looked at how long people do spend on campaign pages across all campaign types, it saw conversion rates peak in the 4 to 5 minute window. The second article finds out the donor activity, pathways, and retention.
Read: Deconstructing the online donor journey
That’s all for now. Enjoy your weekend and be in the NOW.
Peace be with you ♥️