Features
These stories showcase the heart of Like the Wind: powerful storytelling that explores why we run. From intimate portraits to expansive journeys, this category brings together the magazine’s most engaging narrative writing. Whether delivered through immersive Long Reads or concise Short Stories, these features capture the emotion, culture, and human experience of running in all its forms.
Summer in the city
Remembering Joss Naylor
ONLY THE BRAVE : THE SPEED PROJECT
You’ve got to have some nerve to take on The Speed Project, the legendary 340-mile Los Angeles-Las Vegas relay. You’ve got to have even more nerve putting yourselves out there as a group of older Black women in what can often seem like the white-thirtysomething-male-dominated world of ultra running. But what takes the most courage of all is realising when it’s time to quit.
Under African Skies
“Wear some woolies if you want.”
For a morning run in Ethiopia? Pull the other one.
Come 5am, I hoicked on my bobble hat, microfleece and a scarf. Addis Ababa is fresh before first light. I fumbled for gloves, my eyes seemingly glued together. The low hypnotic hum of the orthodox call to prayer had been my lullaby, along with the ear squeal of a mosquito. And the dog fights, which I’m pretty sure had ended in murder
Global Running Day: LtW Stories from Around the World
Like the Wind is published by a team dedicated to sharing meaningful storytelling about running. The heart of what we do is publishing stories that connect runners from around the world, providing inspiration and insight into the lives of people for whom running is a way of life.
Running on Thin Ice
This is Swedish Lapland. Lying inside the Arctic Circle, it’s Europe’s last remaining wilderness and the heartland of the indigenous Sámi people. This region, Jokkmokk municipality, covers an area the size of Wales yet only has a population of around 3,000, and can experience daytime temperatures as low as -40°C during the short days of February.
Run for Freedom
Nike! Nike! Nenikekamen!” “Victory! Victory! Rejoice, we conquer!”
490BC. Pheidippides, a messenger, finally arrives at the end of his 26-mile run from a battlefield in Marathon to the Acropolis in Athens to deliver news of an unexpected Greek victory over Persian invaders. It was a glorious moment of celebration for the human race… and then he heroically collapsed and died from exhaustion.
It’s uniquely your challenge. And your reason why.
Hakone
“It’s the greatest race you’ve never heard of: the Hakone Ekiden. Lots of races may lay claim to this impressive title, but few have such a legitimate case. On 2 and 3 January every year, this local university road relay brings Japan to a standstill. Raced over 135 miles, from the centre of Tokyo to the foot of Mount Fuji and back, it is a competition with more hype, emotion, and drama than any other race I’ve ever witnessed. The New York Marathon is a Sunday picnic in Central Park compared to this.