The competitive aspect of jigsaw puzzling dates back to the 1980s in the US, when Hallmark ran a national competition for several years. In 2022, the volunteer-run USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association partnered with Ravensburger to bring back a national championship.
It's the most ubiquitous, effective, totally no-side-effects drug in the world. Exercise is also something Metzl feels is sometimes overlooked in the longevity space, in favor of fancier products. A lot of this stuff we talk about with longevity is not validated, like full-body MRIs and these supplement stacks.
Super shoes and ultralight gear make a difference, but with new advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) that can look at our running form and compare it to the ideal, analyze our nutrition intake from a simple photo and help us plan our diets, and offer guidance on training and recovery, the interwovenness of technology and running is only set to increase.
Cross training and running go together like peanut butter and jelly. If you build it into your schedule intentionally, strategically, and with a clear understanding of what you're trying to accomplish, you'll thrive. Megan makes the case that cross-training serves runners for several distinct reasons, and the right reason for you will shape how you approach it.
The day really belonged to women's winner Ashley Paulson, though. The 44-year-old from Utah scored a new women's 100-mile world record. Paulson ran 12:19 to take 17 minutes off Caitriona Jenning's (Ireland) old record from November 2025. Paulson ran the first half in 5:56.
On day five of an eight-day, 500-mile mountain bike race in Africa, Piers Constable found himself sprawled in the dirt for the second time. First he'd crashed on his left side, then on his right, until he was, in his own words, "muddied and bloodied," staring at a bike that was very much broken. He remembered a feed station a couple miles away and realized he had two choices: quit or run. He picked up the bike and ran.