3Q: Raziq Rauf of Running Sucks

Finding Your People by Writing About What Moves You

“If your work is good and meaningful, people will find it.”

— Raziq Rauf

There’s probably something you have done since childhood that comes easy. When you’re doing it, hours disappear. It gives you energy. You have talent for the thing and can imagine building a life around it.

Two paths here:

1. Pursue with gusto

2. Park to the side

For London-born Raziq Rauf, the thing was writing. Raz picked the first path, starting a web zine when he was 17. After writing helped pay his way through college, he went on to work with music mags like Kerrang! and Classic Rock. When Raz moved to Los Angeles to level up his music writing, the scene took its toll. He found balance in running.

Fitting that this natural-born author would start writing about the sport and the people and communities within. Enter Running Sucks, Raz’s love letter to the culture. It is home to countless sharp pieces, and in 2025 helped lead to a book deal (more on that in the interview).

Running Sucks was one of the first Substacks I found when I decided to answer my own call to write. Raz was affable and generous, a gateway to an entire community of people doing this work. People like me.

That’s the thing about pursuing what moves you. It not only reveals the best you have to offer, but also shows you’re not alone.

On to the interview. Be sure you’re subscribed to get more insights about working in running in your inbox…

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3Q: Raziq Rauf

1. Learning, Unlearning, Staying With the Work

When you started writing about running, what carried over from your earlier writing life and what had to change? As the work evolved, what helped you stay with it long enough for it to compound into something real?

I started writing professionally in 2003, when I was just 19. So, cut to 2023, and I had 20 years of experience. Over that time, I’ve always tried to improve myself as a writer, but also in terms of finding things to write about. That’s the news journalism side of me, I suppose. When I was writing about music, that involved finding the best bands, and now it’s about finding the best stories. Occasionally I get a scoop, and that feels as exciting now as it ever did.

That’s all ingrained in my process, which is quite strategic in terms of spending my time on the most useful things. I read constantly, looking for things that interest me. I write more, and more regularly, than I ever have done in my life.

I root my work in community now as much as ever — my own as well as related communities. There aren’t many South Asian people writing about running, for instance, so being seen by that broader community is really important.

2. Measuring Progress

A lot of the work you do happens off the page. Hosting conversations and group runs, creating space for underrepresented voices. When external validation isn’t the right measure, how do you think about progress? What signals tell you the work is working?

I prefer to be a band’s band, rather than someone selling out Wembley Stadium. The money would be nice, but I do like to retain that purity of intention. I enjoy talking to other writers because we have a kinship. I love to surround myself with thoughtful people. With the conversations we have, our learnings can only elevate one another.

I started hosting panels largely because of that self-improvement aspect. Before my first panel on run club culture in August 2024, I hadn’t done any public speaking since my wedding in July 2014. Over a decade! I threw myself in at the deep end because if I’m trying to write authoritatively about running, I felt that being able to speak well on the topic was really important. Being able to highlight some amazing runners and trends was almost a bonus.

3. When the Work Comes First, the Rest Follows

At a certain point, the work often starts creating its own opportunities. How did that happen with “This Is Running?” And how do you decide what’s worth saying yes to as those opportunities show up?

I really do believe that if your work is good and meaningful, people will find it. I don’t love the self-marketing side of life that is essential now, but I am better about it than I was when I was younger. I rail against those things less now. Maybe that’s just age or maturity, but I want as many people as possible to read my work. If I didn’t, I’d just write a diary for myself!

That work that I do in the newsletter every week is my sandbox. They’re first drafts of half-finished ideas, ready to be tied together. In a book, for instance! I like to think that the editors at Batsford saw that and thought that I’d be a good fit to write This is Running.

This is my first book, and it was definitely a big hurdle trying to figure out how to put all those ideas together cohesively, but there was a penny-drop moment where it all came together. Now I feel like I can write 100 more books, and that honestly feels amazing.

Again, it’s all about the process. Now that I understand it, I feel like my writing practice has leveled up again. I have several ideas for my next book and for the book in 10 years time — some wildly disparate topics (not all running) — and tying those together in a way that makes sense is my next challenge!

Order This is Running on Bookshop.org or Amazon.com

You got this.
-mike

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