TYPE OF WAY: TOO FUN: “Oh, it was fun,” said Tay dryly even as her body was wild drenched in sweat following a blazing group 11123432111 fartlek on the roads in the District last Tuesday night. “It’s just...Type II Fun—the kind of thing that’s hard in the moment, but satisfying after it’s over.” Turns out Tay was referencing the Fun Scale, a quasi-quantified system for folks in the outdoorsy scene use to appraise (read: take the fun out of) a good time, viz Type I Fun is enjoyable in the moment (good food, good wine, good sex); Type II fun which we’ve already noted; and Type III Fun, which apparently is a pastime that turns out to be no fun at all: a toxic relationship, for example. I’ve known Tay for several years as a steadfastly effervescent, chic and glamorous presence on LA’s urban running scene, captaining and cheering various crews and cliques. She’s always been a runner—on the track team in HS and returning each November to run in our hometown’s Buffalo Turkey Trot (the nation’s oldest continuously staged footrace—126 years, um, running!). But these past few months I’ve watched Tay dig deeper into the promise and the potential of our runnings—consistently showing up to challenge herself @goodvibes_tc sessions, up to meet early am at the track for intervals (I only watched LOL), getting drafted into @tracksmithrunning’s ambassador program as a platform to represent her city and her set. The cool in her will probably rebuff all this no big deal but I see from a near distance the ways in which Tay is building momentum to ride a wave, if only just to see where it goes. But of course, digging into the potential of running—that Type II Fun—is likewise the process of getting deeper into the potential of oneself. The subtle way Tay is sharing her promise, her potential—her process—with the people around her makes her more knowable, sure. But she’s also helping us learn more about ourselves as well. cc @evonneartis Foto by @crsh.187 @roomforerror_, Crenshaw District, 28 June 2022 #runningculture