Welcome to the Letters to the Editor department of POSSESSED. I’m the editor, and these are the letters.
Let me just say wow and holy smokes. And also fuck. There were so many great letters this month, and many of them were quite sensible and well-written. Thank you for making an effort, dear readers, and special thanks to Louise from who-knows-where for sending unsolicited photos of her black and bloody toenail coming off with no additional information. If you’d like to make me vomit into my mouth, or if you have a question or comment regarding POSSESSED or running, hit me up here!
Dear POSSESSED,
Is it just me, or is the world experiencing a huge surge in the number of people running right now? Post-work run clubs, marathoners on country roads, big groups hooking up on weekends? Seemingly everywhere! Is this a post-pandemic uptick? Are social media platforms playing a role? Whatever it is, summer is kicking off over here, and it feels like a good thing. Feeling the mag, too. I came to it via a friend who is mad for running. It’s become her life… in a good way.
Best
Warren T.
Sheffield, UK
Hey Warren, yeah, it’s going crazy. According to Google Trends, interest in running has seen an increase of about 30% in recent years, which is a lot. I’d say the surge in popularity would definitely be linked to covid and gyms being closed, and then it snowballed from there? A lot of the early adopters are getting grumpy about it, though, which I find delicious. Thanks for your letter.
—Ed
Dear POSSESSED,
It was my 44th birthday the other day and it was time for my annual trip to the doctors. I booked my appointment, requested a full check-up, along with my regular blood tests. The results came back a few days later, and for the most part, they came back normal, with the exception of my skyrocketing LDL cholesterol levels. Within the space of 12 months, my 'bad cholesterol' stats had gone vertically upwards. It was time for some drastic changes if I wanted to avoid going on medication for the rest of my life. The doctor booked me in for a health plan with a nurse, but when the HotDoc confirmation text came through, it said, ‘Please confirm your appointment with a chronic disease nurse at X location.’ Fuck me. I'm 44 and I'm getting booked in for appointments with 'chronic disease nurses'. Anyway, long story short, it has, of course, been a good thing. I've got a plan now, and for the first time in my life, I'm exercising regularly—running—and eating a healthy diet. Not just a 'trying to be good' diet, but really thinking about what I'm actually putting into my pie-hole, how much I'm putting into my pie-hole, and how often. So yeah, thanks, POSSESSED, for getting me inspired to go out and exercise. No more pies for me.
Dale
Byron Bay, Australia
Hey Dale, I actually read a quote the other day: ‘Make food your medicine or medicine will become your food.’ Great to hear you caught your cholesterol levels before it was too late. Keep running and you’ll blow that gunk out of your system in no time.
—Ed
Dear Editor,
I've been wanting to write a slogan on the side of my shoes for a while now. Can you please help me come up with one?
Thanks!
Lisa Graham
Los Angeles
Lisa,
L.A.M.F.
—Ed
