BIG Life Update for you all 🚨

After 10.5 years, my long run at InsideTracker has ended. In 2014, I joined a small startup with fewer than 10 employees and helped it grow into a well over ten-figure company, personally influencing over 35,000 of our 100,000+ users.

I'm grateful for the lessons, and the teammates, customers, and ambassadors who trusted me and the company over that time. We pioneered personalized nutrition, built trust, and helped create a new industry and way of thinking about health. Many of you have been customers or ambassadors over the years, and I appreciate your trust and support! I'm proud of our impact and excited for what's next. 

"Your entire life can change in one year.” Sahil Bloom shared this as a lesson he wished he had learned earlier.

I’ve been thinking a lot about change lately. From conversations with those who have taken the leap on the podcast (like this episode with Caitlyn Miller) as well as offline, I’ve had the itch to bet on myself for a while now, but have struggled to break away from comfort and stasis. 

But I did it! 

I have a few things firing me up at the moment that I’m stoked to build. I’ll be leaning into For The Long Run and launching a new podcast called Long Run Labs, a show telling the stories of those running the outdoor industry, at the intersection of endurance and entrepreneurship. I’ve been fascinated by these types of conversations for a while now; you’ve probably noticed more on the main FTLR feed.

That said, I’ve heard that not everyone is here for those conversations. Since I still want to have them, I’ve decided to separate them into a new podcast feed entirely, so that if you’re just here to explore the why and understand what helps to enable sustainable excellence, that’s what you’ll get. By the way, I just recorded an episode with Scott Jurek that is perhaps the most succinct explanation of sustainable excellence I’ve heard in a while. Excited to share that one soon.

I’m 6.5 years into my podcast journey and loving the medium more than ever. I love sharing stories and connecting through conversation. And I couldn’t do it without you. 

Yes - you! 

Being able to take a leap like this requires a lot of support. Currently, I work with brand partners who help make it possible. Brands like PUMA, Boulderthon, Tifosi, Shokz, GOES Health, PILLAR Performance, Leadville/Lake County, and many more over the years. They keep coming back because the partnership resonates, and they appreciate (and benefit from) the alignment, as many of you have begun using/enjoying those products/brands too! As always, if I’m sharing something, it’s because I use it/trust it/think others will benefit from it too.

So, thank you for making that possible. I believe we are still just getting started with what’s possible via FTLR, especially now that I can focus on it more.

I’m thrilled to partner with Beehiiv in the launch of Long Run Labs. Beehiiv is the platform that I send this newsletter on, and they also have a sweet no-code website builder included in all paid tiers. If you’ve been thinking about a newsletter, check them out (here) and get 30 days free and 20% off your next three months.

A bit more on Long Run Labs: it launches Tuesday June 17th with three episodes, starting with Dylan Bowman who is the host/founder/CEO of FreeTrail/Second Nature, David Callahan who is the co-CEO of UltraSignUp, and Allison Lynch, a career sports marketer from amazing brands like WHOOP, COROS, and more. We’ve created a trailer to highlight what it will be about, with some quotes from early conversations that have already been recorded. 

If there is someone building in the outdoor space that you want to hear from, please let me know! Upcoming guests include Kara Goucher (June 24th), Yuri Hauswald (athlete manager at GU), Kelly Newlon (agent/chef/RAD human), Greg Castro (director, marketing - running at PUMA), Ali Feller (Ali on the Run Podcast host), Sydney Germaine (sports marketing at Garmin), Drew Hartman (sports/community marketing at Salomon), and many more.

The flow of the conversation will be somewhere in between For The Long Run (I want to understand and share who the person is before diving into shop talk) and Second Nature (the business of the outdoor industry). If this is of interest to you, I can’t wait to hear what you think. For The Long Run will continue to be released every Friday, with Long Run Labs coming out on Tuesdays.

Along with a couple of good friends, I am also going to be building something to support early-stage founders, creators, and “accidental” entrepreneurs (someone who solved a problem and then all of a sudden has a business they aren’t quite sure how to run/scale). 

But more on that later, though if this describes you, let’s chat sooner rather than later :) 

And I’ll also be doing a little consulting for early-stage brands, and helping a some athletes and creators (mainly podcasters) in partnering with brands. If you’re a brand in the space looking to connect with runners at scale, let’s chat!

A lot of change! I’m stoked by it, fired up for it, and can’t wait to see how things will look in a year… but just like with running, the journey is the fun part!

—Jon Levitt

About Jon Levitt and For The Long Run

Jon is a runner, cyclist, and podcast host from Boston, MA, who now lives in Boulder, CO. For The Long Run is aimed at exploring the why behind what keeps runners running long, strong, and motivated.

Follow Jon on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.