I spent most of my teen years away from Russia but Moscow was my home. I was studying abroad — first in the US, then England — but would be back In Moscow for every school break. I missed Moscow during my boarding school years and missed it even more…

I don’t know if this game has a name. We started last night and it escalated quickly. I arrived in Florida from California, my wife met me at the airport Fort in Lauderdale, we drove home and went straight to dinner — it was my Mom’s sixty third birthday. On…

My wife used to be the most avid lover of the outdoors in our family. How she hikes is a subject of jokes, teasing, and heated arguments too. If she says we are going for a nine-mile hike, it will end up being thirteen miles. She’d plan in advance, she’d…

I mean I know how they do… I am aware of the mechanics of it… Every now and then I write stories that I define as intimate. Sensitive too. I guess this is one of them. Today on Facebook a male connection posted a picture of his newborn baby. We’re…

One of my readers asked, in response to one of my very light-hearted stories. No link to the story — so light-hearted it was. Light-hearted in a bad way. I don’t think the question intended to make me feel guilty but it did. I didn’t pull my hair but I…

It started a few weeks ago, this desire to finally treat myself. They say self-love is important. I love myself wholeheartedly; there is never insufficient self-love. But I finally needed to go a little beyond the romantic relationship with myself. So I did. First, I went to a running shop…

This is plagiarism. On Strava, I’m following both amateur and elite runners. I recently followed Charles Hicks, who runs for Standford. Charles Hicks - Cross Country TFRRS Performance Profile Career Accolades Six-time All-American CoSIDA Academic All-America third team (2022) European…gostanford.com My son, who runs for high school, told me about Charles Hicks. Last night Hicks posted this on Strava:

All right, this will probably seem like a random and bizarre story on the eve of Thanksgiving. But I thought I’d let it out. First a disclaimer: I have nothing against the people who wear this garment. My current boss wears it all the time. He’s great. Some very famous…

It’s like there is now a love triangle: my running, my food, and I. Or should I call it a threesome? It’s a little after 7 am here in California and I just had my breakfast. Nothing spectacular: a few pieces of pineapple, three fried eggs, and two pieces of…