OOO (!!!)

See ya!

OK! We’re riding the wave of good news and good things and good tidings we bring!

Mostly.

I am bracing myself for some potentially hard days ahead. Annie will be with her dad for the week leading up to Christmas, including Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I’ll get to celebrate Christmas with her on December 26th. I’m trying to tell myself it’s just a day, and any day is special if you make it special.

But it’s my first Christmas without my daughter, at the end of a really shitty and hard year, and there’s no sugarcoating it: It totally sucks, and I’m super sad about it.

An ever-present thought this year has been that I just want more time. More time with Annie. More time with the people I love. More time, period. Cancer really puts stuff into perspective, that’s for sure!

I thought about all the ways I could spend the holiday-less holiday week. Mostly, pouring myself into work, wrapping up 2025, and setting myself up for Q1 success in 2026. I could do house projects. I could finally organize our pantry. I could stay put, go for runs and walks, and get my life in order.

Or… I could not.

Or I could finally do the thing I haven’t done since before Annie was born: I could take a vacation.

So that’s what I’m doing. I’m putting up my Out of Office, and I’m getting out of the country for a few days. I’m going on an adults-only trip where I won’t be surrounded by kids and happy families. I’m going to be warm. I’m going to eat great food with great people, surrounded by beautiful scenery. I’m going to try really, really, really hard to relax, and not to put pressure on “It’s my first vacation since 2017 and it needs to be everything I need it to be!!!”

(I am, predictably, heading into this vacation with a work-heavy to-do list, but that’s OK!)

I bought the bed, and I booked the vacation.

And!

I didn’t have to go to chemo this week! I was scheduled for Round 9 on Tuesday, but asked my oncologist if, since my scans were soooooo cute, I could take a little break and enjoy my vacation and Christmas with Annie. I assumed it would be a hard no. I was pleasantly freaking psyched when she said she was fine with that. I’ll return to Dartmouth for Round 9 after my trip, and after Annie and I spend some quality time together.

And!

I recorded an episode this week with my last guest of 2025: Jackson Olson! I’m a big, huge fan. A dancing, baseball-playing, Savannah Banana Swiftie who just ran his first 5K? A dream Ali on the Run Show guest! A very fun chat that I’m excited to share next week.

So I head into the week ahead with mixed emotions. Such is life.

(Sending a whole lot of love to anyone riding the waves of highs and lows this holiday season. Whether there’s a kid-shaped-and-sized hole in your heart because you won’t be together on the Big Days, or you’re going through a hard time, or 2025 just isn’t closing out the way you had hoped, I pinky promise you are not alone. [This is a hug.])

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This week on the Ali on the Run Show:

• Lauren “Fithy” Hunnewell, Animal Rescue League Volunteer & 41-Time Marathoner: No one has more fun than Fithy! I loved getting to have my friend Lauren (everyone calls her Fithy — her maiden name is Fithian) on the Ali on the Run Show this week to talk about running with rescue dogs. We also talk about her very fun job at New Balance, the role running plays in her life right now, and why she takes her five-year-old daughter, Isabelle, on a very special work weekend every year. (If you follow me on Instagram, this is the episode that never saved the first time around. Lauren was so generous to re-record it with me, and I’m so glad it exported properly the second time around! Thank god.)

Watching:

• The End of an Era (Disney Plus): Obviously. The first two episodes were so good. I love the behind-the-scenes details. I want more. I crave more. I love seeing choreographer Mandy Moore getting some much-deserved attention and fanfare. I love it all.

Listening to:

• Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Good Hang with Amy Poehler: An absolutely delightful episode. I feel like female friendship is having such a major moment lately (OK, more than a moment), and I am so here for it. This episode was fun and giggly and exactly what I’m craving right now.

Working out with:

• Mariana Fernandez’s Eras-themed Peloton Tread class: It’s a perfect 45 minutes. Mariana nailed this class. The playlist = no notes. The shout-out during Long Live was so special. I rarely repeat classes, but I will take this one again and again. Highly recommend.

Wearing:

• This cute and cozy sweater and matching sweats (pictured way above). So soft. So snuggly.

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SPONSOR SHOUT OUTS

I am so grateful for the wonderful brands and partners I get to work with on the Ali on the Run Show. Supporting them = supporting me!

• Shokz: Click here and use code ALI for $10 off your next purchase.

• Lagoon: Click here to get my favorite pillows (I sleep on the Otter every night), and use code ALI for 15% off.

• The Eugene Marathon & Half Marathon: Click here and use code ONTHERUN for $10 off your registration. I love these races, taking place April 26, 2026.

• New Balance: Click here to shop New Balance’s latest releases for the season.

• Vuori: Click here for 20% off your first Vuori purchase.

• Oofos: Click here to make your feet happy!

And so…

Take good care of yourselves. Take good care of each other. Be the good.

(You’ve got this. You’re doing great.)

Love,

Ali