Of Miles and Mustaches...

Fellow runners...

Gracious volunteers got in the mood...

A look in the mirror and I realized, “I look like Dad.” After a few days of growing out and then enhancing a mustache with the help of some pencil, I had all of the trappings of my father as I remembered him when I was younger. A mustache firmly planted on the upper lip. It was all so bizarrely familiar.

Unlike my father, whose charitable contributions included not killing my brother, sister, or me, I was sporting this mustache as part of the “Movember” movement. The concept is an Australian initiative to grow a mustache during November, showing solidarity for masculine health issues.

Paris joined the bandwagon last year, hosting the first of what will hopefully become an annual race each November, called Les Bacchantes, which raises money to battle prostate cancer.

The only rule? Wear a mustache.

Paris Changes: 3 Favorite Startups du Jour

As a journalist in Paris, I am lucky enough to meet a lot of people, both locals and otherwise. I get to become a specialist for a day in all sorts of topics, like eco-friendly sex toys or frozen yogurt – far more eclectic than I ever imagined back at NYU as a journalism undergrad.

Sometimes I think to myself, “How am I ever going to find a new topic to cover?” But Paris is far more dynamic than a lot of people give it credit for, despite what a lot of people write. Much of the English-speaking press about the city focuses on food, a decaying quality of life that apparently has always existed, or how globalization is ruining the city. Thinking with our stomachs and looking behind us – well, neither has ever been an entirely wise choice.

Like it or not, Paris is changing, but it’s not all in in the direction of “doom” or “Americanization.” Three of my favorite start-ups have been bringing some fresh air to Paris in ways that neither mar the postcard image that most people hold nor threaten the age-old traditions that people imagine have always, and will always, be so utterly “French.”  

Paris: The Last 5 Years

Oh hey, that's me!

Some hallmark moments pass without even noticing. October 5^th marked the five year mark for a little boy from Bucks County who found himself in Paris more or less by accident. Instead of throwing a big party and going crazy, I was eating Japanese food in Lyon and watching Indiana Jones in anticipation for a marathon – not something that the Bryan of 2008 necessarily had in mind.

This weekend, a neighbor asked me how long I’ve been living in Paris, and my eyes widened as I realized it’s been 5 years. Long enough to apply for citizenship. Long enough to be taken seriously by locals. More importantly, long enough to know the difference between a good baguette and a great baguette.

From working at a study abroad program during the day and selling pizzas at night, with a short stint as a weekend brunch cook in between there (oh Rose Bakery…), I started off in a unique position. I didn’t have to come teach English, marry a Frenchman, or uproot my adult life to move to Paris. I just had to leave my friend’s apartment floor in Manhattan and pack a few sweaters. It was a comfortable floor. But I had a job, and for the first time, money, in a city that I hardly knew. Paris welcomed Bryan with open arms and a confused look each time I opened my mouth to speak French (cue photos of me!).

Run, Lyon, Run

Bag packed, legs stretched, body hydrated, I went to bed Friday night awaiting a 5:15AM wake-up call in order to recheck everything for the 7:30AM train. I was off to Run in Lyon for my fourth marathon in France, just a month after the liver-testing Marathon du Médoc, and this time without my trusty partner Heather. I trained for months, logged my miles, and prepped the entire weekend trips weeks ago.

As I rose Saturday, I glanced at my phone to see that the clock had struck 6:45AM, the alarm silenced, and all sense of preparation was lost.

I bolted out of bed, threw on my clothes, and ran out the door to get to Gare de Lyon on time. I didn’t eat anything, I barely peed, and I wasn’t sure I had enough clothes for after the race. But fearing missing the train and throwing my training out the window, I couldn’t let a full bladder get in the way. My travel mate was more upset about missing breakfast, but two pastries at the train station made up for that. We made the train, just in time, and we chugged along to Lyon for the big pre-race day of eating and strolling with a healthy dose of lying around.

No bouchon lyonnais for us. It was a market-fresh roasted chicken and rice for dinner, after a delicious Japanese lunch. Nice and light and healthy. A day of strolling the city ended with a bit of Indiana Jones in the hotel as my eyes closed and sleep washed over me.

A Lesson in Customer Service at the Sorbonne

Back to school time!

Classes start for me at the Sorbonne this week, but not as a student. No, this year I begin teaching in the framework of my PhD. They are entrusting me to teach French students. In French. This should be good.

I went to school a few days before classes to check in on the AV equipment. University facilities are notorious for making PowerPoint presenting feel like passing kidney stones, so I wanted to get the skinny before I showed up in front of a group of students who would judge me on my ability to project a slide.

I entered the new building at Paris 3 (spiffy, to say the least) and found the main desk, guarded by a woman eating a half-empty container of lentils. It was around 1PM. Sacred time for the French for any customer service representative. Even though she was helping a girl already, she looked at me with raised eyebrows.

“Hi, I have a class to teach this week and I wanted to know if I could use the projector,” I asked cheerfully, assuming she was angry to have been doubly interrupted during her lentil feast. “Do I talk to you or should I…” Her finger raised at me.

Run: Together, With Purpose, With Me!

The team!

Running in Paris – the scenery is great, the parks are plentiful, and the bakeries are on every corner giving you just one more reason to go that extra kilometer (“If I run a bit more, I can get two croissants…”). But running in Paris can also get lonely and, sadly, monotonous. Listen -- it's time to change that!

Fortunately one French start-up called Jogg.in is making change happen. The guys behind it are launching an online platform that allows users to find other people in your area to jog with and to run with a purpose, ideally to raise money for a cause. The London marathon raised nearly 53 million pounds for charity in 2012 while Paris’s raised nearly 52 thousands euros. We can do better than that...Jogg.in will be able to help!

I met the Jogg.in team during our #BostonStrongParis 5k after April’s tragic bombings at the Boston Marathon. They were extremely excited to see a group of such dedicated runners coming together around an important cause, which embodied the spirit of their concept. Now, the team, including Théo Thomas, and Laurent, need a little boost to bring their idea to the starting line. They are raising money on a crowd funding site called KissKissBankBank. They are almost halfway to their goal so that they can make their concept a reality and go on to raise more money for more worthwhile causes.

The Runner's World Cookbook Reaches Across the Ocean

Editor's note: Officially released October 1st, The Runner's World Cookbook can be, and was pre-ordered on Amazon, arriving well ahead of schedule. Its recipient, a young runner named Bridget, tells the tale from New York:

I had finished my long run for the week – ten miles – on a Friday, meaning the entire weekend lay blissfully ahead of me. There would be no needing to be in bed early, no 7AM wake up call, no spending literally the entire morning preparing for my run, running, and recovering. Still in a state of runner’s high, I had showered and stared into the fridge for approximately 10 minutes. Leftover Thai, a sandwich, veggie burger...

All normally OK choices, but nothing enough to satisfy the post-run craving of something filling, fresh, and good-for-you. So, though pressed for time, I boiled water for whole wheat pasta, tossed in some frozen peas, sliced up a leftover piece of grilled chicken, and warmed up my leftover roasted garden tomato sauce from a few days ago. Add some cheese, pepper, pepper flakes, and voila. The perfect meal for any runner. I sat down with my creation and began to type about my lunch to Bryan (c’est normal), when there was a knock at the door.

The mailman. He was gorgeous and young, wore Ray Bans, and probably wasn't abiding by the Postal Service dress code. But he was my nemesis. In May, the NY Road Runner "Run for Boston" shirts that Bryan and I ordered had gone missing. As in, everyone assured me they had been delivered, and yet I did not have them. I blame this on the mailman and his Ray Bans and lackadaisical ways.