Photo by Shannon Sturgis
Chances are, you know Ivy Mix because of cocktails.The celebrated bar and bottle shop owner, author, and philanthropist has won a pile of awards and been featured by everyone from The New York Times to Esquire to The Today Show. But when she’s not wowing customers, readers, and other competitive drink makers, the Vermont native likes zoning out with a run.
“Some people can sit down and meditate, kind of get that out-of-body calm mindset, but I’ve never been particularly good at that,” Mix tells us on a recent afternoon. “I’m always better at doing physical things. I got unwittingly into running.”
About 10 years ago, after finding herself inspired watching the New York City Marathon, Mix tentatively started running on her own. She made a pact with some girlfriends to do a half marathon, and then never looked back.
Here, she indulges us with a few reasons why she thinks anyone can—and should—take up running as a hobby.
You probably won’t hate it.
“Everyone who doesn’t run says they hate running. ‘No, I hate that, why would I wanna do that?’ I think people hate anything that’s kind of hard. But you can just walk some, run some. Running is a very easy, fun way to look at something and see your improvement in a tangible way. And it’s not hard to improve.”
It’s a good excuse for some me time.
“I’ve got a lot of shit going on. When I run, I turn on ‘do not disturb,’ I put on some podcasts, and I try to zone out. It’s kind of the one time that I allow myself some ‘me time.’ I hate running with people. This is my time to be completely alone.”
Your mental health will thank you.
“I didn’t notice how much it was doing for me until I stopped. I could feel it in my mental health. Once you lose it, it’s like, what’s up? Why do I have a bitchiness to me? Why don’t I feel as fulfilled and rewarded? Running doesn’t take much time. In half an hour, you can run three miles, and then it’s done. You can’t even finish a TV show in that much time.”
It can be an extremely social activity.
“I don’t like running with people, but I know lots of people who join running groups and it really, really helps them. Especially people in the hospitality industry. You don’t really think people who work until 4am would love to run, but they do. Additionally, on social media I mostly follow people who run. It’s amazing to see what people are doing. Human beings are super physically capable. Watching other people do stuff can be motivational.”
And make sure to check out - Running: A Proper Playlist by Ivy Mix
