IS MAINSTREAM RUNNING READY ΤΟ GET HIGH

Thai Richards is creating a new kind of running community with a radical mission: TO DESTIGMATIZE THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT WEED AND WELLNESS

- DAVID ALM

BEATRICE RICHARDS LEANS OVER THE TAPE AND CRANES HER NECK. IT'S NOVEMBER 7, 2021, AND SHE'S STAKED OUT A SPOT ON THE CORNER OF LAFAYETTE AND BEDFORD AVENUES IN BROOKLYN, JUST PAST MILE 9 OF THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON. HER SON, THAI, SHOULD BE ALONG ANY SECOND.

Beatrice wasn't always there for Thai. Not like this, at least. She had him when she was 16; by 23 she was working long hours at the post office. As a single mom, Beatrice was determined to make a good life for herself and her son. That meant finishing college and holding down a job, sometimes more than one. It meant sacrifices. Beatrice left for work early in the morning, leaving Thai to get himself to school. Oftentimes he just stayed home.

Still, Beatrice always believed in her son. Life could be hard, but he was strong.

Standing at Lafayette and Bedford, Beatrice holds a sign she made: "Hey Mr Rager," in big green letters, underscored by three lightning bolts.

The sign refers to Rage & Release, the cannabis-centered lifestyle community Thai founded in 2017. The group meets several times a month to meditate, do breath work, share meals, and run the streets of Brooklyn, often along the same stretch of road where Beatrice is now waiting. Thai says Beatrice was furious the first time she caught him with weed. He insisted she had nothing to worry about.

Beatrice waves her sign and holds her cellphone in her other hand, ready to take a photo the instant Thai runs by. The moment is significant. In his late teens and early 20s, Thai could have easily landed in prison or been killed. Instead, at the age of 30, he's the literal face of the 2021 New York City Marathon, featured in its marketing banners, social media posts, and commercials.