Reading This Site

A short guide to how the site is structured and how to use it.

Origin

Shank Gym started as a race review site and still functions that way.

Each race page is structured so you can get practical information — course layout, venue notes, conditions, and logistics — without reading anything else. If that’s all you’re here for, you won’t miss anything important.

Over time, the site expanded to include additional work that fits naturally around the races.

Some race reviews include optional sections on geology, astrophotography, and local history. These sections are intentionally separated so they can be skipped entirely or explored if you’re interested in the place beyond the course itself.

The same structure applies across the rest of the site.

Where to begin

If you’re new, start with one Race Review. Read a complete report end-to-end. That shows how the site is organized.

From there, follow only what’s useful to you:

• Race Reviews → course, venue, and event documentation

• Readiness → training, recovery, and sports psychology, drawing from academic work and personal experience

• Field Projects → geology, night sky, history, and place

• Field Notes → short observations and working notes

• Essays / Post Illusion Press → long-form writing on music, endurance, and related subjects outside the race context

What you can safely ignore

Nothing on this site is required reading.

If you only want:

• race information → read the race reviews and skip the rest

• training and recovery perspective → read Readiness and ignore the race reviews

• long-form writing → go directly to Post Illusion Press

The site is designed to support selective use.

How to move through the site

This is a reference library, not a feed.

Pages like Start Here, About, and Expeditions act as cross-indexes. They exist to help you move laterally or drop in briefly without feeling like you need to follow a path or keep up.

Take what’s useful. Leave the rest.