Running without Headphones

Brains and Barstools brings captivating professors to downtown Toronto bars for vivid, entertaining talks that spark curiosity and connection over drinks (alcoholic and non-alchoholic options available). On November 4, we present :
🏃‍♀️Running without Headphones: Why We Run

Why do we run? Most of us would say for fitness, health, or maybe even discipline. Yet the literature of running helps us tune into a different explanation: 💡running as a creative, contemplative, and deeply human experience.

Our speaker, Professor Adam Hammond, is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Toronto, specializing in digital and modernist literature and, computational literary analysis. He’s the author of three popular books and—fun fact—an accomplished master’s runner who once held a niche Canadian national record.

Bringing together his passion for running and his expertise in literature, Adam will explore three remarkable books about running that challenge the idea of it as simply “hard work.” Instead, they show running as an inherently valuable journey—marked by feelings and mental states of creativity, focus, togetherness, peace, and, for some, that elusive runner’s high.

📅 Date: November 4, 2025
🕡 Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM
📍 Location: Downtown Toronto
🎤 Speaker: Prof. Adam Hammond, PhD

Whether you’re a curious mind, just starting your fitness journey, or a seasoned runner like Adam, this event will leave you with fresh insight, good conversation, and maybe even a new way of thinking about your next run.

🎟 Seats are limited! Early bird tickets available until October 21, 11:30 PM EST.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Firkin On Bay Street, 1075 Bay Street, Toronto, Canada