Runs Have Been Run, Checkpoint One

By: MJ

Back in March 2018, early in the life of this website, I wrote a post about an omission in my mission statement. In that post I hoped that while on this adventure I would be ‘going for unique runs without much to aim for’. How has that panned out?

Once the first week of the trip had passed, I figured that if I could run about once a week then I would have about 50 runs for the year. That would be acceptable. As long as I didn’t lose too much fitness, simple or short runs would probably not become suffer-fests. (Save the suffer-fests for racing and interval training I say!) I also came up with a qualitative goal to the effect of ‘run in each new country’…like a foreign lands tour. These seemed reasonable and it satiated my need to have some sort of goal in the back of my head.

Well, neither of these has turned out, and I have zero disappointment. Being too optimistic for my own good at times, I have the following to report (and photos at the end) independent of either goal:

1. Long Beach, CA. This was my old Community College stomping ground. I ran around the LBCC stadium and into Hartwell Park. It was nice to do a little tempo along the final stretch of grass on the old 5mile/8km loop the X-C team used to do several mornings a week, some 14 years ago. Ahhh, Memory Lane.
2. Cambria, CA. This turned into a long run, and still stands out as probably my favourite. I took some bush trails then some streets, then some rolling windswept hills, then wove through wind sculpted trees, then turned back along the coast where gnarled one-of-a-kind sea benches faced the ocean. It was overcast, but ridiculously amazing. I ended up going about 20km. I think I was smiling for the rest of the day.
3. Napa Valley, CA. This run was a bit of an unknown as there was little information on the trails. The park we stayed in was not a large one, but big enough to get lost in and it had some vicious hills. It was early morning and cool, and although not very long it was a quite invigorating experience. This was mainly because I knew it was likely my last California run for a long time. But I was also more alert and less relaxed because of an unknown: Bears or no bears?
4. Canada, Banff NP. A purely functional run to try to get a campsite, but one where being out early as the sun rose against the mountian peaks gave it’s own rewards. A double win on that morning. (See the pictures below!)
5. Crosby, MN. Our hosts had explained this lake run. I had to drive to the lake area (something I avoid usually), but then just sort of wandered around the winding single track trails of the lakes just outside of Crosby. Some of the single track was so winding that I couldn’t keep track of east. It got hot quickly, so I had to cut it a bit short.
6. Indiana Sand Dunes, IN. We were at one of the most awesome campsites we had come across, and I was feeling positive and due for a run (whatever that means). I headed for the beach, taking a shortcut through a swampy area and getting a wet shoe. The sunrise, over Lake Michigan on what was a still clear morning, occurred a few minutes after I arrived at the shore. Sadly I pulled my calf muscle leaping a stream on the beach, this keeping me on the verge of miserable while I cut back into the dunes, then returned along the rail line into a glaring rising sun. Some runs have a bit of every type of drama.
7. Medina, OH. A run I’d done occasionally when visiting Ohio, this was a short redemption run: The calf pull was not a tear and I was able to finish by running carefully. This good news made this a super run, as sometimes large joys come in small packages.
8. Hilliard, OH. Hot, humid, and did I mention humid? This was fairly short but along a few fun paths in the area. I was still tentative on stressing my calf so cut it a bit short to play it safe. Lazing by the pool was a much better thing to do anyway.
9. Seven Points, TN. Mapping out a quiet area to run to, I followed some local roads to another inlet of the lake. There I found a pontoon, on a still and humid morning, ripe for a photograph. PJ also ran this particular morning.
10. Hershey, PA. From the campsite I headed for the hills and found a stunning little creek path that disappeared into the woods. It was a steady climb that meant a cruise downhill on the way back. I recall a particularly irritable little dog was as vocal on my way back as on my way out. This run’s scenery was unexpected and hence propelled it high on the favourite run list.
11. Canada, Niagara Falls. This was probably the least scenic and interesting run to date, but one which I was glad I did. I wanted to get closer to the river, but it was too far on this particular day. My biggest concern (oh the irony!) was hydration – the campsite and staff were ambiguous about the tap water being potable.
12. Portersville, PA. This was one of those places where you get weird looks if you are out running. These were quiet country roads, and it was nice to be amongst the fields of animals. I doubled back to the edge of the local lake through a wooded area which hugged the road. PJ also ran on this day.
13. Paw Paw Tunnel C+O Canal Towpath, MD. I had a few days to myself, and so I felt it necessary to at least run once. At the parking lot I encountered a returning local hiker. He gave me some sound advice on where to go to run the loop through the tunnel. I felt good after that section, so dropped off the flashlight and did some extra out and back kilometers on the towpath. 
14. Harper’s Ferry, WV. This was the day after the towpath run, so the first serial day run for this trip. I got out early and ran into the NP area, exploring in the cool morning air and having the park streets and roads almost entirely to myself. Heading back to camp I ran a tiny section of the Appalachian Trail, for the very first time.
15. Barboursville, VA. I ran twice here I think. Much the same route each time, enough to log some miles on some rolling hills. The roads are pretty but don’t have enough of a shoulder to make one feel safe from passing traffic.
16. Brazil, Joa. The first treadmill run of the trip. Namely because there was one, and secondly because I was reluctant to run in the streets as there was doubt about safety. It was hot and humid, but this was the first international run!
17. Brazil, Foz do Iguaçu. I ran up and down the main road to the National Park entrance, then to and from the airport terminal. Nothing picturesque, but groundbreaking being my first “real run” in South America. It was meant to be a jungle run, but again safety was an unknown, so I’ll call it my pseudo-jungle run.
18. Argentina, El Calafate. After not running while in Peru for a whole month I was a bit scared this would be a suffer-fest. It wasn’t. I caught the dawn and only had mild breezes, seeing a nice stretch of gritty lakeside dunes and beach lapped by a turquoise lake, and some of the cycle path.
19. Chile, Puerto Natales. Again I got out before the wind, and enjoyed a coast run. A stray dog joined me as I passed it (it abandoned walking with the woman who I thought was the owner), and we ran about 3km before he joined a different walking woman. So much for loyalty! It was nice to have the company, and at that the company of a carelessly energetic dog. The most southern run likely to ever apparently in my log. PJ also ran this day.
20. England, Hammersmith. Out early in the dark, I had no idea which side of the path I should run on. But it seems neither does anyone else. There were quite a few people out running, which was reassuring. Most of this was along the River Thames as suggested by our host, and it was very different now being in the Northern Hemisphere and in winter. 
21. England, Bicester. This was a brief run that was not really planned out. Given the length of time we stayed in Bicester I should have run 3 times… but didn’t. \_O_/
22. Ireland, Dublin. Pondering my qualitative goal, I had to run before I left Ireland for the north. This was the second last day of seven, and I was stuck between running to the lighthouse or into Phoenix Park. The park won as the causeway and wind was an unknown to the lighthouse. It would have been epic, but this was a very enjoyable city run as a compromise… particularly because everyone else was on their way to work. “Not I” said the fly!
23. Northern Ireland, Belfast. It had been cold and a bit snowy, so I was fearing for ice. There was little on the ground and so this city run was more relaxing than anticipated. There were a lot of commuters out at 8:30 so I was amongst a lot of pedestrians and cyclists on the paths by the river. I crossed a bridge to run back on the other side, through a different park, and loved it.
24. England, Richmond Park. Walked here briefly during the first week in England and thought I’d miss the chance to run it. But in the last week in the UK we returned to the area. This was the first run that was not run alone! Took a long run of about 19km in 2 hours rolling around the trails in the dawn and sunrise. Pretty magical place with deer, lakes, fog, woodpeckers, and good company of my cousin.

So there you have it: 20-odd runs while on the road for eight months. “Going for unique runs without much to aim for” has actually happened. These recollections were written from the memories of the experiences, after looking through our locations on the 365 Data Spreadsheet. My Garmin watch has all of these runs recorded, but I am not sure of the integrity of the data it has stored. That’s a concern for another day. 

It’s handy to have your phone or camera with you when out for a run, for the reasons shown below.