December 2021 challenge: American running

-

While visiting my family in the US, I tried out some new routes and races to make my December running interesting. 

Fundraising for JCWI in 2021

This is the 12th recap post of my 2021 monthly running challenges. These challenges are part of my fundraiser for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI). 



Recapping the horrors of UK immigration each month

As part of my fundraising efforts, I am also raising awareness about what's happening in the world of UK immigration each month.

I want people to understand just how much awfulness happens in 28 to 31 days. My recaps will be over on my Medium site.

Why American running

It's not a physical challenge like running every day or running a marathon was. But rather than stick to runs in the US I've done before, I tried to make sure I was running in new and exciting places.

I made sure to take a jumping photo at each location.

Washington DC

I aptly started off a month of American running with a run in Washington DC. I went down for a visit and couldn't not do a run through the National Mall.

It started off with a jump in front of the White House.
Me jumping in front of the White House.
White House jump.

Then I ran over to the Reflecting Pool, from the Washington Monument...
Washington Monument in early sunrise.

...to the Lincoln Memorial.
Lincoln Memorial lit up by the sun.

Alexa's Thunder Run (Kittatiny Valley State Park)

I ran my first trail half marathon at Kittatiny Valley State Park in New Jersey. 

I've already recapped this race on my blog. 


The highlight from this race was walking away with 2 medals: one for finishing and one for being the 2nd place aged 25 to 29 female finisher.
Me holding two medals at the end of the race.
2 medal finisher.

Patriots' Path

Patriots' Path is over 70 miles of trail in northern New Jersey. I ran a 5 mile stretch of it.
Me jumping in the air in the woods.
Trail jump.

For a path that looked flat, the first 3 miles had this slight incline I found exhausting.
A leaf-covered trail.
A tiring slight incline.

The last 2 miles passed along marshland.
Mashland behind tree branches.

Right before the end, I passed a tree decorated with ornaments.
A pine tree with ornaments hanging off the branches.
A different sort of Christmas tree.

Morris Canal Park

Morris Canal Park was a surprising delight! I saw a pond on the map, so I thought I'd just run around that.
A pond with a bench and dock in the foreground.

But there were great trails behind it that gave me a proper adventure run feeling.
A leaf-covered trail.
From pond to trails.

Me jumping in the middle of a trail.
Trail jumping again.

There was even a stream that I had to cross over without falling in. 
A stream crossing through the trail.
Successful stream traversing. 

NJ Winter Trail Series (Lewis Morris Park)

Another race, this time a 10k, already recapped on this blog.


Nice trails, but it was a rainy, muddy, and hilly race that exhausted me.
Me jumping in the air in my race shirt before the 10k.
Pre-race jump.

Skylands Lakes

I traded the trails for lakeside running 2 days after the exhausting race.

It was downhill to get there, gently undulating around the lake, and an awful hill on the way back. So bad I even had to walk a bit of it. 

Still, it was nice to explore a new place near where I was staying but that I had never ventured to before.
The lake through trees.

Me jumping in front of the lake.

The lake from a sandy beach.

A damn connecting the 2 lakes.

Hedden Park

My trail run at Hedden Park ended up being more like a trail obstacle course where my main goal was to survive and not get lost or slip and fall.

The park started off with a very pretty pond, but sadly you could only run along one side of it.
The pond at Hedden Park.

The end of the pond flowing into a river.

A river surrounded by trails.
The river flowing into the pond.

I then ventured into the trails, unprepared for just how hilly they were. I was basically climbing a mountain.
Me jumping along the trail up the hill.
Smiling but very tired jumping.

When venturing back down, I chose the trail called 'Mountain Trail', which was the wrong trail to choose. 

It was incredibly steep and full of rocks. I couldn't run down it. 
A leaf-covered trail up a mountain.
Not sure how to run down this...

The path then leveled out along a river, but it became even worse and still unrunnable. While I could see color markings on trees denoting the path, there wasn't really a paved-out stretch of ground to follow.
A rocky river in the middle of the trails.
From mountain to river trail.

It was like running through the middle of the woods.
The trail along the river that didn't look like a trail.
Where is the path?

I could see on the map if I just followed the river I would get out. I did eventually, but I was disappointed I didn't get to do much running on these trails. 

It was really pretty, though.
A waterfall in the middle of the river.
Pretty waterfall.

Lake Hopatcong

This is the lake I spent my childhood summers on and did a 5k race at the day after I arrived in the US.


So I have previously run the lake before, but I ran a different bit with this run on Christmas Eve.

It had snowed the night before, so I was in for snowy, icy lake views.
Snow and ice covering the lake.

Me jumping on a snow-covered dock with the lake behind me.
Snow lake jump.

The icy lake with the sun trying to shine through the clouds.

Running reflections

Hail the trail

I'm very grateful lockdown in 2020 allowed me to connect with trail running and that it's something I enjoy now.

It expanded my running opportunities while visiting the US this trip, especially for the 2 trail races I did. 

The majority of road races in New Jersey I saw online were only 5k's. The longer distance races were trails.

Trails also felt like a safer place to run. I don't remember there being such a lack of sidewalks in NJ, but there are. Trails were a chance to both run in a pretty place and avoid running alongside cars. 

Lakes are great

I can't mention my appreciation for trails without giving a shout-out to lakes. 

When racing in the UK, I always prefer a flat and coastal course. But really I'm a fresh-water fan, so the chance to run around lakes in the US felt very homelike and comforting.

My lake runs are a lot more hilly than the coastal races I'm used to. That's okay. I can do hills.

Speaking of homelike feelings, I'll be back in the UK, the place I now call home, in less than a week. 

I wish the UK didn't make immigrants go through hell to make it our home, but thankfully, there are organizations like JCWI trying to make the experience more humane.

So, for the final challenge of the year, please consider donating to my JCWI fundraiser.

Next recap

My 2021 challenges are done, but I'll be writing a reflective post about how it all went, to be published on December 31.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Edinburgh Half Marathon 2023

-
Image
 I ran the Edinburgh Half Marathon for the second time and got my third-best time. The jumping American returns. Why Edinburgh Half Marathon I wanted to run a big half marathon race, but I didn't feel up to traveling. So I signed up to my local half, where I got a PB last year. Edinburgh Half Marathon 2022 recap The journey Last year, the race started near the Commonwealth Pool, which was an easy enough walk to get to. This year, it started at the University of Edinburgh central campus, which is a bit farther for me, so I opted for the bus.  There were already a few people in running gear when I got on the bus, so the convergence of the runners started quite early on in my journey to the start area.  Special toilet access Last year, I was still in the toilet queue when the race started. This year, I took advantage of the University being the starting point for the race and brought my staff card with me, so I could use the Main Library toilets. Turns out, I wasn't the only one w
Read more

Loch Ness Marathon

-
Image
I ran my third (and slowest) marathon in the Highlands along Loch Ness. It was a tough race where I felt so close to stopping many times, but managed to never stop running. It doesn't look like it, but I'm tired. Why Loch Ness I was looking to run another marathon this year. I originally set my sights on Valencia, but when I went to book, travel and accommodation prices had skyrocketed. I then looked for a UK marathon to run and learned choices for end-of-year marathons are actually quite limited. I wanted a large-scale race with an interesting route that didn’t involve multiple laps, nor was too hilly. Loch Ness was the only one I could find that fit the bill; although as you'll read later, it was pretty hilly. Training by time, not distance Last year I ran the Yorkshire Marathon with my partner, John. Not keen to endure 26.2 miles again, John opted to be my supporter for the marathon this year instead. This meant training on my own over the summer. I really enjoye
Read more

Running in 2023

-
Image
While running is still important to me, I didn't enjoy racing in 2023. I'm hoping to make racing more social in 2024. Manchester Half Marathon was the most enjoyable race of 2023. A year of unfulfilling races Like 2022, I ran 5 races in 2023. I'm actually surprised my race total was the same as last year because I felt like I wasn't looking for races for most of the year. Most of those races didn't feel worth my time. I regretted signing up for the Edinburgh Winter Run 5k and paying money to run a route on my own I've done quite a few times before. Edinburgh Winter Run 5k 2023 recap Fox Trail 16k was beautiful and ultimately worth it, but I didn't get any sleep the night before and it was a long, early bus journey to get to the race. Beach running at Fox Trail 16k. Fox Trail 16k at Fox Lake recap Edinburgh Half Marathon didn't feel very special this year without getting a PB like I did last year.  Edinburgh Half Marathon 2023 recap The Loch Ness Marathon
Read more