Favorite Products/Companies

Keen
Eno
​Kelty
Soloman
Road ID
Vibram 
Balega Socks
​Buff

Favorite Sites

Born to Run/Eric Orton
RunChat

Cascade Canyon

Mt. Washburn, Yellowstone NP, WY

Beehive Trail, Acadia NP

Which way? Acadia NP

Puppy's 1st day on the trails

This page used to be primarily about all the races I was doing- but then a funny thing happened. I got older. My arthritis really started to kick in. Long distance road races took too long to recover from. I got injured. Suddenly the goal I'd been chasing seemed like just that- goals that were being chased, and it wasn't fun any more. Which meant it was time to stop. Pivot. Find the fun again. So here we are. Road races are mostly out (with the exception of the traditional Turkey Trot and It's a Wonderful Run) and I'm focusing more on doing what I enjoy most, trail running in places that give me a chance to explore and see some great views! 

January 2018- Goals for the year: 

​More Trail Runs!: this is always the goal. I'm signed up for the DC 10k, which a new North Face Endurance Challenge location (for me). We'll see how that goes. I'm also signed up for the English's Ridge Run 10 miler (which is pushing my distance limit) and now that I've got an Ultra Runner account I'm trolling that site for new races to check out as well! 

More Relays: I did Seneca 7 a few years ago and loved it, and then last year we relayed the Mountain Goat, which was also a great time. Since my legs won't hold out for long distances anymore this is a great way to still participate in some of those epic races without killing myself. 

Run the National Parks: This is a tough one. This summer we are hoping to take an epic family road trip that will hopefully hit 17 National Parks. I want to run in every single one we hit. Even if it's a quick miler, or a sprint up the trail to a overlook, I'd like to run in every park we hit up! Check the blog this summer to see how it goes! 

Favorite Trails

Cascade Canyon  - Grand Teton's WY
This is one of my all time favorite hikes and one that I've been doing for almost 25 years. The first part of the hike up to Inspiration Point is pretty steep, but after that it levels off and takes you gradually up through rocky cliffs and open flats, where you are likely to see Moose!
You can make the hike/run as long as you'd like, but my goal has been to make it to Lake Solitude- I was cut short this year by a ton of snow that I wasn't prepared to cross, but we'll give it another try next year! (trail map)

Beehive to Gorham Mountain- Acadia NP, MA
Beehive is listed a strenuous hike, and it is definitely that. I set out to do Gorham Mountain, but when the opportunity presented itself I took a turn and went up Beehive- it was awesome. I then headed down the other side and took a turn to The Bowl, which turned out to be a great little pond  where I took a much needed swim before figuring out how to get to Gohram. The view from Gorham were amazing. This was a fairly easy run that gave me great views and a great adventure. (trail maps)

Hitchin's Pond Overlook - Tupper Lake, NY
This trail is a favorite because it includes a little bit of everything, including a kayak/canoe paddle to the trail head.  You put in at Lows Lower Dam and paddle up to Hitchin's Pond where there is a spot at the Upper Dam to either portage to Bog River or you can leave your boat and walk up to the trail head. From there it's about 1.1 miles up the Overlook Trail to a spot that gives you 360 views of the area. It's a nice little hike that offers the best views I've seen! 

Favorite Races/Series

Endurance Challenge Series 
I've now run the 10k distance for this race in 3 locations, the goal being to eventually hit them all. 

Salt City Trail Running Series: 
This series is local to me and so far has three different races on the calendar, English's Ridge Rumble (3 different race distances over a very hilly course, in April, which this year meant in the snow), The Table Rock Challenge (a last man standing race where runners have x number of minutes to complete each 1.2 mile loop) and the 6 Hour Challenge (where runners keep moving for 6 hours to see how many looks they can complete). 

Tough Mudder:
Thus far I've only done one of these (Virginia 2017), but I'm training for a Fall 2018/Spring 2019 race! 

View from Beehive