Another year on the roads…

Bear with me. I’m writing this in the aftermath of my last long training run of 2024. Today involved 22 trail miles across what felt like half the state of New Jersey so the brain and body are a little cooked. But if all goes according to plan, that number will be 26.2 across Death Valley National Park a week from today. I can’t wait. It’s been a long year - my first run in 2024 was on January 3rd. 815 miles of hammering pavement (and some trails), mostly on the hilly crowned roads of the White Mountains, have brought me here: On the cusp of a unique new challenge. As I was dodging horses and fighting cramps in freezing temperatures for nearly three hours today, I was struggling to decide what to write about this month. It eventually clicked, and frankly seemed pretty obvious. How about the months-long journey that is training for a marathon? Allow me to back up a little bit.

Running is another one of those passions that I put right up there with hiking, music, and photography. It has been a part of my life since middle school, and my relationship to the sport has evolved numerous times over the years. More recently, basically the last decade, one process has remained consistent: the annual marathon training calendar. Over those years I have completed eight marathons (Boston x3, Detroit, Syracuse, Lake Placid, Berlin, and Mount Desert Island), with next week being my first trail marathon. The training cycle is consistent. Start basebuilding nine months out, work in a half marathon (or similar) halfway through, and log two or three 20+ milers in the final month of training. 1000 running miles in a year is not uncommon. The only difference this year has been the trail factor. Working in at least one trail run per week, usually at Smarts Brook, was necessary. It has been a welcome wrinkle to my process, though. I’ve grown to love running the trails (a surprise to probably nobody). Lots and lots of miles, achy joints, and sore muscles. Naturally, the question I field at least a dozen times each year? “Dude… why?” I’ll explain!

I’ve talked about this briefly before, but more than anything else it’s the long-term dedication and discipline that such a thing requires. “A departure from the immediate gratification that we are so addicted to” I called it. It’s true. The level of appreciation you have for an accomplishment increases with the amount of time you put into it. I look up at my medals and recall the countless hours and miles that went into each one, and consider how much had to go exactly right for each one to be placed around my neck at the end of 26.2 miles. Each one is special in that sense. But another benefit I want to speak to has less to do with marathon training, and more about running more generally. Each run is a form of physical meditation for me. Some days it takes serious work to drag myself out the door. I could be sore, tired, stressed, or all of the above. It could be dangerously hot, rainy, snowy, or dark. It’s a test of commitment. But once you commit? Once you embrace the discomfort? Your mind will thank you in a way that overwhelms any physical struggle. We have to get to face all of those thoughts and emotions we can’t make time for otherwise. Or worse, outright avoid. The process can bring clarity. Even if it doesn’t? It is still grounding, offering a chance embrace our complex selves. Quite bluntly, once you step out the door, there isn’t much choice but to at least accept where your emotions go. The commitment and discipline then becomes both physical and mental. Those medals become even more valuable.

I promise, it isn’t all heavy, abstract stuff. A more fun return of the long-term process is just the reflection when it is all said and done. Thinking about all that transpired in those many months can be a trip. This is where bringing a camera everywhere comes in handy. Look at 2024 for example. There were bigger trips like North Carolina, California, and Detroit. Weekenders to Portland, Maine, Burlington, Vermont, the New Hampshire seacoast, and Boston. It has easily been my favorite concert photography year… ever (King Diamond, Amenra, In Flames). I also experienced a bit of a reacquaintance with the White Mountains - in part thanks to running more of the trails. While Greeley Pond, Black Pond, and Smarts Brook continue to be among my favorite spots, a completely new Arethusa Falls/Frankenstein Cliff trip in peak foliage was the highlight. A random day off. A surprise at seemingly every corner. (More on that another time.) It was a damn close to perfect day, and one I’ll remember forever. And all the above, all of the events and the emotions contained within them - how much I learned about myself and considered what could come next in life… It all took place within a single training season. Wild.

…Okay, fine, but what does all of this have to do with photography? I’ll close by reminding you that a camera comes with me everywhere, and the Z7 II and newly acquired FM are already packed. Intersecting passions. Stay tuned.