Ode to hometown winter running
Ode to hometown winter running
‘Tis the season for frigid miles
Hi everyone,
I wanted to pop into your inboxes one last time before the end of the year. I’m writing to you from New Hampshire, where I’ve been spending the holidays and also doing some very cold, very hilly running. I’m such a sucker for romanticizing the grind of winter training, so excuse me while I do. But there’s something perfect to me about ending the year (and starting a new one) with these kinds of runs. They give the shapeless days a little structure, these days that are somehow very short and very long at the same time. It always takes me an extra nudge to get out the door when I’m home for the holidays—it’s frigid outside and probably snowing, it’s so cozy and wonderfully lazy in the house, and someone is making french toast or eggs or eating chocolate for breakfast next to the fire and telling me you can skip running this one day. But it only takes me two minutes of being out to remember why we keep doing this. (And I’ll have the french toast and eggs and chocolate when I’m back, thank you.)
Soon it will be back to the routine and I’ll be nostalgic for these runs until next Thanksgiving. In the meantime, I’ll be soaking up these last few days of running in the in-between.
Recommended reading
Our annual anti-resolutions from the Outside editors: “Here at Outside, we’re all for pursuing your best self. We also believe that the path to fulfillment is paved not with relentless discipline, rigorous training plans, or—God forbid—diets but with joyful abandon.” (Including my admission that I’ll never be a morning runner and I’ve finally embraced it.)
This Roger Robinson essay on racing in old age is a delight: “Those who choose to retire at their peak may think they evade the losses time brings, but they can only look back, not forward. They miss this ongoing journey, which truly is an exploration of the whole of life, its last 6.2 miles as well as the first 20.”
I edited this piece from Fritz Huber a few months ago on how Strava shapes our running narratives, and I still think about it almost daily.
In which Alex Hutchinson predicts that next year’s biggest health trend will be “reembracing the normal, the quotidian, the unremarkable. After a period of disruption during which—by necessity—we explored new and possibly better ways of doing things, we’re starting to pine for the old familiar ways.” Plus a whole bunch of other predictions for next year from health and fitness experts.
My uncontroversial, definitely correct winter running take. (If you disagree, here are Hutchinson’s timeless tips for running in frigid weather.)
Bonus non-running-related read: I recently revisited Helena Fitzgerald’s essay from last year about this period between Christmas and New Year’s, and it’s still perfect. If you don’t subscribe to her Griefbacon newsletter, I can’t recommend it enough.
Coming soon: Women to Watch 2022
I’ll be putting together another Women to Watch issue of the Kick in January. Here’s last year’s edition to jog your memory—start thinking on your picks! Here’s a bit more info from last year’s callout: I want to hear about a wide range of women, and they don’t all have to be focused on racing or performance—I also want to hear about the runners you’re admiring for their activism, their creative pursuits, or their leadership in the running community. I’ll be putting out a call for submissions on Twitter later as well, so spread the word and send me your picks!
Drop me a line
I want to hear from you! Tell me about what you like here, what I missed, and what’s going on in your running life. (You can also follow the Kick on Twitter, and on Instagram. And I’m on Strava here.) Thanks for reading, and enjoy your miles.
Molly