10 years of running with a stroller

I could not tell you how many times I open the trunk of the car to load groceries, school items, etc., only to see the jogging stroller taking up much of the trunk space— it’s a permanent fixture.  I always let out a long sigh and use a delicate system of placing a full load of groceries from Costco around the BOB stroller.  I remember our BOB stroller sitting in the front entryway of our house in Germany— rolling it out of the way to grab our shoes stored under an entryway table.  I would often load the kids in the stroller and walk to the bakery in the mid-afternoon for a snack before going to the neighborhood park as the evening church bells rang.  In the mornings, the stroller would go back into the car before Stroller Warriors, only to be placed back in the entryway when I got home.  The jogging stroller— taking up much needed space and always annoyingly working around it. 

I mentioned to my husband that I cannot wait for stroller free days— we will have so much more space!  However, as I was running this morning before story time at the library- extremely hot, sweaty hands slipping from the handlebar, and my youngest singing the lyrics to her favorite Disney tunes at the top of her lungs- I realized that I would miss the jogging stroller and stroller running days. 
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I have been running with a jogging stroller for over 10 years-- beginning with a single stroller pushing my first born through strong windy weather in Montana; transitioning to a double stroller when my son was born; adding a bike rider to the mix when my youngest came along and experiencing the need to run at turbo speed with a double stroller in order to keep up with a quick kiddo on wheels; thankfully moving back to a single stroller with 2 kids on bikes; now here I am with my last stroller rider who will be heading off to school in a month.  

Birthday run to our neighborhood German backerei.

Napping in the double after a run with SW Fort Belvior friends.

I made so many cherished memories while running with my kids in the BOB, but one in particular is by far my favorite— during our last days in Germany, my husband and I took a family run down the Kaiserstrasse heading towards a local overpass to watch the trains pass.  It was a perfect evening— pleasant summertime weather with a slight breeze in the air, and puffy clouds in the sky with the early evening sunbeams bursting through.  In the middle of the run, my daughter leaned over, reached her hand out and brushed her hand over the wild daisies that were growing alongside the path. 
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The jogging stroller has helped keep my love for running alive throughout each stage of parenthood.  Ten years, a quarter of my life, running with a jogging stroller.  The stroller and my kiddos have been my steadfast companions throughout the past decade.  It has been an instrument that set me on an incredible path in discovering the Stroller Warriors community.  There are many aspects of running with a stroller that I will miss….I will miss the storage for my water bottle and cellphone, I will miss having the space for my Bluetooth speaker, but most of all, I will miss the company it keeps. 
 
Happy running,
Rose