Running has always been our family’s approach to explore a new duty station’s surroundings, or a new travel destination.  A few assignments ago, we were stationed in Europe— what an incredible opportunity this was!  We often ran with our children through our little German village, as well as the other small villages nearby— making stops at the local Bäckerei, or at the neighborhood market to buy a special German treat.  Finding stroller friendly sidewalks and running trails on our travels was something we would often do too— from mountain trails in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland; the bustling city sidewalks of Berlin; through the tulip fields of Holland, bursting with color; to the craggy lakeside trails in Killarney, Ireland…running with our kids was always an enjoyable way to sightsee, and to absorb the local culture.

Strollers Warriors launched its Ramstein chapter a few months after we began our assignment in Germany.  I was able to explore many other German villages with my running friends and their children— these people became my tribe/family…we traveled together, hiked together, and ran together in other European cities.  The thing about Europe— it was very uncommon to see a tandem BOB stroller…sidewalks and doorways were narrow, sometimes too narrow for even a single BOB!  Furthermore, one rarely saw an individual running with a jogging stroller through the streets of European cities (especially in Paris).  There is shared solidarity with friends when taking jogging strollers onto a crowded Bernese gondola to a mountain-top Swiss village.  So, having friends share similar stories about their BOB strollers rolling through streets all throughout Europe, to enjoy a scenic run…that’s running buddy love and solidarity!

I mentioned Paris above. Our family visited Paris multiple times (I am a history lover, specifically French Revolution history) and waited until one of our last visits to Paris to finally run with the stroller.  This Parisian run with my husband and kids in the double BOB is one of my most beloved running memories:

We began our run at the Louvre and ran into the Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Garden)— zigzagging our way through its packed-dirt paths, loudly chatting with the kids about the sculptures, trees, and fountains until we made our way to the opposite side of the Tuileries, overlooking the Place de la Concorde (serious French Revolution history happened at this location).  We then worked our way across the heavily trafficked street to the sidewalk that ran along the River Seine to stare and admire the Eiffel Tower!  There is always more than what meets the eye…we smelled aroma of delicious French food from the plethora of streetside brasseries, and we heard Parisian conversation at every turn.  We crossed the gorgeous Pont Alexandre III Bridge— Les Invalides was straight ahead (hello, Napoleon), then down a ramp down to the river’s walking/running path.  We discovered a neat athletic area along the river— “exercise parks” (as my kids call them) for adults and kids, small playgrounds and climbing walls…all along the way to the Eiffel tower sans traffic!  After letting the kids play and some box jumps, we made our way over to Trocadero to enjoy another view of the city.  It was a chilly February day and I found it odd to find an ice cream cart at Trocadero.  Living in this magical moment though, we bought ice cream for the kids, which they enjoyed while we then ran to the Eiffel tower to take one last carrousel ride in Paris. 

Once the ice cream was finished, the carrousel ride ended, and we began the final leg of our run, it almost seemed like a movie as a large group of Parisian school kids (all donning matching blue blazers), cheered for us as we raced to the end of the Tuileries Garden!  It was a brilliant run!  

​Oh, the places we run...make incredible memories! 
 
Happy Running!
-Rose 

​Running the London Marathon has been a goal of mine!  I began the application process for a London Marathon bib number even before our family received orders to come to England.  The London Marathon is one of the six world major marathons (the other five being New York, Chicago, Boston, Berlin and Tokyo), and in 2017 I made a goal to complete all of six world major marathons.
 
On cold afternoon in February 2021, 8 February to be exact, the Virgin Money London Marathon began the email notification process for ballot selections.  Many lucky applicants received fantastic congratulatory news of their entry selection to run the 41st London Marathon later in the fall. Unlike previous years where hopeful marathon applicants would receive a magazine in the mail, this year hopeful runners had to click a link in order to receive a notification if selected or not.
 
I was mid-run on the treadmill when I opened the email that read “You’re in!” I screamed with excitement, as this was my fourth attempt at trying to obtain a bib number for the London Marathon.   Several Stroller Warriors® members from SW Lakenheath also applied for bib numbers for London Marathon.  I instantly sent a message to Christina, Staci and Sarah to find out if they were selected.  After a few hours of waiting on results, it was looking as if only Sarah would be joining me.  I was thrilled that a SW friend and I both received numbers, yet disappointed that all four of us did not obtain the same news.  Staci and Christina both applied to run for charity.  After some wait time, they were both accepted to run for the Children with Cancer, UK marathon teams!  The four of us were training for and running the London Marathon!  This was our second marathon all together, with the Athens Marathon 2 years priors.  Even more exciting—, Andrea, also a member of SW Lakenheath, would be training with us as she geared up for the Manchester Marathon the week after the London Marathon! 
 
It was time to hit the ground running with training and fundraising!  Getting together for training was hard.  In true military fashion, there were many bumps and scheduling conflicts-- a deployed spouse, TDY’s, etc; however, we always tried to have a long-run partner each week.  We ran with members of Stroller Warriors Lakenheath ran during the week and it was lovely to have the company and support of fellow Stroller Warrior members.  The weeks quickly flew by, and we finally made it to the end after about 16 weeks of training.  Additionally, through posting on social media outlets and sharing our fundraising efforts with family and friends, we were able to raise over £2000 for Children with Cancer, UK! 
 
Race weekend had finally arrived.  The Saturday before the race we all took the train to London from Lakenheath to pick up our bibs, relax and run a Sunday morning victory lap! The weather was nice—with some rain mid-day during the run. The day of the race, the course was lined up the whole way with crowds of spectators cheering for us! Such an amazing experience! Never have I cried at a race until this day!   Prior to this race, I had completed 4 marathons and was always happy to finish.  But this race was different.  At around mile 8 of the London Marathon, I was overcome with joy and could not hold back the tears of happiness. So much time lost from the previous year during the hard lockdowns in the U.K. that it just felt so surreal to be running with so many people— as if life was as it should be! This marathon experience was one for the memory books!
 
London was truly amazing, if you get a chance do it! 

____________________________________________

​Emily L. left home of the Bay Area at 19 to join the Air Force.  After finishing a 6 year enlistment, she is now a military wife of almost 15 years. She has two girls ages 6 and 3. When not running, Emily enjoys travel, coffee and wine! Emily began running distance almost 10 years ago after getting out of the Air Force. Her favorite race distance is the half-marathon. She has completed 6 full marathons and 25 live/in person half marathons! This year she has set a goal of completing a half marathon every month! She is mid-streak of 10,000+ steps a day and 1 dedicated mile a day run or walk for over 565 days now! Emily is plans to get into the Chicago or New York marathon in 2022.  

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?  This question evokes many thoughts in multiple domains in my life…it is an important question, and one that opens a mind to change, welcomes adaptation, and most importantly, promotes resiliency.  I first heard this question from our former neighbors and close friends, who are a Royal Air Force (RAF) family. 
​
Fitness, specifically running, has always been my “go to” choice to find my circle of love-- my family at each military assignment, my trail-running buddies, and my fellow moms who train for races with their kids and who wake before dawn on weekends to accomplish those long training runs.  I have been a Stroller Warrior since 2014-- beginning with Ramstein, to Fort Belvoir, and currently a member of Elsewhere.  Elsewhere…it takes some work as you are without a prebuilt running and friend network.  What is the Stroller Warriors® Elsewhere Chapter?  It is a virtual Stroller Warriors chapter for us Stroller Warrior members that no longer belong to a physical chapter-- an avenue to stay connected to our teammates, seek advice, channel motivation to run, and to meet up with Stroller Warrior members at non-chapter locations. 

In 2019, our family received orders to Shaw AFB in Sumter, SC.  I immediately jumped on the computer and searched to check for a Stroller Warriors Chapter at Shaw AFB.  Though I was deeply saddened to learn there was no chapter here; luckily, a friend from an earlier assignment connected me with her childhood/college friend, Jess.  Jess, like me, had two very common passions- running, and Germany (we were both stationed in Germany at different times).  We hit it off right away, running at 5AM before the sun was blazing, and most importantly, our families became close family friends.  

​Meanwhile, we also quickly became close family friends with our RAF neighbors.  Eventually, we all fused together to form our local neighborhood running group, and this resulted from a “perfect storm” of a hurricane coming through South Carolina while I ran the Jungfrau Marathon in Switzerland with one of my very close Stroller Warrior Ramstein friends.  My family and I feared that our beloved trampoline would be tossed like a frisbee by the hurricane (yes, they actually can fly with enough wind)…so, when Jess called to ask if we needed anything done to our house while we were across the Atlantic my only thought was to “anchor the trampoline!”  While my family enjoyed the Alps with our Stroller Warrior friend/family, eating fondue and frolicking through mountain meadows, Jess quickly hustled to our house, meeting our RAF friends Phil and Beth in the backyard to use our CrossFit equipment (45lbs plates and kettlebells) to anchor the trampoline as the hurricane’s roll clouds rapidly approached!  The proverbial “silver lining” of this storm was the birth of my neighborhood running crew, and what I consider to be my Stroller Warriors Elsewhere family.  

​So…what could I do if I knew I could not fail?  I could run multiple ultra-marathons!  Phil, Beth, Jess, and Chris (Jess’ husband) were all about completing South Carolina’s vibrant trail race and ultra-marathon circuit.  We often found ourselves heading out on Friday nights to spend the weekend in the woods pounding out miles on trail, and having a great time doing it!  The kids were always along for the adventure, exploring the woods, playing in the dirt, skipping rocks on lakes, and running alongside us for short distances.  

This was our crew, this was (and still is) my Elsewhere.  As Phil, Beth, and their kids returned to the UK, and as we PCS in two days, I am forever grateful for this Elsewhere crew, and again, though we are in different locations, the bond we made will forever be in my heart, and will be my motivation. 
 
Have you been a member of Stroller Warriors® Elsewhere?  How have you met your Elsewhere team?  


Happy Running!
-Rose :)

When my family and I PCSd to Okinawa, Japan, I was unsure of what to expect as a runner. After some time here, I was excited to learn that the running and racing community is very rich here. From little kids to grandparents, everyone is out running and participating in races. Even individuals with special needs are encouraged to enter and run races! The 3.8K races here, while they are predominately children (and sometimes but not always their parents), they also are for individuals with special needs. You will see individuals with special needs and their guides running along, happily together. That is something that I have never seen in the US but wish that I could see. I think running and exercise is beneficial to everyone!

I love watching the locals and learning from them, it’s amazing what you can learn when you pay attention! I talked with Stroller Warriors from Iwakuni and Zama to compare and contrast experiences. So here we have for you, our lessons learned about running in Japan.

Attire: It’s HOT in Okinawa with high temperatures and 100% humidity. You’d think all runners would be wearing as little clothing as possible. That’s not so in Japan! Japan is a very modest culture and community and taking your shirt off to run is unheard of (unless you’re an American who doesn’t know any better). Even in high heat with high humidity you will see Japanese locals running or walking in long pants and long sleeves. At a minimum they will have shorts and t-shirts on. Usually they won’t even have sweat stains on their clothes. How so, you ask? A Japanese friend once told me they have the same concept as maxi pads but to stick to the underarms of your shirts to collect the sweat. Stroller Warriors who have lived on mainland Japan report the Japanese dress modestly while exercising there as well.

Safety: Japan is a lot safer than the US. I have never been cat called at or followed while running in Japan and neither have Mallory, Colleen and Katie who were stationed in mainland, Japan. Whether you’re in Okinawa or on mainland, Japan, chances are you will feel a lot safer while running solo. If I run early in the morning or late at night I’m not nervous about getting attacked by a human (though I am still on alert!). Instead, my mind is worried about habu snakes (that are nocturnal and incredibly territorial in addition to being one of the most venomous snakes).  I still prefer to run in the company of others, but I love feeling safe in the community I run in!

Japanese runners don’t break the road laws. If the light is red, that means stop and all of the Japanese runners will stop at each red light until the cross-walk man tells you that you can go. American’s wouldn’t think twice about crossing the street if the roads were clear, but the Japanese will stop and wait. Katie had a situation where a local screamed at her for a couple minutes because she ran across a bridge and crossed at a crosswalk when the walk man was red. If you are new to Japan, you may not realize that they take following the road laws seriously for pedestrians and bicyclists, not just cars.​

Be very careful when crossing the street. Cars drive on the left side of the road here. So remember how you learned how to look both ways before crossing the street? Well now, you have to start with the opposite way first! You need to look right, left and then right again. You’ll get used to it after a while, and when you move back Stateside, you’ll have to get used to it all over again!

Cross the road, closer to the road, not closer to the building. This is a tip I learned from watching the locals. If you cross closer to the building you are moving from a blind spot right out into the danger zone in the blink of an eye. To make themselves more visible they go out away from the building, towards the street before crossing. 

​Use the mirrors!  In Japan, because there are so many blind spots, the government has put mirrors everywhere to help everyone see better. The mirrors give you a little glimpse into a narrow alley or down a road that’s at a weird angle from you. Use them! If you see movement in the mirror, stop and let them cross first. 

Japanese runners have a tradition of turning after crossing the finish line and bowing to the course. From my understanding, they do not always do this, they only bow to the course when it has been a formidable opponent. On a tough race, like the Shouhashi half marathon in Nanjo, Okinawa you will see whole crowds of people turning to bow to the course. This is good to know so you can slow down and give the people in front of you space after you cross a finish line. They might be stopping and turning when you weren’t expecting it. 

The price of racing is much more reasonable here than in the US. In the US I was paying $180-$220 or so for a full marathon. Here, the price to run a marathon is around $40-$60. It seems that in Japan, the larger the race, the more you can expect to pay to be in it. 

Japan has a rich culture of running and racing and I am so glad I have been able to be a part of it. From glass medals to clay medals, from locals lining the roads during a race to offer trays of salt or brown sugar, to stopping mid race to take a photo with a bull. I’ve gathered up a million memories and experiences I will treasure forever. 

Don’t be afraid to experience something new here in Japan, lace up your shoes and go! 

Happy Running!
Kelly