The Routes We Run and the Friends Beside Us

Why do you run? 
 
We all run for different reasons— reasons that vary by day, year, and throughout the seasons of life. I’ve run because I had to— to pass the Army PFT; because I needed some me time— when my youngest was a baby I started a Couch to 5K plan; and for friendship— I love sharing miles with friends. Running with Stroller Warriors® Yuma taught me the last reason- friendship- is my favorite reason to run. There are no mile markers, no pace keepers, no timers or limits on the amount of fun found in miles with friends.

The last couple of years have been challenging times to run with friends due to restrictions, limited in-person events, cancelled meetups and races. I desperately miss running, training and racing with friends. These days, when I head out the door to run, I find that I’m missing my friends and I follow the footsteps on the paths that we shared together. It brings me such joy as I remember the miles and my friendships on these running routes.

I live close to the Mount Vernon Trail— a paved multi-use trail that runs nearly 18 miles from George Washington’s Mount Vernon to Washington, DC that parallels the nearby shoreline of the Potomac River. The Mount Vernon Trail has been a regular weekday and weekend long run route for Stroller Warriors Fort Belvoir.  Additionally, the trail is a favorite running course for members of Stroller Warriors Quantico during marathon training season.  I can hop on at any section of this route and “run with friends”. I can retrace my first marathon training season with my friend Robin and remember ALL THE MILES we ran together. The muggy mornings, the pleasant and not “too” sweltering summer runs and most of all, I vividly remember running my longest runs on this trail week after week. When I begin my runs at Gravelly Point, I immediately flash back to the morning that Sarah and Virginia ran the length of the GW Trail while training for Sarah’s first marathon. If I start at Dangerfield Island Marina, I remember sharing early morning marathon training routes with the Fort Belvoir crew. A 2018 favorite were marathon training miles from Jones Point Park to the GW trail and over the Woodrow Wilson bridge.

Left- View along the Mount Veron Trail (MVT) in the summer; Center- winter run along the MVT with Stroller Warriors Fort Belvior; Right- View under the bridge at Jones Point

Hot summer miles remind me of my running friends at Stroller Warriors Yuma and Stroller Warriors Jacksonville. Yuma and Jacksonville are two distinct kinds of hot, but the feeling is a lot the same. There is no escaping the heat in either place and trying to beat the heat was best done with friends. A favorite Yuma memory was the time we ran from Susannah’s house to the Marine Corps base to catch up with our families at various kids’ sporting activities. Every time I’ve ever squeezed in some miles waiting for my kids at practice, I remember the fun we had on that point-to-point training run. Another great Yuma running memory was a fun run strategy my friend Stacy called a “doodle run”. A doodle run is when you head out the door without a planned route, direction, or mileage goal.  The runners decide the run turn by turn and run as far as the street will let you before going back to pick another direction until you’re ready to go home. Doodle runs are best in neighborhoods with cul-de-sac streets and plenty of ins and outs.  My neighborhood in Yuma and my current neighborhood are both great for doodle runs.  My friends from Yuma come to mind when I run around my current neighborhood to complete a doodle run.  Doodle runs are perfect during the holiday season— running the streets while admiring everyone’s holiday displays. I don’t often listen to music while I run, but holiday tunes make doodle runs in the winter extra special. ​​

Left- Running in the neighborhood in Yuma; Right- running along the cannal with SW Yuma 

​Jacksonville holds a special place in my heart, as I am the founder of SW Jacksonville, Florida. In the process of starting the chapter and in the year after, I ran every neighborhood possible looking for new running routes for the chapter. There are some great running routes in Jacksonville. After all, you’ve got a lot of miles to choose from as it is the largest city by square miles in America. There are lakes, beaches, paved paths, bridges, and sidewalks. You can see a variety of wildlife— snakes, alligators, birds, cranes, turtles, and squirrels. I have a few routes in Northern Virginia that remind me of the trails and paths I would to run in Jax. Anything with water or a bridge and I flashback to the Fleming Island trail and running the bridge over Doctors Lake with the original crew of SW Jax.

Left- Running over an iconic Jacksonville bridge during a training run; Right- run with friends from SW JAX 

The current winter weather reminds me of the miles I shared during challenging weather conditions. Cold winter runs remind me of the race I ran with my friend Angela outside of the Grand Canyon in May. It was freezing at the start of the race. We lived in Yuma, Arizona at the time and it was never near freezing and certainly not in late spring. Rain takes me back to two races. Women’s Half Marathon in May with Warriors from Fort Meade, Fort Belvoir and Quantico where it rained from start to finish. And 2019 Marine Corps Marathon-- there was a torrential downpour for the first half, so much rain that sections of the race were completely flooded.

Even though my running miles are less than they’ve been in years past, I realize that I never run alone. I run with a happy heart because of all these miles shared with the best running friends ever! I love Stroller Warriors for all that it has brought into my life and I know there are a thousand of you out there who think exactly the same. Thank you to friends at SW Yuma, SW Jacksonville, SW Fort Belvoir, and SW Quantico for the memories, friendships and miles shared! 

Happy Running!
​-Heather 
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Heather is a proud mom of 3 and is now a retired Navy spouse. She belonged to SW Yuma and SW Fort Belvoir and is the founder of SW Jacksonville. She also served on our Global Page Team and Headquarters Team until her retirement in 2020.