Brooklyn, Conway, Hendersonville, Key West, St. Michaels + Thessaloniki
Races you'll love running + the perils of being a marathon 'widow,' where Courtney Dauwalter's drive comes from, and Lyz Lenz on refusing to be afraid
Something I’ve been thinking about lately as I look back on all these years of writing to you is, first of all — we’ve been doing this a long time! The first issue of what would become The Half Marathoner, I sent out in March of 2015, which in just a few weeks will be a full decade ago.
That’s absolutely crazy to think about!
And, it means the context in which I first started writing to you was completely different, in so many ways, from today: we were just a few short years removed from the Great Recession, Barack Obama was president, and we’d never heard the word “Covid” — something that would have a huge impact on the running and racing world (as we all know now, of course).
What that meant, I think, was that the reasons a lot of us ran — to participate in races, collect medals in as many states/countries as we could, etc. — changed, even if we didn’t consciously think so.
For the next couple of years, for a lot of us, running became a way to deal with the suddenly changed reality we were now facing with Covid. It became a release, an escape, even if it was only for a little while. That’s what it was for me, anyway.
It goes without saying, then, that tomorrow another big change will occur for those of us in the U.S., one that will again change the context of the reality we all live in. For some of us, this change is welcome; for others, like me, it’s one we’re looking to with trepidation.
Probably no one has put this dichotomy into words more beautifully than
, who wrote about it through the lens of going to football games at the University of Georgia in his newsletter yesterday:“I believe this country’s cherished ideals, the ideals that made me love this country in the first place, are now in extreme peril. I believe we are—all of us—about to be in considerable danger, from threats inward and outward. I believe the world, because of this, is going to be worse for my children, and your children, and everybody’s children. I believe we should be scared. I know I sure am.
But I do still live here. And so do my kids. And so does almost everybody I care about. So I want to have hope. Or, more to the point: I want us to make it through this. I want all the things I am worried about happening not to happen. I want to believe those people who voted for Trump, who think this will somehow will make things better, know something I don’t.
I want, more than anything else, to be wrong.”
I want the same thing. I have family and friends who voted one way, and family and friends who voted another in the last election. And in 2020. And in 2016. (And in 2012, and 2008, etc.) We talk it out, sometimes uncomfortably. (Sometimes really uncomfortably!)
But we’re still friends, we’re still family. We still love each other, and see each other, and try our best to take care of each other. I don’t know any other way, so that’s what I hope to keep doing. And I hope you keep doing it with me too.
Your friend,
— Terrell
🏃♀️ To run
⛰️ Revel White Mountains Marathon + Half. Filled with the stunningly beautiful views of the White Mountain National Forest, whose more than 750,000 acres spread across central New Hampshire and into Maine, the course for this race is also (like all Revel-organized races) an all-downhill route, starting at just over 2,800 feet above sea level and dropping to 462 feet by the time you reach the finish line. Along the course, which runs mostly along the Kancamagus Highway through the forest, you’ll take in historic sights and plentiful views of the Swift River flowing by. Note that this is a 2025-only event; after this year, it won’t return to New Hampshire — so don’t dilly-dally if you want to run it! Set for Sunday, May 4, 2025.
🌄 Jump Off Rock Half Marathon. A mostly downhill late spring run through North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains along the leafy, tree-shaded back roads of Laurel Park, an area just to the west of Hendersonville. Starting from Jump Off Rock, a national landmark and Laurel Park’s highest peak, you’ll run a point-to-point course that follows an overall downhill descent into downtown Hendersonville, taking in views of the valley and the green-covered mountains all around as you run. You’ll also run through neighborhoods with gentle hills and around Lake Osceola before finishing on the town’s historic Main Street. Set for Saturday, May 10, 2025