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December 2, 2008
Shutt Road
This morning I went on a 7 mile run. It was dark and cold and windy. Winter in Pennsylvania. But I've probably run hundreds of runs just like I did this morning. In the dark. In the cold. In the wind. I grew up as a runner, ran through college and still run. As I get older I like the cold less and less, but the dark morning is probably my favorite time to run. I know I've talked about it before. There is something so peaceful about only hearing your footsteps and getting in a great run before most people are even up.
Regardless, this morning while I was getting my 7 miles in, I was thinking about running in the dark and how it doesn't really matter how light it is because I could do most of my runs with my eyes closed. I'm a creature of habit and tend to run the same routes over and over again. Right now I seriously only have about 2 different runs from our house. There are different variations of the runs depending on the distance I need, but otherwise it's the same roads, past the same houses and the same dogs that bark. I know which sidewalks to run on when it's dark and which ones to avoid. I know that the houselight on the corner of State Street always turns on when I run past and that the huge hill on Ninth always makes my HR spike halfway up.
In college we had more runs. They all had names. My favorite from the very first run I did as a freshman was the 5 mile loop around the golf course. And of course there was "The Loop" which was the morning run that we all did every day. I've run "The Loop" so many times I can probably still list the names on the mailboxes! There was the run where we would always see JoePa out walking. And there was that crazy run that Shelley always made me do with her on Sundays for our long runs. It was crazy hilly and at the end you had to climb over a gigantic fence that always had me cursing her for. I have so many wonderful memories from all those runs.
Then high school - we had even MORE routes. They also all had names. Main Street. Lynch Field. Hempfield Park. Buncher. Donut Shop. Willow Crossing. There are way too many to list. But this morning, while I was running through the darkness, I was thinking of one of my all time favorites in high school - Shutt Road.
Now let it be known, the very first time I did this run I HATED it. I was in 8th grade and my sister drug me out to run it one cold, winter day. It must have been Christmas break because otherwise she would have been running with the team. Anyway, from the high school the run is 8 miles and that was LIKE REALLY LONG when I just a young chickadee! And it was so cold. And snowing. And Shutt Road is one of the hilliest runs we did in high school. And I hated my sister for about 2 weeks after she made me do that with her. Are you reading this Becky? That was rough.
But then I grew to absolutely adore that run once I was in high school. I just loved it. I would get so excited when I knew that was going to be our run for the day and I ALWAYS choose Shutt Road when our coach let us decide which run we'd like to do. Shutt Road is definitely one I could do with my eyes closed.
Of course you may or may not recognize the fact that Shutt is now my last name. I was destined to marry a Shutt right? All those times I ran on that road and little did I know I would eventually marry into the family! O's family still lives on the road (not his parents anymore, but other relatives) and yes, one of the first questions I asked O when I met him was "hey, did you ever hear of Shutt Road in Greensburg?" :)
Funny how life works. Don't you think?
I haven't run Shutt Road for years now. I'm thinking over Christmas when we are back home visiting O's family, I might have to take a little jog down memory lane...
Posted by beth at December 2, 2008 7:13 PM
Comments
I love naming run and bike routes. I haven't done it as much, I may have to start back up.
That's funny about Shutt Rd.
Posted by: maija at December 2, 2008 8:15 PM
Small world, eh? That was great grandpa Shutt's farmlands way back in the day.
They have a park there called "Hempfield Park" where we've had many a church picnics and youth league baseball games.
Posted by: O at December 2, 2008 8:24 PM
I think if you're really focused on the running, you don't want to explore new routes, you don't want to not know where you're going. People who run (or bike) alot tend towards a couple routes they know well, because you know it takes 13 minutes on a good day to get to that mailbox or whatever. and you know exactly how long it takes to get home. i dunno.
Posted by: Kelly at December 3, 2008 12:43 AM
That is such a funny coincidence.. kismet!
Posted by: rachel at December 3, 2008 1:17 AM
It IS funny how life works, isn't it? Great story down memory lane! :)
Posted by: Jennifer Harrison at December 3, 2008 9:37 AM
I'm finding myself going to the treadmill these days just for safety, and I hate it! I'd much rather run outside, even if it dark, but I tend to get freaked out pretty easily. Great that you can get out and brave the elements. I think I'm going to suck it up and get brave tomorrow morning, as long as it's not raining :-)
Posted by: mira at December 3, 2008 1:43 PM
What a great story! Sometimes we want to kill our siblings, don't we? :) Love the Shutt road - funny how we go through things in life - experiences, see places - and then later we come full circle. What a great story! I should start naming my run routes... I've got a few bike names, but the run would be good.
Posted by: marit c-l at December 3, 2008 1:43 PM
What a neat story! We have a couple of named running routes: Bri loop, Tassie loop, short Tassie loop, extended Tassie loop...we need to get a bit more creative I think.
Posted by: Bri Gaal at December 3, 2008 4:15 PM
i run in so many different places/times/circumstance now that i really don't have many fixed routes but i certainly did when i was growing up and through university. it is such strange feeling to travel back home and rerun some of these routes because i know exactly how far everything is and just how long it should take(almost to the second!)
Posted by: kerrie at December 3, 2008 6:53 PM
At least we didn't get lost or get attacked by vicious junkyard dogs (both of which have happened to me on Shutt Road) that time. You should count yourself lucky that it was *only* really cold and windy.
I will think about that when I am running today (50 degrees & sunny) in lovely Duke Gardens. :)
Posted by: B at December 6, 2008 11:36 AM