If you have ever wondered what it would be like to trek through New York City, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and return back to New York City in 30 hours or under, following a scenic route that visits tons of key sites with check-ins at volunteer-run aid stations to replenish on food and water, The Great New York 100 Mile Running…
Author: jodiw5@aol.com
Badwater Cape Fear 2016 – All In
It was my third time making the journey out to Bald Head Island, North Carolina, to take part in Badwater Cape Fear 51.4 mile race. Traveling from south Florida, the trek includes two flights, a car ride, a ferry, then a tram that delivers you to your rented million-dollar weekend home. Is it worth it? Absolutely! There is something old…
So You Want To Write A Book
If I had a dollar for all of the times someone has told me that they want to write a book, I would be a millionaire many times over. Most folks have a story mulling around in their brains—whether it’s fact or fiction—and many seem to think that the world would benefit if their story was shared. Perhaps. One thing…
Yoga Journey: What We Find, What We Seek
The beginning I started practicing yoga in 1995. A close friend invited me to a vinyasa yoga class and then a week later I took a class offered by the New York Road Runners Club taught by Beryl Bender Birch, whose husband Thom Birch was a gifted runner as well as yogi. Beryl and Thom inspired me and introduced…
Ancient Oaks: The Good, The Bad, and The Close of 2015
For me, ultra-running is not about belonging to a group, or about acquiring belt buckles. It is not about my undying love for running, or any desire to win a race. Most days running is my salvation; some days it’s not. But each time I am out there, on the road, on the trail, on a bridge, I learn something.…
Truth, Dare, and Consequences
In the late 1980’s, when I was in my senior year of high school, my girlfriends and I would often buy alcoholic beverages, drive up to the desolate roof of the Kings Plaza Mall parking lot in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, get out of our cars, and sit around in a circle on the floor to play truth, dare, and consequences.…
The Guide to Common Grammar Crimes and Tips to Solve Them
As an undergraduate, I had an English professor that insisted that grammar was critical to content. He didn’t care how great an idea or concept in a paper was if the grammar was off. “People notice the details,” he said. “You wouldn’t wear an impeccable suit and not comb your hair.” So I suppose that’s when my commitment to grammar…
Javelina Jundred 100 – 2015
What draws so many of us to Javelina Jundred 100 mile/100K trail race each year? For starters, McDowell Mountain Regional Park in Fountain Hills, Arizona hosts trails that are just the right blend of climbs and descents to keep runners engaged and moving – not to mention the picturesque landscape. The course, which mainly consists of the Pemberton Trail, is…
How To Make Your Job Work For You
In my 20’s, I worked for a boss that would have qualified for anyone’s worst nightmare. Demeaning, demanding, ready to pass the blame, needy and long-winded: check. My first week, I learned that seven 20-somethings who had the role before me had all quit. I was in graduate school at the time, and combined with a 40+ hour work week,…
Why We All Need to Get Grittier
Grit is one of those words that we toss around and use synonymously with bravery, courage, tenacity, perseverance, resolution, and so on. And it is all of those things, but I would venture to say that grit spans beyond the typical definitions: it is a mindset. A choice. A decision on how you pursue and tackle each and every aspect…