In 4 weeks, I’ll toe the line at the VCU Health 1 Richmond Marathon. This last month has seen me run consistently farther than I ever had before, so I’ve had to find new places to keep my legs and mind busy. At four weeks out, most marathon plans advocate for a very long run, of about 20 miles. I did it yesterday, and I’m still not sure if my calves will be ready to go next Saturday, let alone tomorrow!
Conveniently, Charllottesville has a beautiful 20-mile trail that circumscribes the city. All of the lands are City parks or private easements, so it tends to be corners of property and scraps of backyards, and a lot of dilapidated industry. But the isolation can be unnerving: I can count on a single hand the amount of women I have seen run alone during the 15+ hours I’ve spent on it. There are several sections where the trail curls and the trees lean over and I think to myself what a wonderful place to be attacked.
But the vast majority of the trail isn’t like this. Much of the trail parallels Charlottesville’s poorest neighborhoods, where residents have had to deal with me confronting a lot of my own privilege. The vast majority is me, clohtes only in 5” running shorts, a watch, and sneakers taking up space and air outside someone else’s home. Here it’s the lack of clothing and equipment that define my position. I have a place to store my clothing, I have the resources to clean my sweaty shorts three times a week, I don’t need to bring my phone because I’m confident no one will look at me like I want their money. For a few minutes each Saturday I take in the atmosphere outside your home, leaving only the sound of my shoes pounding the trail, and my lungs heaving slightly.
Footnotes
Kudos to VCU for ending their practice of suing patients for non-payment! I wish the same could be said for UVA.↩︎