And now for something completely different: Last Sunday, the day after the Naked 5K, Geoff and I headed to Charleston to hop in on a free organized "Banditcross" event. It was a cyclocross course set up on an old, abandoned (and relatively creepy) Navy base by a group of local cyclists, the Blue Collar Bandits. Cyclocross, for me, is my new "that looks really hard and really fun, so clearly I Continue reading →
5 Reasons to Go to Upstate Ultra’s Trail Running Camp for Big Kids
This past weekend my husband Geoff and I had the pleasure spending four days of running and camping fun at Upstate Ultra's Mt. Mitchell Trail Camp for Big Kids. I won't lie: coming from Myrtle Beach (aka sea level) to participate in Upstate Ultra's trail running camp, on a mountain, with some significantly less elevation challenged and seriously badass runners, intimidated the hell out of me. I Continue reading →
“Get Over Yourself.” My EMPOWER Summer Camp Story
Whenever I return from a weekend race or event, one of two things happens. Often, I'm impatient to get to my computer and transfer my experience onto the screen, word vomit style. Or, I'm hesitant to share my experience, because I'm still internalizing the events and trying to figure out how to possibly put them into words. My experience at EMPOWER Summer Camp would definitely be placed in the Continue reading →
Do The Thing That Scares You.
Thursday afternoon as we checked in to Tuck Fest at the U.S. National Whitewater Center, we are stopped by some USNWC employees at a table in the lobby asking if we want to sign up to be a part of the guided whitewater rafting race that evening, down some class III & IV rapids. One of my Tuck Fest goals for this year was to whitewater raft. I've eyeballed, timidly, the whitewater for the Continue reading →
Trail Running at Carolina Beach State Park
Three of my absolute favorite things to do with my free time are running, traveling, and exploring new places. Fortunately, it's easy enough to combine the three by traveling to new places to run. A concept as old as running itself, but with a trendy new term called "runsploring", it's an awesome way to truly immerse yourself in a new place, whether it be the bustling streets of a large city or Continue reading →
Tuck Fest: A Trail Runner’s Review
Laying in the grass with my eyes closed and the deafening roar of whitewater filling my ears, I found myself in an almost out of body experience as I observed my present situation. Frankly, I was a hot mess. Despite the fact that I had been wearing a hat and sunscreen all day, I could feel the exhaustion and tightness in my face and lips that comes after hours of relentless sun exposure. My Continue reading →
Everything you Need to Know about Trail Running and Poison Ivy
Let's get right to the painful, itchy topic: trail running and poison ivy. I imagined I'd be writing this post much later in the season. I did not imagine I'd be ignoring the dull roar of itchy skin while doing so. Alas, it's early April and I'm already covered in a rash from a run in with poison ivy. Ugh. I grew up in the mountains of Vermont, during the era when moms would force you out Continue reading →
Trail Running at Buck Hall Recreation Area
I am absolutely guilty of incessant grumbling over my homesickness for Vermont. In doing so, I often fail to recognize how gorgeous, albeit vastly different, the South Carolina landscape is. And while there may only be a few trail running options here in Myrtle Beach, there is no shortage of trail systems across the state of South Carolina. So instead of missing home, I want to share with you Continue reading →
Sometimes Running Sucks…
To say that I could write a book doccumenting all of the reasons I love to run would be an understatement. This blog is going on 9 years strong with 1,003 published posts, at this point I could very well author my very own encyclopedia set of "reasons why Heather runs". Within those books, sandwiched among the sappy prose about how running has changed my life in more ways than I can count, would Continue reading →
TomTom Adventurer GPS Outdoor Watch – Review
I've made it no secret around these parts that I don't love GPS watches. Of course, I don't hate them either. But there was a point in my running adventure where I decided that I no longer wanted to obsess about pace, distance, time, or any other arbitrary stats. And let's face, most people who wear GPS watches get a little obsessive over these numbers, whether they want to admit it or not. Continue reading →
Wayward
Homesickness always strikes at the changing of the seasons. Or at least, what I imagine to be the changing of seasons. Here in Myrtle Beach we have pretty much two seasons, "suffocating heat/humidity", and "you should probably grab a hoodie". Typically, these seasons change like a light switch. There is no fan-fare with breathtakingly colorful leaves that gently fall from the branches. Instead Continue reading →
