Where Amy Runs

If I hadn't moved from NYC to downtown Stamford, I would have moved to SoNo--a charming little downtown for the city of Norwalk. The SoNo Half Marathon is the biggest half marathon in this area of Connecticut, and I didn't run it last year because of timing with marathon training. In 2018, I kept my (minimal) marathon training secret and signed up for whichever races I wanted to. SoNo was definitely on my list. I'd participated in the Lightfoot Summer Series races in Norwalk, which culminated in a half marathon race in September, and I felt this October half marathon race would be a nice continuation. (I certainly wasn't alone, as I saw many familiar faces.) I completely treated this race as a fun challenge. I had no explicit goal, though it's always nice to beat your own personal best, and decided to stick with my new method of only checking pace for the first two miles. Once the pace was established, I would run ahead without looking back, and tell myself that I...

"Riff raff" runners are what my husband and I call ourselves when we end up in a very exclusive-seeming neighborhood. We're totally harmless of course, but it always makes us giggle. Since moving to Connecticut from the Upper East Side a year and a half ago, we've covered a lot of ground (literally) in Fairfield County, but we hadn't actually gone on a run in Greenwich. This past weekend, we decided to give Greenwich running a try. Beautiful day, with a "private" sign--quite representative of our Greenwich run. It was a beautiful late fall/early winter day: totally clear skies, no wind, and about 38 degrees. We parked near the train station and ran around the Delamar, Bruce Park and the adjacent neighborhood, and then finally around Belle Haven. Several of these neighborhoods have guards stationed in booths at the border (a bit much, I think!). At one neighborhood entrance near Bruce Park, my husband noticed a car drive out so the gate opened, a...

This morning, my friend Alexa texted me asking about whether or not I would recommend doing the New York Road Runners' (NYRR) Shape Women's Half Marathon. Her text reminded me of why I am writing this blog (to share my knowledge with fellow runners!) and that I was overdue for a new post (happy belated Thanksgiving!). I've run the Shape Women's Half Marathon twice--in 2016 and 2015. When I raced it in 2015, I achieved my then-PR of 1:42:06. The course consists of two loops of Central Park--one of the best places in the world to run--and there's something special about running with all women. Thousands of strong women running 13.1 miles together...it's pretty powerful stuff. Just before turning the corner to finish, achieving a then-PR at the 2015 Shape Women's Half Marathon. Even with my positive race experience, I didn't end up recommending this race to Alexa. The reason: there are too many runners for a two-loop course. The second year I raced...