Reflections on a Summer Running Program

Tonight is the last official night for the Newton Summer Running Project. With one exception, I have spent every Monday and Wednesday evening since the beginning of June at Cold Spring Park sharing summer training with a rogue's gallery of runners from Newton, Brookline, Weymouth, Dedham, Wakefield, and elsewhere.

In the beginning, it was only a few current and former Newton North runners - Noah, Dan, Ben, Jesse, Dave, Doug, Michael, Sharon, Liz. But then an amazing thing happened. Matias started coming and brought a crew from Brookline and Lowell with him, including Jerzy, Mike, Eliot, Greg, Rex, and others. Newton South runners adopted the runs and I got to know Alex, Andrew, James, Ben, Clif, and Sam. Nicole Pearce made the long drive up from Weymouth, as did Dr. Bob Chasen and Ben Chasen. When he was in town, Chris joined us and there was the memorable night when he brought Arkansas teammate Said. We had cameo appearances from Clay, Seb, Scott, and others. Last Monday, we welcomed three new runners from the Dual County league Dan, Andrew, and Carl.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten to know these folks a little bit better, and to have participated in a community, of sorts, that I hope survives the end of summer. Of course, just about every runner there had a team to return to in the fall, so the NSRP didn't replace that. It was something else -- maybe a chance to change the scenery a little bit, a chance to run with other people, and perhaps feel supported in summer training goals.

I tried not to "coach" but sometimes I offered my opinion about something or other. About 75% of these opinions were offered to Doug on the subject of not increasing mileage too quickly. For the most part, though, I kept quiet. Of course, since almost everyone there was faster than I was, I didn't have a lot of extra oxygen for talking so it was just as well I didn't try.

I was surprised that so few current runners from Newton and Needham took advantage of the chance to run with the group, but maybe it was too intimidating, or the time of day or day of the week didn't work well. I'll think about all these things for next summer.

I also think that it would be a good idea to think about whether there is a better location to meet. I met Greg, Mike, and Jerzy one time at Downes field in Brookline, and it has some advantages. Ideally, it would be nice to meet in a central location, with parking and big grassy fields and bathrooms, and close to a trail system. Of course it would also help if I didn't work North of Boston. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

I am under no illusion that these two runs a week were any kind of substitute for the steady daily training necessary to build a solid base. The goal was always to provide a little moral support for all that solitary work that runners were putting in at other times. Ultimately, we're all responsible for providing encouragement to each other.

What we do when we train is not easy. Individual runs can be pleasant, but the accumulation of many miles is taxing to body and spirit. A little companionship -- and knowing that you aren't the only one out there -- goes a long way.

Thanks to all the runners who made NSRP a success this summer. I will eagerly follow your future progress, and I wish everyone the best of luck in the Fall!