Running the Parks

I got into long distance running when I was living in Washington, DC in 2009. Two of my coworkers who had several marathons under their belt convinced a group of us to register and train for the Marine Corps Marathon. I had such a great experience training and running with friends I ran again in 2010 and 2011.

I moved back to Wisconsin in 2012. I deferred my registration for the marathon that year and for years I had trouble getting back into a regular schedule with my training.

DC is a great city for running, it’s hard to assemble a route without seeing spectacular scenery-- whether the monuments, Smithsonian Museums, the Capitol Building or the White House. Planning routes for our group was always one of the highlights of my week.

I remember one day it struck me that I was struggling in Milwaukee because I was always running the same general route - out and back along the lake. While beautiful, I was missing the fun of getting to different landmarks.

Since realizing it, I shake up my running routes every weekend, usually getting out for a long run between 5-10 miles. I’ve used a number of themes to help me find landmarks across the city -- whether running to all of our Boys & Girls Clubs (40+ sites in Greater Milwaukee) or new murals across the city.

In January, I started a challenge that has gotten me really excited-- to run to all 142 of Milwaukee County’s parks! I’ve done 22 so far and am excited to continue checking off more each week in hopes of finishing by the end of the year!

December 2021... A Fun Update!

I finished running to all 142 parks just before the end of the year, on December 26, 2021. Was honored to be part of a story with TMJ4 sharing a little more about the journey as the Milwaukee County Parks Foundation looks to help close revenue gaps to fund our parks. (See the story here).

#running