If you run a lot, you learn to tolerate a certain amount of pain. You can't run for four hours straight and not feel bad once in a while. The trick is to know when it's serious.
 
If you're looking for advice, forget it. I'm inclined to say that if you can take the pain [...]

I’ve hiked up Mount Monadnock nearly every year since I was a little squirt, and hiked Pack Monadnock more times than I can recall but for some reason, I hadn’t made it up North Pack until this winter.
I recommend it.

You can catch the northern end of the Wapack Trail by heading north up Route 31 [...]

I like to carry water when I run. It’s a thirsty business, and I figure the extra weight is a good training aid. I feel a lot faster when I run without it.
I went shopping for a new hydration pack last month, after my old Blackburn sprung a leak. A new bladder was going to [...]

This has naught to do with running, but I’ve got to plug Steve’s gig at Tupelo this Saturday morning.
I’ll be up there behind him, on backing vocals, cowbell, tambourine and drum. Yikes. As Steve is fond of saying, that’s what happens when you hang out with a children’s musician. Suffice to say, my musical aptitude and [...]

Steve and I got out for a couple hours in Hollis last Saturday. It was a challenge trying to figure how best to dress for the cold, and we turned to the roads after finding the trails a bit too slick.
I enjoy running in the winter, most of the time. I can’t think of anything more beautiful than a forest [...]

I confess that I’m not always a good dog owner. Sometimes I let poop lie, if I’m out of bags or it seems unobtrusive enough. So, the rant that follows reeks of hypocrisy.
Still, I was appalled by the number of dog turds dotting the sledding hill at Roby Park the other day.
I was down there [...]

I’ve been reading Chi Running, and trying it out.So far, not so good.The method appeals to me, in theory, but I clearly need practice. Chi running is supposed to be easier; that’s the whole idea. It feels harder to me.I don’t know much about T’ai Chi, but it seems to involve being calm, grounded and [...]

Clover, née Peanut, joined my family back around 1996. She’s always been a family dog, but the two of us bonded by exploring the outdoors together. I used to bring her mountain biking. She’d run for hours, mostly off trail, in great circles around me. Eventually she’d tucker out and just follow me, and we [...]

I put two more marathons under my feet that fall. I’m stronger now than I was in the spring, but 4:15 remains my best time. That’s Michelle’s doing.Michelle is a wise and angelically beautiful woman who would sock me in the shoulder if I presumed to call her my girlfriend. Maybe some day, if I’m [...]

One overcast Sunday in March, I parked my car in the mill yard, at the edge of Mine Falls Park. The main trails, wide and flat, form a five-mile circuit, like the numeral eight turned sideways and stepped on. I gave Clover a drink and left her in the car after the second loop.
 Clover [...]