After 13 years and over 35,000 miles run (calculated via Strava and my personal spreadsheet), I am leaving Brookland. I moved into the neighborhood in November of 2007. So much has changed. Colonel Brooks was really the only pub in the town (torn down years ago). Monroe Market did not exist. There was no bike share. The breweries and bars were years away. It wasn't the hot neighborhood that it is today. There was no MBT. To get to work, I had to take the Metro (the horrors!). But in the last decade, the neighborhood that I am going to miss has developed and thrived.
In the time I've been here, they built the MBT to go from the city dump to Union Station. For almost a decade, I have commuted to work either by riding a Bike Share or running the MBT. The Anacostia River Trail was completed. I discovered the Anacostia Tributary Trail system. My primary route was a loop to the edge of the National Zoo and back. Now, I regularly run one of the Anacostia Tributary Trails. In fact, my new home is not far from an entrance to Sligo, and I have run there and back in the past.
In 13 years, my life has changed so much since I moved into the neighborhood. I endured a break-up, lived with roommates, met my now-wife, got married, and had two boys. My dog, Sammy, lived to be 17.5 years before we said goodbye to her over the summer. She was my favorite running partner. We'd regularly run the Zoo loop, which took us about an hour. One time, we ran a half marathon at the onset of a blizzard. She had a blast! We've run the neighborhood together so many times. She loved seeking out squirrels and letting them know she was the boss. And, in our snowstorms, we played at Mosley which became my older son's favorite playground.
My former house is now occupied by its new owners, another young family. It was where both my boys took their first steps (the 12 month old barely made it - taking his first official steps days before our move out), and the only home they've ever known. We've upgraded the house significantly over the years and redid the basement completely. I wonder how many pairs of running shoes I wore in my time in the house (7 pair a year for13 years = about 90 pairs!). I went from running solo to running with friends who lived in the neighborhood. And, I started taking Strava segments and crowns and local legend.
This final year in Brookland was a year unlike any other for running. It was the first calendar year since 2003 where I did not run an in person race. To stay motivated, I focused on various challenges such as the Run Washington DMV Distance Derby, the DC Road Runners Club 1 mile and 5K challenges, and earning Strava segment crowns and local legends. I ran with my two sons, pushing them in our Bob stroller; either individually in the single stroller or together in the double stroller.
Shawn Zeller, 2019 Masters Runner of the Year, supported me while on bicycle: "I gotta give Kenny props. He started slow and I figured he would jog it in, given the imperfect weather and the lack of competition. Then he negative split it and BQ'd."
I sold my home in November and we moved out to our new home in Silver Spring at the start of the New Year. Follow my new blog, "Sligo Runner." Thanks for reading over the years!
