On my last legs is the best description of where I am in life. If aging inevitably ends in death, then living and dying begin at birth. As a 70-year-old I am edging, some would say sliding, toward the end of the timeline that will, in the end, define me. For me this is a happy thought. So let me carry on, let me reflect and let me remember and feel the fire and the ice.

Week 1 — The Upper Valley Running Club and the COVID-19 pandemic

I hoped that the 2020 Boston Marathon would be the glorious beginning of my 6th decade of racing 26.2 miles. The COVID-19 Coronavirus had other ideas. I now share the fears and concerns of all residents of the planet and I want to help mitigate the pandemic in whatever way I can. I believe wholeheartedly that challenges create opportunities and as UVRC president I want to do what I can to give back and help the local running community.

Krissy Flythe is a key staff member of the Recreation and Parks Department of the town of Lebanon NH, who volunteered to fill in for Paul Coats, the longtime irreplaceable head of R&P and occupy his seat on the UVRC board as club treasurer as well as take Paul’s place as race director for races put on by R&P. Fearless and bubbling with extra energy, Krissy is a godsend. Despite being forced to twice-postpone the club’s favorite spring season opener, the Shamrock Shuffle 5k, before organizing a virtual version of the race and providing full refunds to all registered runners due to the spread of the Coronavirus, Krissy hasn’t missed a beat and has now turned her attention to opening back up the many programs that R&P offers the Upper Valley, the lion’s share of which are focused on kids and families.

The UVRC board has decided to follow Krissy’s lead and is, as I write, considering applying the most recent version of the state’s social distancing guidelines and protocols to rejuvenate of our Saturday Group Runs and, in turn, our Tuesday Night Track (TNT) workouts. Up to this point UVRC committee members (thank you Hannah, Dorcas and Tim among others) have utilized virtual and social media, mostly Zoom meetings and Strava based running challenges, as the best available alternative to group activities.

After more deliberation and planning, it is my hope that UVRC will be able offer a trial run of our Saturday Group Run as soon as August 8th with TNT to follow soon thereafter. If all goes well, the board will re-establish these group activities, to include social distancing guidelines, after our next board meeting on August 10th. The board will pursue this process one step at a time and welcomes comment and input from all members as we figure out what the new normal is to become, at least for now.

UVRC is fortunate to have many members who care about the health and wellness of the Upper Valley and it’s local running community during this challenging time. We have members who are willing to jump at the opportunity to help out. Many people in the UV have responded to COVID-19 by getting outside and recreating. Perhaps down the road we runners will look back and say, “Nothing has ever made me want to run so much ever before.” And, as Friedrich Nietzsche (and Chad Denning) famously said, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”