An annual entry in the day-before-marathon-monday marathons.
A pseudo-tradition marathon the sunday before the real marathon. In 2021 it was run on Sunday 4/18 starting at my house in Medford and traveling South through Everett until Boston's Belle Isle Marsh Reservation and continuing to Revere Beach, where I turned North until the neck of Nahant. From there, I found the Northern Strand bike path and took it westward home through Lynn, Saugus, Malden and Medford.
Medford to Malden to Everett to Boston to Revere to Lynn to Saugus and home again; 
Birds du jour; 
A brief interlude walk with Alejandra and Dax; 
First view of the ocean at Revere Beach; 
The bridge was familiar. I had crossed it years earlier during a similarly impulsive physical activity - trying to beat a train from Boston to Manchester by the Sea by bike; 
Crossing an old railroad in Rumney Marsh; 
Back in Malden Center; 
Alain Mimoun 1956 Olympics documentary; Running
Trail running also introduced me to the world of ultramarathoning, which has exploded in popularity over the last decade. I found filmmaker Jamil Coury chronicling immense runs and checking in dozens of miles in, the air thin at high elevation, {^with an ear-to-ear smile describing how it had just started hailing and that it was so awesome man}. This relentlessly positive attitude towards daunting physical challenges was infectious. It inspired me to turn runs into backyard adventures - runs {up the coastline to nearby towns}, {solo marathons through new neighborhoods}, and exploration of new trails in the forest. And while I've done a couple of organized races like the Fells Winter Ultra, I most enjoy solitary challenges.