If I counted all the kilometers I have covered over the last 10 years, I would say there have been quite a few. Since moving to the UK in 2011, I have started running regularly and traveling more. Combining the two, I call it active travel (not to be confused with running or cycling to work). Believe it or not, Europe is much more accessible from London than from Michigan. My passion for running began as a way to raise money for an American charity close to my heart. The more I ran, the more distances I had to cover to encourage more donations. My first international race was in Paris for a half marathon in 2013. I traveled alone from London and stayed with a friend’s sister (who not only had I never met, but who wasn’t there either, so I stayed with my friend’s brother). place). The only other time I was in Paris was in 2005, so it was amazing to explore the city with fresh eyes on foot. Road races tend to take you through neighborhoods you might not otherwise see. By moving at a relatively slow pace (compared to a car) and on the surface (unlike a subway), you see things from a different perspective. An added bonus is that runners love to talk about all things running, which means that even if you head to the starting park alone, you’ll make friends soon after you arrive. This trip to Paris was a long weekend and since it was my first “big” race, I was cautious about drinking too much wine or eating too much cheese until I crossed the line. ‘arrival. Now, I’m not as careful if the race is only a 5k or 10k.
Since 2013, I have run in 12 countries and ten states as part of my goal to run in every country and state I visit. Although I have memories of each, I looked for a way to commemorate these trips. Luckily, I discovered El Camino bracelets.* With every run, I have precise memories of the time and location, and now I also have a physical representation that I can wear on my wrist. The half marathon I did in Auckland, New Zealand had seven loops in a local park with a hill, which my husband reminded me every time I passed him that I was slowing down. My first marathon took place in Prague and I had a few days beforehand to explore the city on my own. As a souvenir, I bought a small red garnet (the national gemstone) to wear on a necklace that said “26.2” (the number of miles in a marathon). The first time I went to Disney World was when I was 36 for a charity half marathon. Charity registrations start at the back due to lack of estimated finish time and everyone in front of me was walking due to the Dopey Challenge (four day event that starts with a 5k and ends with a marathon). It took me six miles to get ahead of the walkers and find a steady pace. I slept under the stars in the Jordanian desert while running a 5-day ultra marathon in 2018. During the Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon in Dublin (which was hillier than I thought), the Deer from Phoenix Park crossed the course as they approached the finish line. I was too slow to take out my phone to take a photo.
Hanging my running medals in the guest room isn’t very inspiring when I’m training or chatting when visiting friends and family. Those of you who know runners know that we love to talk about running! When I heard about El Camino Bracelets*, I saw this travel-inspired accessory as the best way to remind me of what I have accomplished and therefore what I am still capable of. With a “step” for each country I check off, as well as colored steps to categorize my running distances from “5k”, “marathon” to “250km ultra”, I can wear this bracelet day in and day out, including when I’m training, to remind myself how many memories I’ve made just by running. El Camino bracelets are made in the UK and are intended to be worn while exploring. Hand-polished, surgical-grade stainless steel resists salt water, sweat, and a range of temperatures. The spacers are all made from sustainably sourced wood and coconut. I generally don’t wear jewelry because it’s too inconvenient to take it on and off daily for exercising, doing dishes, my “real job”, showering, etc. What appealed to me the most is that I can leave this bracelet on and only wear it until I turn it off after running somewhere new.
Even though El Camino has created categories for its stops (animals, regions, continents, sea, oceans, etc.), you can create your own code to make sense of the jewelry. I wanted to take inspiration from traffic lights for my distances. You can also use your creativity to find personalized Step designs, to capture weddings, birthdays, trips with your best friends, adoption opponents of your pets, etc. You are only limited by the space of 29 to 32 characters. Adventure Steps illustrates your jewelry with small symbols. I chose the plane and arrow adventure stages (not the footprint because I don’t like feet), then added the following countries and colored stages: 5K (green/South America South): USA; 10 km (not orange/tiger): South Africa, Portugal; half marathon (blue/Australia region): Scotland, New Zealand; marathon (red/North American region): Czech Republic; other (purple/Baltic Sea): Jordan. I love this bracelet so much, it’s listed in my 2023 gift guide and I’ve requested the rest of the countries I’ve raced in (see map above) for Christmas. I’m crossing my fingers that Santa receives my letter.
The last 10 years have been marked by ups and downs, both physically and mentally. Running has helped me a lot through all of this (even though it’s a love-hate relationship sometimes, I always feel better after a run). My next marathon will be in Tokyo in March 2024. This trip has been booked since 2020 and rescheduled twice. The last time I ran a marathon was in 2021 as a virtual race (this may be the only way to medal at the Boston Marathon). I can’t wait to finally run this race after many starts and stops over the years. As I enter my second month of training, I’m starting to remember all the tips and tricks that have worked well for me in the past (daily protein shakes, weekly appointments with the osteopath, morning runs in the black, long runs with friends). This will be my 5th World Marathon Major, which leaves me with Boston, the most difficult to access. The reason I chose a double El Camino bracelet was so that one rope could be used for the World Marathon Majors (London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, Tokyo and Boston) as custom stops over the years I ran them. What an awesome day it will be when I take that little Boston step on my El Camino bracelet (and never have to run a marathon again!).
What will the next 10 years of active travel bring? I’ve already set my sights on a European road trip for August 2024. If I plan it correctly, I should be able to add the following stops to my bracelet: Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark and/or Luxembourg. There are over 190 countries, which means I have a long way to go. And probably a few bracelets (or necklaces) to fill. One thing I’m thinking about is signing up for a polar race, although I ran a 5K in Colorado on New Year’s Day 2022 (in a few inches of snow!). And I want to go SUPing around the island of Jersey. My plan is to continue putting one foot in front of the other while spending as much time outside and exploring. While I’m back home training, I’ll constantly be reminded of how far I’ve come.
How do you keep memories of your travels? Are you printing a photo book? Keep your plane tickets? Buy a magnet? Getting a tattoo? Let me know in the comments below.
*El Camino Bracelets gave me this bracelet and these steps. All opinions are honest and my own.