Blog entries

Done! 4 hours and 33 minutes without stopping once.

10:43 am I found a marathon to go to. It’s called the Jackson River Scenic Trail Marathon, and it is scheduled for June 13th, 2026 in Virginia.

6:52 pm Today is Thanksgiving Day, the day to be grateful and to celebrate all our blessings. Every year, my family and I drive one hour to Fort Mill, South Carolina, to spend the holidays with my mom’s sisters and all our extended family. As far as traditions go, it is a nice one, and I hope to never betray it. Before we left, my dad caramelized carrots and wrapped them in foil to cook at my aunt’s house. I went for a run at 10:00 (2 miles, 9:45/mile average), and was reprim

11:30 pm Region Meet. 25:19. I beat Kenna and Lyla. I’m so fast and cool.

Peak mileage at 25 miles this week.

8:45 pm Break up with friends group. Channeled energy into a 3 mile run on a .20 mile loop. 2mile JV meet on October 11th, 2025.

8:39 pm I have not run in 3 weeks and I really do miss it.

9:45 am Today, for the first time ever, I DNF’d at a race.

4:11 pm Today I ran 4 miles, without stopping once.

10:02 am Today was the first race I have run since State 2024. The meet was called Eye Opener, which is reputedly one of the worst courses our team ever has gone to, but really it is not that bad if you don’t think about the hill at the end.

5:04 pm Today I ran 2 miles straight without stopping, which is a PR distance for me since surgery. I do not think I planned this distance for this day, but again it feels right because it falls on the 27th. Perhaps each 27th is my day of progress.

4:30 pm My hip has been hurting of late. I was supposed to go to the trainer at school today after the last bell but I decided not to, because after yesterday’s visit I am convinced that it does not do too much to help me. I am so glad I didn't, because instead I ran 2 miles (well, I walked 1 and ran 1) in a fartlek kind of thing. I felt so fast again and so free, even though I was running on the track in circles and walked in between each lap (normally, I heavily dislike run

4:11 pm Today is my 16th birthday. Last year, on August 11th, 2024, I ran 15 miles to celebrate 15 years. Today I ran for 16 minutes, which culminated at my terribly slow pace at 1.2 miles. I am happy nonetheless because I have not run 1.2 miles since November.

7:02 am Hooray! This has been my favorite run ever. It is the first time it felt truly right and good and just like what I remembered. The weather was crisp, just like the feeling of an early morning should be. I came back to cross country conditioning to run for the first time there and it went so fast and I felt like I was flying through the air. I had almost forgotten what that felt like until now.

5:26 pm This was my second run back.

11:41 am About 12 minutes ago I finished my first run in 8 months. I planned for it to be on the 27th, even though it is about 2 days earlier from when I’m actually supposed to start, because it felt right to have it be exactly 8 months after the first surgery. It felt awful.

4:26 pm Today is Sunday, which means that one week from now I will be allowed to go on my first run. I will have to cap it at one mile max, but I don’t know yet how well I can run yet so we will see how long I can last. Also, I technically have to meet some requirements my PT place has for running readiness, but I might go for a run if I don’t anyway. I chose July 27th because it is exactly 8 months after my first surgery, so it feels better than July 28th even if there is no

7:30 pm Whenever I come home to camp every summer, I am reminded of all the good that surrounds me when I am in this place. Driving down the dirt path road, with the pavilion and girls’ bathhouse coming into view not long after, there is always a breeze of optimism, the hope that good things await at the beginning of any session, and with it the feeling of being whole. There is a feeling quite indescribable at Gravatt. Somewhere between towering pines and decades of paint on

11:16 pm The LIT retreat is this weekend, which means that regular Camp Gravatt is out of session and only the kids my age and I are here, with the exception of 5 or 6 counselors and our camp director, Fletch. We spent the day preparing for our retreat, a term which here means a night spent at a special dock on the lake under the stars with the 5 or 6 counselors who stayed at camp. The LIT dock is a so-called sacred place, partly because no one else frequents the dock as much

10:11 am “Be where your feet are” is something an old counselor of mine used to say. Today I am reminded of him as I sit with my fellow leaders-in-training (LITs) at a quiet spot at camp. It is the 6th day of my being here this summer, although it doesn’t feel that way at all. Time moves too quickly at Gravatt, which is why it is good to take the morning off with my people and simply be, in silence, in gratitude, in love. I think it is a good thing I can’t get in the lake. I