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ESSAY - COVID-19 Running Stories
Nathan and Kari Campeau pose for a photo with their daughter, Addy
Tracking what has changed, and what hasn’t
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BY NATHAN CAMPEAU
It has been about a year since I last wrote for this magazine, and it’s probably a cliché to mention that it feels like years have gone by. Our two ongoing pandemics (COVID-19 and racism) have impacted every aspect of our lives, including running. So, I wondered, how has your running changed in 2020?
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, many of us were still flocking to trails in packs, running with the MDRA Polar Bear group and starting to train for spring and summer races. But then life completely changed, seemingly, in a week. Social distancing and stay at home orders have made running and racing very different for many of us, especially the most social of us.
My COVID-19 Running Story
My running changed suddenly. We live just a few blocks from Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis and have access to dozens of miles of trails just out our front door. When Minnesota’s stay at home order went into place, and many of us were working from home, the parks and trails were now full of people and no one was entirely sure how far away we needed to be from others to stay safe. By mid-March, I had given up running on trails and had begun running the streets in and around our Uptown neighborhood.
One day I decided to run every street in my neighborhood in as short a distance as I could (7.5 miles). The next week, I ran every alley in my neighborhood. To keep things fresh (and to keep my toddler and myself entertained), I started running stroller routes with my GPS that spelled various words. That got to be a little exhausting (and nerve wracking. What if I misspelled a word and my Strava followers saw that!!?), so I eventually settled on a goal to run every mile and block of every street within a couple miles of my house.
I tackled the challenge, neighborhood by neighborhood, and after a few months, hundreds of miles, I had achieved my goal of running every street between I-94, 35W, 50th Street, and France Avenue. I called it good at that point because if I venture much beyond those limits, I need to drive, which defeats the purpose of the game. Also, my schedule has changed and I’m back to mostly running trails early in the morning when there are fewer runners.
I wondered how other people were adjusting their running during the pandemic. I could see on the MDRA Polar Bear Facebook group that people were now running solo or in very small groups, some running far out in the countryside on little used trails and even some people running at home on treadmills. So we asked around, and got some interesting responses!
How has Running Changed in COVID-19?
The biggest change people seem to be making is where they run. I learned that I am far from alone in setting out to run all of the streets in my surrounding neighborhoods. To continue running while practicing social distancing, Andy Morgan of Saint Paul says, “I started running #everysinglestreet in Saint Paul. It is a project to run all the streets in your town. I’m also doing the alleys.” Run streaker (1,700 plus days!) Charlie Potts of St. Peter is running every street in his community during the pandemic, although he admits he had probably already incidentally accomplished that feat over the previous years.
Many runners we heard from said that what they’re missing most are races and running events. To stay motivated, Caleb Haynes of Chaska is running virtual races (in addition to running every street of Chaska and neighboring communities).
My wife and I have enjoyed a few virtual races as well, and while it’s not the same as the real thing, we organized and ran a Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon event around Lake of the Isles complete with spectators and a water stop! Our gym (Performance Running Gym) hosted a fun virtual race series that benefited local charities and motivated me to log a few track miles.
Brook Lemm-Tabor says her love of running hasn’t changed at all during the pandemic.
Submitted photo
People are adjusting their running in other ways, too. Many people are running earlier to avoid the crowds on the trails. I’ve seen a lot of people heading out to trails to get away from the big city trails, although I’ve heard that can backfire when too many people have the same idea and the trailheads are jammed full!
What HASN’T Changed about Running?
We heard clearly that people’s love of running hasn’t waned. In fact, running has served as a much needed outlet for stress for so many of us during these difficult times. Brook Lemm-Tabor says that “what hasn’t changed is my desire/need to get out there and put in some miles and maintain my fitness.” In fact, for so many of you, we heard that people’s mileage has actually INCREASED during the pandemic, even without the motivation of races. And I believe it.
Even while raising a toddler and working in jobs that only got crazier and more demanding in the pandemic, my wife and I increased our mileage, mostly unintentionally. When I reflected on it, I realized that my daily run has become one of my only touch points to the world before COVID-19. At the same time, I’ve also come to look forward to running as a way to explore a new neighborhood; discovering new parts of Minneapolis has been especially important now that my days look mostly the same. Finally, running lends structure to my new working from home life, where work, family life, community commitments and time with friends all blend together in our dining room. For these reasons, I’ve definitely come to depend on a great run and that post-run coffee!
What We Miss
By far, the biggest thing that people have missed is running with friends and training groups. Running may be a solitary sport, but many of us are missing the friendships and communities that running brings into our lives. Andy said that he misses running with his Mile in My Shoes friends and Brook is sad to be without her MDRA runs. As someone who used to run with friends four to five days a week, I can certainly relate, even as I’ve started running with a couple people scattered throughout the week.
Even the solitary runners miss community, too, with all running races canceled. Charlie says, “I’ve always been a runner who appreciates solitude, and that hasn’t changed. But I miss events.” Virtual races can be fun, but they’re just not a substitute for the excitement of seeing all your friends and “rivals” at a big race.
Silver Linings
The pandemic has changed our way of life (at least temporarily), and we’ve all had to look for the silver linings in this new world we’re living through, whether that’s a slower pace of life or more time to spend with family. MDRA runners have mentioned that they’ve enjoyed running quieter streets with less traffic and getting to explore their communities.
I’ve also seen people rise to the occasion and use running to help others. On the suggestion from some MDRA Polar Bear members, we spent the first few months of the pandemic using the weekly Polar Bear emails to promote local running stores that were struggling to stay afloat with the stay at home order and to organize weekly donations to organizations that were actively working to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic such as food shelves. Charlie took that a step further and used his running to raise over $3,000 to support graduating seniors in his community.
For me, one unexpected outcome of my streets running has been to gain a better understanding of how our communities are both connected and divided. My runs have taken me down the wealthiest streets in Minneapolis and through some of the most neglected streets. It was eye opening to run single streets that travel uninterrupted from some of the most marginalized and underinvested in parts of the city directly to the richest, all within a couple miles.
For example, just days before George Floyd’s murder, I completed running the Lyndale and Whittier neighborhoods, just a mile from my Nathan Campeau set a goal to run on every street in his minneapolis neighborhood. home; days after I checked these neighborhoods off on my map, the city streets were transformed. Our post office and bank would be burned to the ground and the daily protests demanding justice would take over the streets. As I ran the streets east to west, from the I-35W soundwalls (that form a deep racial scar in our community) to the pristine lakes, the divisions and segregation in our community were apparent, as was the lack of city investment in the public realm and parks (with some exceptions). As I ran the entire length of 27th Street, just a couple miles from the soundwall to Lake of the Isles, the chasm seemed like 20 miles. And while that observation depressed me and renewed my commitment to fighting for justice and equity, I also observed commonalities across these neighborhoods: yard signs celebrating graduating seniors (albeit different high schools) and beautiful and inviting gardens.
I hope that you have been able to find running a solace during COVID19, and I hope that you’ve been able to spend some time getting to know your neighborhoods and neighbors better. There’s a lot of community we miss when we stick to the well-worn path.
