Originally a letter to Sarah Fontaine, first published in Actually People Quarterly 2015
Edited and updated 6/19
I’ve been living in Washington for the past nearly two years, and since Washington is almost the best place I know of to run, I’ve been running a lot. While I run I’ve been thinking of the various hazards of running in the different places I’ve lived over the past 17 years or so.
Not necessarily in chronological order:
JOYCE, WA
Perfectly camouflaged rough skinned newts on the trail
Surprise - timber poachers ahead
CHISOS MOUNTAINS, TX
Packs of hikers with walking sticks
Rocks in shoes, rocks stuck in soles of shoes, tripping on rocks
MARFA, TX
Boredom
Rattlesnakes
GRAND CANYON, AZ
Tourists taking pictures of elk
International drivers
The Grand Canyon
NORTH PARK, CO
Flash thunderstorms
Badger face-off
ISLE ROYALE, MI
Moose get ornery in September
Berry-picking distraction
MT. RAINIER, WA
Tree roots
Slippery boardwalks
SAGLE, ID
Ice
Flock of wild turkeys
NEW ORLEANS, LA
Terrible potholes and broken sidewalks
Kid gangs on bikes throwing lemons
Stinging caterpillars falling from live oak trees
REDFORD, TX
Friendly semi-feral dog pack trip hazard
Cactus
DINOSAUR, CO
Tiny vicious dogs
People on 4-wheelers going to the liquor store
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA
Stinging nettles
Banana slugs