Welcome to R:T:T (or, What we'll write about when we write about running.)

A few years ago I read a memoir by one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami, called "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running." Murkamai isn't a particularly fast runner, so there weren't a lot of stories about races, or advice about how to get faster, and, as far as I know, his life was not tragic in a way that running helped him overcome. Rather, like much of his fiction, the book was quiet, understated. The music that played in his headphones, the running paths around Boston, the times when running fell into and out of his life. It wasn't a book about running, per se, but a way to tell stories about complicated lives and changing places anchored in running's repetitive rhythm.

A year ago I had a chance to write a piece about a trail race that I had done in the foothills of North Carolina for a magazine that my local club, the Albany Running Exchange, put out called Road and Trail Talk (the "RATT" to those who know it). When I sat down to write, I knew I wanted to tell the story of my experience in that race, but I also wanted to tell the story of the place that the race took us through. I wanted to describe what it was like to race along that forest trail, but I was also curious about how that trail came to be underfoot. The ancient geological forces that brought the hills out of the oceans, the conservationists who protected that parcel of land, the Boy Scout troop that blazed the path, the volunteers that maintain it. To talk about running is to invite conversation about the people, the moments and the history that shape us as a community.

Social media has made it easy for anyone who wants to to share their running triumphs and tragedies, to connect with other runners, and to get quick, thoughtful answers to their questions. And there are glossy magazines and much more professionally put together websites that cater to runners in general.

My hope is that this space will not only shine a much deserved light on some talented athletes, dedicated coaches, selfless volunteers, and fun, exciting events but will also invite reflection and conversation about this region that we run through, step by step, mile by mile. I've lived and worked in the Capital Region for nearly ten years now but it is only recently, through the other runners that I've met, the events I've participated in, and the roads and trails I've covered one bounding step at a time, that I've come to appreciate the area. But, I'm still new here and there's a lot that I'm curious about.

So, I hope that you will get something out of what you find here, will share it with others and, even more so, I hope that you will reach out to me to tell me about some great running story that needs to be told.