Perhaps some good has already come from the tragic death of one our local runners.  I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the trails had been plowed of the nine inches of snow we got overnight from Sunday to mid-day Monday.  Not all of our running trails have been plowed, but the ones that run parallel to the streets have been.

Normally after a snow, the first few days out on the trails is more of a game of hop-scotch than running.  It’s a little too tempting to run on the cleared roads where it’s not as safe, so cleared trails are a real gift.

SnowPlowedTrail

Yesterday morning I drove over to an area where I don’t normally run.  I parked my car at the nature center and took off for what I planned to be a six-mile run.  About twenty minutes into the run, I heard a car horn, and then saw the collision.  I ran into the intersection within seconds of the accident happening and everyone appeared to be fine, although I doubt either car was drivable.  Another car immediately stopped and called 911.  I was happy to not have to test any of my first aid skills, and stayed at the scene until the police came since I was a witness.   As soon as I could, I continued on my run and it wasn’t until then that my knees got shaky and my mouth got dry.

Ambulance

I had just enough time to get to the corner at 11 AM to join other runners gathering to line the trail in tribute to Jaime as her family left the church.  The shoe memorial has continued to grow, and a huge purple bow had been added by one of Jaime’s friends.  Some of the family members stopped and added their shoes as they left the church.

RunnersLineTrailForJaime

I recognized one of the other runners from her picture on her blog and had a chance to say hello while we waited for the funeral to be over.  This was not the kind of blogger meet-up that I envisioned when I set my goals for 2014…  Even under those circumstances, it was very nice to meet Erin, from Run With Erin.  After the tribute, I continued my run and quickly caught up with Erin as she walked home.  Despite being dressed in jeans and a wool coat, Erin fell into stride with me and we ran together until we got to her house about a half mile away.  I continued on my way to finish my six-mile run that I had started over two hours earlier…

  • Questions:
  • If you live in a snowy area, do your trails get plowed?
  • Have you ever been witness to an accident?
  • What did you do fun for St. Patrick’s Day?