A couple of years again, when my spouse Shelly and I drove out to Arizona from our earlier house in Pennsylvania to start out our new lives within the desert, I assumed it might be our final transfer for an extended whereas. In spite of everything, Shelly had an important distant job with Bucknell College, I used to be settling right into a second profession in running-related pursuits, and each of us actually take pleasure in Arizona as a house.
I developed a tremendous working neighborhood within the space and obtained to take part in lots of memorable occasions, together with the 2025 Cocodona 250 Mile, the low-key 2025 Circle of Hell Run, a number of editions of the Hotfoot Hamster timed occasion, and the 2024 Javelina 100 Mile. However alas, as has been the case so many instances in our lives, we’ve got as soon as once more discovered that there aren’t any certain issues in life. We’re on the transfer once more.
AJW heading into Sedona, Arizona, at mile 162 on the third day of 2025 Cocodona 250 Mile. Images: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Final week, after a comparatively fast interview course of, Shelly began a brand new job as Director of Scholarship Items at Oregon State College in Corvallis, Oregon, and in consequence, we are actually within the technique of shifting there. Transferring is nothing new to us, as my three-decade profession in schooling has led us to relocate a number of instances from Arizona, California, Idaho, Virginia, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania. Moreover, a transfer to Oregon shouldn’t be altogether stunning, because the state is acquainted to us. Shelly’s mom and brother reside there, as does our youngest son, Tully. Nonetheless, packing up and leaving a spot, particularly a spot one loves a lot, shouldn’t be straightforward.
House Is The place We Run
Through the years, the stress and pressure of shifting have been tempered by way of working. In every place we’ve moved, working has allowed me to regulate to my environment and discover a house in a brand new place, even whereas eager for the outdated one. The teachings discovered alongside the best way have given me the energy and expertise to adapt — each to life and working — in methods I’ll not have finished in any other case.
AJW having fun with his 500-meter laps on the 2024 Hotfoot Hamster. Photograph courtesy of Andy Jones-Wilkins.
In California, the expansive rolling hills of the East Bay and the hovering redwoods within the trails above Oakland gave me perspective and confirmed me how actually large the world is. Surviving the chilly, darkish winters of Idaho hardened my resolve and gave me an opportunity to resist difficult situations with hope moderately than frustration. In Virginia, the traditional, stately Appalachian Mountains supplied me with a day by day reminder of how brief life actually is and the way necessary it’s to savor daily. And whereas right here in Arizona, working within the sizzling, dry Sonoran Desert served to simplify my life and allowed me to try to take pleasure in each second.
As I sit on the precipice of this subsequent transfer to Oregon, I have no idea what classes are ready for me on the market within the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Whereas I do know the working neighborhood is vibrant and the forested trails are plentiful, the unknown and thriller of a brand new place is concurrently thrilling and nerve-racking. What I do know is that there’ll come a day after I lastly settle into my new life in Corvallis, when I’ll get up within the predawn mild, lace up my trainers, and head out for a run. Whereas working, I’ll make sure you open myself as much as all my new house has to supply and let working by way of house do what it has all the time finished by offering me sustenance and revelation, in addition to a lesson or two from which I can proceed to develop and evolve as a runner and as an individual.
AJW working the nighttime part of the 2024 Javelina 100 Mile. Photograph courtesy of Andy Jones-Wilkins.
Bottoms up!
AJW’s Beer of the Week
This week’s Beer of the Week comes from Filth Highway Brewing in Philomath, Oregon. MX-Model Vienna Lager is a singular Vienna lager brewed in a Mexican type. Crisp and barely candy, MX-Model blends the perfect of each worlds to supply a splendidly refreshing and drinkable beer to be loved nearly any time.
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