another edition for Runners' World

New Mexico. Looking forward to a long day in a cramped cockpit and looking around at my mostly completed preparations for a third of a year away from my house and beloved deck, I stepped out the door in running shoes. The cool morning air filled my lungs. It was a short run – just up to the national park sign warning of the dangers of camp fires. But as always, the view over the valley and crispness of the air calmed me for the long flight to Hawaii.

Hawaii. It’s always tough to stay active on the road. But running shoes and a pair of shorts fit almost anywhere. And facing an even longer flight from Hawaii to Korea in that same cramped cockpit, I woke up early (okay, partly due to jet lag) and donned my running shoes. I also needed to return the jeep, the perfect Hawaii car I borrowed from a friend. What better way to return that car and prepare for the day than a run through to tropical housing area of Hickam AFB? The sun rose, outlining the puffies it hid behind, as I padded down still-damp streets beneath heavy tree limbs among the birds scavenging for breakfast. A few other joggers trotted along on this early Saturday morning that would turn to Sunday a few hours later as I crossed the International Date Line toward Korea.

Korea. My first morning back in this little country of rice fields, rugged hills, and open sewers, I again ran the perimeter of Kunsan Airbase. Across the taxiway and between the runway approach lights. Like I did 5 years ago, I feel as if I’m breaking some rule or other to just run out across an active taxiway. And like back then, there’s no rule against it. How many times had I crossed that taxiway to run the dirt road along the “beach” when I was here 5 years ago? A crab and a snake narrowly miss my footfalls. I find it more difficult now to ignore the wire fence hampering my view of where the land meets the sea. No one plays on this beach, as mud dominates the first mile of sea at low tide, and rumor dictates that it’s mined. I’m tired so I cut the route short, jogging through the main part of base on my way back to my dorm room, refreshing my memory on the locations of the Post Office, the Officers’ Club, the chapel. The old food court is a vacant lot now, the building torn down and a new food court built where the BX used to be. A shiny new BX, food court, and commissary stand where I think the gym used to be. One run, and I’ve relearned where all the key agencies on base are. And gotten a good workout in. Now for a nap.