What do you take with you when you run? Try this...take these....

What do you take with you when you run? Your iPhone? money? your iPhone? Hopefully as little as possible, and I mean that both literally and metaphorically.

This must be a new park; I haven't seen it before.
Or was I not paying attention?

I realize that some people do not have the freedom to run hands free. Some must carry an inhaler or even pepper spray. Too often, I take my "to-do" list, my concerns and worries. But today I decided that I would follow the words of Luke 9:3 "Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic." Rather than taking something with me for the run, I was excited to see what I might take with me from the run. 

I have spent the last three weeks on the east coast; the final swing of my summer vacation.  Whenever I return to the Washington DC metro area, I enjoy running the same four square blocks in the Alexandria, Virginia neighborhood where I lived for two years. I have run those streets hundreds of times, but today I took from the run what I found while looking through the lens of sports and spirituality. And I found quite a bit. Had I run just 5 minutes longer, I could include T. C. Williams high school, the home of "Remember the Titans" in this montage. I'll save that for my next visit!

I love to run for many reasons and one reason is that it allows me to become more familiar with places and people. As opposed to driving through a neighborhood or taking public transportation through the city or another community, running exposes me to things that I might otherwise miss. 

Below are a few images of what I found. I encourage you to look through your own lens. What do you see? What have you never noticed before? What does it make you think about? Remember? Enjoy?!

First stop on the run was Episcopal High School founded in 1839. Notable alum includes Sen. John McCain.
Although many people find squash an elitist sport, I think indoor sports are very important for cold (and extremely humid) climates. It's not often you see a high school with its own center. 

On Seminary Road, this gates closes off the public from the Virginia Theological Society.
I just love that they think a young person might hop the fence to hit a few golf balls on the open space.
I say: Go for it!

A little social justice/Preferential Option for the Poor graffiti. I shared this with Tom Morello

This should also include the following from "Nine Things You Should Know About Gerald Ford" FASCINATING
Ford won a scholarship to the University of Michigan, which he attended from 1931 to 1935. The university’s football team, the Wolverines, won national championships in 1932 and 1933, and in 1934 (his senior year) Ford was named the team’s most valuable player. Upon graduation, Ford received offers from two professional football teams, the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, but he turned them down to take a position as head boxing coach and assistant football coach at Yale University, where he hoped to study law. 

The only way to conclude a run...with what America Runs on...

As we say "seek and ye shall find." Go for it.