I grew up in a rural township about 30 minutes from where I currently live. The “small town” I own a home in now literally seceded from the neighboring city 101 years ago. I love the mix of quaint and urban, and that we have small town vibes of Halloween parades, tiny public libraries and a school system where every teacher knows my daughter’s name regardless of whether she had a class with them.

But I also love the nearby city of Easton, Pa., where my husband and I had our first apartment downtown and our second apartment in a rather questionable neighborhood on the south side.

About two or three months ago, I noticed the Karl Stirner Arts Trail was hosting its Artful Dash 5k to raise money for this fun and unusual trail along the Bushkill Creek. The trail links Lafayette College’s Arts Campus to the 13th Street Silk Mill, snaking along Rt 22 in the process.

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Gayle and I registered. It was my idea. We used to do 5k events about once a month until Gayle got poorer and busier and I developed more issues with my spine.

My last race was a Girl Scout event and I intended to run it, as I had also run the Yuengling Lager Jogger. The Girl Scout race ended up being a disappointment because I dropped a 15-lb dumbbell on my toe six weeks out. Also: Read about that race here.

Today was almost 65 minutes. Another disappointment. Especially since this was a great race. Well marked, friendly volunteers, small but big enough, nature, flat surfaces.

But I did slow down at one point deliberately because I just had a major adjustment on my hip Wednesday and it didn’t feel up to heavy effort.

So that was that.

Here is Gayle’s report on her walking blog.