The Tribe

Lori, Laura, Keene, Shizaun, Mike B., Mike V., Brenan, Dominic, and Kathy represented the RUR tribe at a recent Easton 5K. Landy was running laps with his kids for the fun run while this photo was taken. Joel's little piggies got none.

27 degrees. 25 mph winds. A weekend beach house at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Seven Rise Up Runners running full or half-marathons, and family rolling down. That's the answer to the question: what were the RUR's up to this weekend LAST year.

The race itself was a blast and marked some firsts and/or personal bests for a number of us. But the race was only part of it. It was as much, or more, being part of the tribe that rolled down there together. That has been one of the coolest things about any number of the races where multiple RURs have gone down together. It's the vibe from the tribe.

This year, there are no repeat offenders for Rehoboth, though there had been talk. But Keene and Joel (or so Joel claims ;) cooked up something cooler for the group this year: The Washington DC Monument Run. Per Keene, it is essentially a run from monument-to-monument, throughout the city, covering roughly 10 miles. We're leaving Easton in the dark of Sunday morning.

Funny thing. Once it was put out there, thrown as a challenge, the drums started rolling. Likely participants inlcude Keene, Joel, Landy, Andrew, Lori, Katherine, Dominic, Brenan, Shaun, and Valliant. Take out the race itself, and the tribe stays primal.

And running as a group qualifies as pretty primal. Granted, we're not running prey down to cook (Andrew does that on other days) for subsistence, but running as a group goes back at least as far. I've been amazed at how this group steps up to challenges, to do something fun, to get together, to make a mark, to share an experience and kick some endorphins.

Look for photos and a write-up from the Rise Up Runner DC Monument Run to be posted soon. Can't wait to get out there. To do something different. To kick it with the tribe.