Run Perry Run Club

Run no 17:

What can be said when something you created ends up at a thrift store? We suppose it depends on both circumstance and perspective. Take records/tapes/cds for example. In the early days, if a band’s album ended up in the bargain bin, it took significant mental gymnastics to find positivity for all involved. The most obvious scenario, the buyer didn’t like it and gave it away. Not as negative as tossing it in the garbage or burning it, but certainly negative from both the band and buyer’s perspective. Of course, the buyer could have fallen on hard times causing them to sell their collection. Better from the band’s perspective, but much worse from the buyer’s. Even then, subtleties in circumstance could still make a big difference. Maybe the hard times required selling all but the owner’s favorites… oh… and perhaps the money went towards a new bike for the buyer’s kid! Kind of negative for the buyer (as there were still hard times), a bit of a bummer for the band (not a horrible album, but didn’t survive the cut), but a kid got a bike! Yeah! Now things are looking better. Conceivably, the most positive scenario would be for the buyer to have been a musical savant, phonographic memory and all, who listened to the album, committed it to memory, and loved it so much they felt compelled to donate it so that its beauty could be shared with the world. Fast forward to last Saturday, when we found one of the club’s 2023 “That’s Not a Run” shirts on the rack at The Windfall. Sure, we could have thought the “almost” worst, that someone didn’t like it and gave it away (remember, burning or tossing in the garbage would have been THE worst). But being the positive folks we are, we choose to believe the most likely scenario was that original owner gained such inspiration from the shirt that they met and exceeded all their fitness goals, causing the shirt to no longer fit (by a long shot), and they figured the world would be better served if someone else might gain inspiration by wearing it. Or perhaps they figured out the run on the front was Ye Ole’ Refrigerator and that ruined it for them. Irrespective, we won’t be running that route this week. Instead, we turn to a different Greg Wallweber creation: Oh Hiiiiilllllll No. Down, then up, then down, then up, then over and down, or over, up some more, over some more, then down a bunch. And if you want to cheer us up, show up wearing your FAVORITE of the club’s numerous shirts (extra credit for whoever shows up wearing them all). See you this Tuesday at 6!

Run No. 13:

Early in the season we teased we’d be releasing a new route soon. Well, soon came and went and no new route was ever released. But then came this week and we thought, “Why not release a new route this week?” Yep. That’s what we thought. Then we thought, “What new route should we release? There’s that one. And, of course, there’s that other one. Hmmm. Oh… how about that one someone just sent us for a SECOND TIME? Got to love the persistence… AND we could tweak part of it ever so slightly to take the 3ish on a road we’ve been wanting to take them on for several years now! Not to mention, the 5ish route looks like it would be a great time. We’ve NEVER gone up there!” We then dug up and stared at that most recent submission a couple more times. We’ll be honest, it got us thinking, “There sure is an awful lot of uphill. Hmmph.” But then we thought, “There’s quite a bit of downhill too. Hmm. Strange how that works. Hmmmmm.” Yeah, we actually thought, “hmmm,” then “hmmph,” then “hmm,” and finally, “hmmmmm,” and the matter was settled. This week we would debut, “You Gone Messed UP A-Arun,” a route penned by none other than fellow run club member, Aaron Brown. It’ll take us UP Ben Burr, then UP Green Street, and through the enchanted beginnings of E. 14th, where paved street turns to dirt, and vice versa (and then vice versa again twice more-for the 3ish at least). The 3ish will then see 14th become Cook, Girard Place turn to 15th, and then head home down Perry. The 5ish? Well, they won’t experience all the dirt-to-pavement and street-name-changing magic the 3ish will. Instead, they’ll be rewarded with the club’s first ever trip up and into the vast untamed wilderness that is the Upper Lincoln Park. There’s a bunch of turns after that, which we’ll do our best to explain come Tuesday. Oh, and before we go, you should know, both the 3ish and 5ish routes will err closer to their larger sibling, 4 and 6, but it’ll be worth it. You have the Aaron Brown Guarantee. See you this Tuesday at 6!