If you know anything about me, you know that I enjoy putting myself through excruciating pain for the joy of a runner’s high and staying healthy!

Running has been something I have been doing since 2008–just eight years old when I joined the cross country team for the first time. I had never run competitively before, but I was excited to give it a try.

And let me tell you, it changed my life.

Since 2008, I have been on a team running–meeting new friends along the way, improving my fitness, and growing a love for a sport that many do not enjoy.

So with that little backstory, let me tell you about my new experience this week.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take a trip to my home city, Philadelphia! The home of the great cheesesteak debate (Pat’s v. Geno’s–anyone have a preference?), the city that people associate Wawa with, and of course, the home of this year’s Super Bowl champs. But I wasn’t going to Philly to do touristy things, but rather, run!

Franklin Field, what a view

Penn State Club XC took to Franklin Field this past Saturday, competing in the University of Pennsylvania’s “Club Penn Relays.” We were joined with several other club cross country teams, including Temple, UVA, UPenn, Drexel, Pitt, and the list goes on.

My friends and I ran a Distance Medley Relay, or a DMR. This consists of a 1200 meter run, 400 meter run, 800 meter run, and is finished with a mile. Each teammate runs a section of the race–I ran the 800 meter run–something I hadn’t run since my earliest years of high school.

Blue skies & best friends!

Instead of running with a baton though, we used a rubber chicken that made squeaking noises. It was pretty funny running around the curves squeaking a rubber chicken.

After our race, a bunch of the freshmen gathered to play a game of baseball–using a wiffle ball bat and a tennis ball in place of the real things. This game was nothing but intense–teammates sliding on the turf and getting turf burn (yep, that was me) while others are shouting and cheering as we run from base to base.

Pause: it’s time for a dance party!

But the shenanigans don’t stop there–the boys definitely took the opportunity to do something goofy to a whole new level.

What a handoff!

My friends decided to use the wiffle ball bat as their baton. And that’s not even the crazy part. They made the executive decision that they would play the game “dizzy bat” while handing off the baton. So not only were they running with a “baton” that was about 5 times the size of a typical baton, but they were also putting their head on the bat and spinning around a circle five times.

This was such a sight–watching 4 boys attempt to run after spinning in a circle was simply classic. And to conclude the event, the last runner, David, finished the race by hitting a tennis ball at the finish line with the wiffle ball. It was a home run! The crowd (Penn State Club XC) went wild!

The day was finished with a team photo and then we headed to get cheesesteaks in the city–because there were many teammates who weren’t “locals.” After a day of shenanigans in the city, it was time to pack up and head home to State College.

The whole crew!

This was such a fun weekend, and it brought me right back to my high school days spent with my best friends outside, with perfect weather, just enjoying each others company. And although I wasn’t with those friends, the friends I have made from Penn State Club XC made this old experience something completely new.

I’m already looking forward to the next meet we have together!

Run happy my friends.

Picture this. It’s March. You and 6 of your friends decide to take a trip to the good ol’ 609 (yes, that is the area code), piling into the Honda Pilot, cramming bags and bags of food into the car, while song requests are shouted left and right. There is barely room to put your feet on the ground, you’re not sure what you’re sitting on, and you struggle intensely to buckle your seatbelt. How college.

This Spring Break I had the opportunity to take a trip to Stone Harbor with my friends from Club Cross Country–let’s face it, that’s where I met all of my friends (I’m not complaining though). We spent the weekend at someone’s real fancy beach house–equipped with an elevator and everything. So classic.

But this trip wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine. We almost had to cancel it. Why? Well SOMEONE, you know who you are, locked himself out of his house and several people didn’t have power, thanks to Nor’easter #1. Once Aidan got back into his house, things were good to go.

After spending three freakin’ hours in the car, we had finally gotten there. We unpacked the car and instantly started baking cookies, tested out the in-home elevator, and started to play games.

Sunset succession

We look pretty, but the view looks prettier

We had dinner together and then watched the sunset, which let me tell you, everyone needs to stop hating on the Jersey Beaches, because this succession of the sunset is absolutely breathtaking.

After a really long night of goofing around and dancing (yes, we did the line dance, isn’t that just classic too?), we all hit the sack. The next morning consisted of making pancakes and mostly making a mess.

1,2,3 Jump!

High tide

We hit the beach, clad in jackets and even boots–how bizarre. We adventured down the shore, while the tide was ridiculously high.

As soon as the water met our toes, everyone screamed. It was absolutely freezing. We kept walking down the shore, and then hit a section of quick sand! What on Earth! I got stuck shin-deep in this stuff, my jeans were a soaking wet sandy mess. Megan even lost a shoe in this quick sand. Everyone was freezing, shoes were missing, and morale was relatively low–but everyone was having fun. We went back to the house, hoping that was the end of the cold water for us all. And then, the moment we were all dreading. Hannah had the most brilliant idea to do a polar plunge.

We suited up as fast as humanly possible, sprinted to the beach, and went into the ocean. Hannah and I did that not once, but twice. Which was rather unpleasant later, when her feet turned purple. All I have to say is, wow, who knew ocean water was that cold. We sprinted back to the house, taking photos along the way to document the crazy thing we had all just done.

Florida or New Jersey, you tell me!

Not pictured: Aidan #1; Pictured: Aidan #2

Everyone showered off and then had to nap to recover from the horrors of the polar plunge. Then we hit the town, while Aidan took us to all the local places, most of which were closed. We went at the perfect time, as the sun was setting. Downtown Stone Harbor looked so eclectic, I never wanted to leave!

After a great dinner in town, we hopped back in the car and headed home, where we spent the night playing card game after card game after card game, finishing the night with the line dance of course. Only Penn Staters are extra enough to do the line dance after a night out. Hey, I’m not complaining, it was fun!

The next day we all had to do the dirty work–laundry and dishes. We eventually rallied everyone up and headed home. What a fun weekend away with new friends. Every time I think about how much I love college, I owe it to the people that I’ve surrounded myself. In which case, I owe my love for college to Penn State Club XC. This Spring Break weekend was a new trip for all of us, but I am fairly certain that it won’t be the last trip we take together.