I am going to be sad to leave New Haven for a lot of reasons, one of which is that I now call it my home. I’ve lived in my apartment for the past two years and it makes me sad to think about leaving a place that has so much significance to me. Soon another Yalie is going to take over my enormous kitchen where I have done some of my finest culinary work and also where a lot of gastronomical experiments have ultimately failed. New Haven, too, is home to my favorite restaurant (Miya’s) and my favorite pizza (BAR). But recently, I realized how sad I’m going to be to lose my favorite outdoor running track: the streets of New Haven.
Whether I want to take a short jog or train for this alleged half-marathon I’m convincing myself to try, I love running in the Elm City. Recently, I’ve enjoyed running a path that completely encircles East Rock, one of the most surprising and beautiful natural rock formations located only a few miles from campus. Usually I leave my apartment, run through campus, past the New Haven green, and trot up Whitney Avenue, which cuts through the New Haven metro area and provides a clean path past East Rock Park. Once at the base of East Rock, it is not hard to find the motivation to continue my run and to get to the top. Once I finish, the view of New Haven is breathtaking and unique. It isn’t often that you can find a panoramic view of a city without taking an elevator to the top of an unusually tall skyscraper. East Rock, though, is just a huge monstrosity of sediment and trees situated right in the middle of an otherwise flat Northeastern residential neighborhood.
When I move to New York in the next few months, I plan to keep running. I will probably find some path along the Hudson River that will someday seem familiar and beautiful. Until then, I am going to keep waking up early for the opportunity to enjoy the view from the top as many times as I can before Commencement in May!