Kinsella Lochner Fun Runs, One and Two! By Pat Kinsella Herdeg

Back in mid-March, three cousins created the idea of the first Kinsella Fun Run. By the time the Fun  Run came about, it had changed into the Kinsella-Lochner Fun Run.

This is how Alison Herdeg described it back in late March to the group of us:

Early April in Japan from Beth's walk

I was looking forward to running my first 10-mile race on Sunday, April 5, the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler in DC. I've been training dutifully for 2.5 months. I was sad, even if not surprised, when it was cancelled!

Paul was supposed to run a half marathon that same day, which was also cancelled. Kristin fortunately got in her half marathon right before things ramped up.

The three of us thought it would be fun to run anyway!! Unless all outdoor activity is strictly prohibited at that time, Paul and Kristin and I are each going to run our own races in our own places. We welcome you to join!

Glenn after his 10 mile run

The date picked was Sunday, April 5^th. Any sort of exercise was allowed, just afterwards, send an email detailing what you did. Many of us Kinsellas and Lochners jumped on board with the idea. We were going house crazy by this point in the quarantine!

As family members replied back with what they intended to do, my brother Jim kept us laughing:

Every competition needs its spectators.  I'll send you a picture of the couch I choose when you do your various events.  Think of me cheering you on as you do your thing...

Julie Lochner added:

If I can drag Wes along, I'll do that.  I'll take pictures of him kicking and screaming!

Julie and Wes

On the big day, we awoke to this email from Brian and Andrew Lochner, Ted’s sons:

Andrew and I got a head start last night!  Went for a nice evening walk. 2. 3 miles

Angela Kinsella reported in from California:

Our morning began by chasing Riley around the house while he was in hot pursuit of a cat that was roaming around outside. (I'd guess .003 miles).

Cooper began his morning laps around the living room (.004 miles). I picked up Cooper 10x (which equals 15 chest presses of 23lbs).

Zoe wanted in on the fun which equals 10 squats with 35 lbs.

The day has just begun out West so I will continue to keep you updated as our action packed day unfolds.

One of Julie's Friends along the Walk!

Julie Lochner wrote:

Another Lochner checking in.  What a lovely morning!!  Took off at about 8:00 am and had to fight my way through a herd of deer in our front yard.  I clocked in a 5 mile walk in 2 hours.  Would have been a bit shorter time-wise, but horses and a mule down the way caught my attention, and I caught theirs as they all came racing over to the fence to say hello.  Then I started noticing all the cool, old barns along the way and stopped to take pictures.  On the way back a pasture holding maybe six Highlander cattle stood staring.  Had to stop and say a few word there too which caught their attention and soon had the whole lot of them sticking their noses through the fence to chat and get petted.  Wes joined me for the last mile.  He's now crashed out on the couch.  The Lord did say Sunday is a day of rest.  So be it.

After all of the participants clocked in, Alison added it all up:

Jen, Rose, Chris and Tim Social Distancing as the Walk

 Kristin's Stats --Wow!

Here are the Full Stats:

 

TOTAL:

190.12 miles

40 participants (including 1 dog)

Unmeasured, but worthy contributions nonetheless:

* Angela chasing Riley around the house

* Cooper laps around the living room

* Christi long walk

* Grandma/CB twice to the front lobby

Awards:

Paul - for most diverse categories (walking, running, biking)

Chris & Jen & Tim & Rose - for largest group single contribution (20.32 mile walk)

Ted - for funniest Facebook post, about his hike

Brian & Andrew - for starting us off on the right foot Saturday evening

Zoe & Cooper & Connor & Zach - for gamely riding in running strollers or bike seats

Glenn - for taking a bullet for the colonists

Julie & Wes - for highest altitude contribution (~6500 ft, per Google)

Kristin - for trail running for 12 miles; I'm impressed

Tom - for best film! I didn't notice the attached video before; that was excellent. Thanks for sharing. I agree those wooded turns near the end looked like Otty.

Some of the comments after the stats came out:

From Julie:

Thanks Ali!  What a remarkable family we have.  Kudos to everyone who participated, including the cheer leading section.

From Paul:

Awesome stats and awards, thanks for compiling Ali! It was a lot of fun, glad we had so many participate.

From Tim:

Maybe the next Kinsella/Lochner event we should have is a nap-a-thon.  

I bet I could win that. 

From Alison:

Haha. I wouldn't be so sure -- I bet there are many other proud, self-proclaimed expert nappers in this group. Don't forget I've seen the 2846 living room after Thanksgiving dinner.

After all of this back and forth, we needed to do it again. So we did!

 Ali's Walk--Even saw a White Horse for Grandma!

May 31^st, or any day near that date, was the Second Kinsella-Lochner Fun Run.

Alison again described the challenge:

It would be fun if we could top our total mileage from last time (190.12 miles). Since the people who individually ran 10+ miles may not be up for that again (I'm not, at least), this can mean finding different ways to get miles (I will likely go for a long bike ride), and/or more people going on long walks. But again, as we used to say at summer camp, this is "challenge by choice" -- do what you're up for!

Alison immediately got responses back:

From Tim:

I was thinking of sending the nap-a-thon announcement out but I fell asleep before it could go out.

From Beth:

I’m in! It is our rainy season, so I may be swimming.

The day (s) of:

From Alex:

In honor of Men's Weekend, I took a trip to my local lake today and went for a nature walk. Highlights included a red-tailed hawk, an alligator lizard, a pretty flower called "farewell-to-spring" or "herald-of-summer", and a few acres' worth of poison oak.

From Nick:

I also played 18 holes of disc golf, and took the scenic path off the fairway a few times to rack up that extra distance. All in all I am reporting 5 Miles!

Nick the Quick

You Never know WHO you will meet as you walk!

And then, the stats:

We blew our last total out of the water (190.12), logging a total of 256.19 miles of walking, hiking, biking, and running! We also had six new participants.

What a fun way to keep up exercising and bonding as a family as we all acclimate to this strange new time in our lives. It was such fun to see the pictures and emails flying back and forth.

We are looking forward to more Fun Runs in the future. Care to join us??

 Pat and Glenn