Seeing Lincroft at Running Speed: 26.2 Miles of Perspective

Bernie Daus – Middletown BOE Candidate

I am running for the Middletown Board of Education, and I've found a great way to understand the communities I hope to serve: running their streets and sidewalks.

At running speed, I see the community more clearly. I enjoy running the quiet side streets the most. Step by step, I notice the connections between homes, schools, shops, parks, firehouses, and post offices. I see people walking their dogs, children riding bikes, people working in their yards, and the small details that give a community its identity.

In three segments… I ran a marathon's worth of miles through Lincroft this weekend – 26.2 miles. The route took me past Swimming River Reservoir, Thompson Park, Lincroft Post Office, Lincroft Annex, Lincroft Elementary School, Brookdale, High Tech High School, Voyagers School, Joyce’s Subs, St. Leo’s, Clayton Thompson Cemetery, Oak Hill Academy, Lincroft Fire Company, Lincroft First Aid Station, Sunnyside Recreation Area… other local parks, different neighborhoods, businesses, and familiar landmarks. I even found Bernard Drive along the way! My exact routes are available on Strava if you are curious about the details.

My sons escorted me on their bicycles for parts of this adventure through Lincroft – exercising alongside me. They were pedaling their bikes while I jogged and observed. It was nice to have their company.

Lincroft was my first community marathon run, and it was beautiful! I spent a lot of time in Lincroft when I was attending high school at Middletown South – I had many friends from there. I spent even more time in Lincroft when I attended Brookdale. I was already very familiar with this section of town, but I have a renewed understanding of Lincroft after running 26.2 miles there this weekend.

Over the course of this campaign, I plan to run 26.2 miles in each section of Middletown. Eventually I’ll log over 500 miles running through each of Middletown’s distinct communities. If I expect to represent all of Middletown, I should make the effort to know it, one neighborhood, one conversation, and one mile at a time.