Another state, and another season

This year's race season starts tomorrow for me with a 5K in Epping, one of the closer towns (about 30 minutes from my front door) that I've yet to complete a race in. Thanks to the winter without snow, I'm in a pretty good place, I think. We'll see tomorrow.

But last Sunday I did an 8.3-mile run in Syracuse, New York, which makes the Empire State No. 2 in my quest to log a minimum 90-minute run in all 50 states. (The first was Kansas, which I got last month.)

I was in Syracuse for a Cinfest, a vintage film convention (see www.jeffrapsis.com about that) and took advantage of freakily warm and dry weather on Saturday, March 17 to go on a long steady run from my hotel out the Syracuse Airport and back.

Airport action: Kinda quiet on a Saturday afternoon. A couple jets on final approach, that's all.

A big loop, several bad intersections, but nothing terrible. Surprisingly strong late afternoon sun for St. Patrick's Day. Kind of nice to plod around the outer edges of a strange town with only my hotel key and a hand-drawn reference map to guide me. But it worked.

Which state will be next? Well, a quick trip to San Francisco next weekend will provide an opportunity. And if I do one a month, I can pick up the six New England states this summer...