Trenton Fit

A few weeks ago Don and I went on a Trenton Walks tour. A week later we went on another one. A week after that we went on a third one. Upon retirement, Becky Taylor (locally famous for co-founding the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail over 20 years ago) moved to Trenton and wanted to learn more about her new home. The more she learned, the more she wanted to share this knowledge with others. Hence Trenton Walks was born. 

Tom, a frequent participant on the Trenton Walks meetups, saw a need for people to gather and run together. He calls his group Downtown Fit. They meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 5:30 and on Saturday mornings at 8 am. I've been to two of the "Bridge to Bridge" runs. They also have a four-mile Stacy Park loop. 

The Bridge to Bridge runs starts on the corner of Lafayette and Warren Streets and, after taking a group photo in the same spot each time, they have a warm up walk to the New Jersey State Library to the Calhoun Street Bridge, runs along the Delaware River on a path in Levittown, then crosses at the Trenton Makes Bridge, before heading up to the start on Warren. This is about 2.4 miles. You can add a loop through Mill Hill to bring it up to three miles. The two times I have done it, the shorter amount was fine. 

It is a small yet diverse group of super supportive and encouraging people. The two times I have gone (once with Don, once without), our group of about ten people broke into eight minute mile runners, 12 minute milers, and walkers. Roland and Tom, the de facto leaders, says they are slow, but later amends that to say slow for the fast runners, waits until the end to make sure everyone is greeted with a high five and a smile.

We are continuing through the fall, but there is concern about what to do once it gets darker earlier, and when the icy weather starts. The group only started connected this past Spring. They want to keep going.

It helps dispel the theory that Trenton is a scary place. The scariest parts are when we are crossing traffic and cars do not notice us, but that's everywhere.