27 Comments
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Aransas Savas's avatar

Thrilling! Thank you for taking me on this ride with you!

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Thank you so much for joining me, Aransas! :) I'm curious if you have plans for something longer than a marathon. Wishing you and yours light and laughter.

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Aransas Savas's avatar

Plans, no, but desire, yes! Where should we go? ;)

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Oh goodie! The wheels are turning. :)

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Julie Rains's avatar

Love hearing the details. I've been to this area several times, a couple of times as a stop while driving to NY; once on a bike trip along the C&O Canal in which we visited Harpers Ferry and Shepherdstown; and then another time visiting a friend of a friend who lives in Boonsboro.

The varying territory is diverse - flat along the C&O and then hilly around Harpers Ferry; we never had time to hike there but noticed how worn backpackers in the area looked.

I remember seeing the Amtrak (I think) station in Harpers Ferry and being surprised that it was there. I'm guessing those were the train tracks. Yikes!

This race is quite an adventure!

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Good morning Julie, Thank you so much for sharing your experience here! That must be the train you saw. It's that wild. I appreciate you reading along and am glad it sparked some fun memories for you. :)

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Clark Rose's avatar

My heart beats amp up

Your narration gives me pause

This is NON-FICTION ‼️‼️‼️

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Good morning Clark!

Thank you for reading along and sharing this great response via poetry.

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

YOU BEAT THE TRAIN!!!

This is a real edge-of-the-seat story, Julie! I'm excited for every single step of the very long way of your incredible journey, and so grateful that you're sharing it with us!

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Goosebumps or goose pimples when I got to the other side!! LOL Thank you for joining me. :)

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Rebecca Holden's avatar

LOL - I always forget that across the pond they’re called ‘goosebumps’!!! 🤣

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

HA! I’m happy to know there is another option…goosepimples. :)

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Richard Donnelly's avatar

Who's setting up a race with a train delay? Bet they're not running : )

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

HA! No, they aren't. Thanks for the laugh, Richard, and for reading.

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Amie McGraham's avatar

“A carpet of rocks” !! You’ve described basically every trail here in central Arizona 🤦‍♀️

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Really! I better get over your way to get more practice. :) Thanks Amie for reading along. Happy Friday!

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Vineet Mani's avatar

Julie, I could visualize running alongside. Await to read about the onward journey. Super proud of you, my friend.

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Hi Vineet, Thank you so much for reading along. :) It's been a fun adventure to write about and share.

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Vineet Mani's avatar

I attempt not to miss any of your wonderful and inspiring writings. It is real fun to read you and your sojourns. 😊😊

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

This made my day Vineet. Thank you.

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KAREN V. BLOOM's avatar

Can’t wait til the next section! I feel like I’m running with you.

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

I'm so happy you're reading along, Mom. :) Not sure how many parts this will end up being, but happy writing about my experience.

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Claudette Henson's avatar

Wow, how exciting!!

I really hope this will be a new book! I love my collection of Julie Hughes books!

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

Claudette! This made my day. I think a book is definitely in the works. :)

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Claudette Henson's avatar

Yay!

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Linda McLachlan's avatar

“Go, the train will wait, Go!” OMG. How close was that! You are amazing Julie! I love the positive thoughts and the list of people carrying you along. This is so inspiring. xo

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Julie B. Hughes's avatar

It was very close. It was sitting there blaring the horn! A man was standing on some sort of balcony at the front of the train in a yellow reflective vest (I might want to add this). When I sprinted across the tracks I kept my eyes on him grateful the train wasn't moving at that moment. It was wild!

I will never forget that spectator for saying those words to me.

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