Hello dear readers! I’m Ethan Gilchrist. This is an introduction post and the first of many I’ll be publishing on the Hare Bandits Running Team blog.

How did I get here? To keep it short and simple, my partner took me to The Jade Rabbit, which she knew full well could lead to me discovering the team. It was my first haircut in nearly a year, and I had the long hair to show for it. What I didn’t expect during this longer than usual hair appointment, was to notice a poster for the Hare Bandits on the wall. After a conversation with short distance Coach Storm Lover, and some deliberating with myself, and therapist, I decided it was time to run again.

I decided it was time to run again…

The last time I ran on a team or attempted to run on a team was 9 years prior to this chance encounter with the Hare Bandits. I had joined the cross country team at my high school during the cold winter months in Phoenix, Arizona. The dry weather there makes any run feel like you’re pushing up against needles, meaning a teammate alongside you is the encouragement you need to keep going. That’s not what I got. My high school cross country team was my first run-in with the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) runner. The head coach, who was well in his 50s, ran with me for the first few minutes of my inaugural run on a new-to-me route before blankly stating he’d be joining the fast runners in the front because he didn’t want to “miss out” on keeping their pace. After dragging myself through a few more months of experiences like this, a lack of support from the team and my family led me to hang up my team running shoes for almost a decade.

My first day at a Hare Bandits practice was in the hot, muggy months of June in Charlotte. I had settled on attending my first running practice with the team the Sunday after that aforementioned hair appointment. I wasn’t sure what I would get walking in, but it was good. A blatantly positive energy radiates from the team full of acceptance and welcoming for those who show up. While I’m not the most talkative, meeting with the rest of the runners was wonderful. No one expressed disdain or displeasure for my pace. There were also other new runners joining that day, ensuring I didn’t feel like an odd one out. It was my first time back on a course with a team in a long time, and I pushed myself to my limit. I was definitely overdoing it, and I vividly recall one of my teammates telling me it was okay to take it slow for my first run. This was such a stark contrast to any other team I’d been on before.

Running for me in the past had always been cut short by something. I was a successful runner in middle school for a few years, but it was cut short by a combination of overbearing schoolwork and bullying. My running career in high school never really took off. College was an extremely sedentary time for me. As an adult, I had wanted to bring fitness back into my life, even getting a personal trainer, but for the most part, these runs took place on a treadmill or on a track. Running stationary listening to a top 40s song blaring at an uncomfortable volume in a sweaty room was not what I wanted. Running with a team on an outdoor course was where I thrived. With the Hare Bandits, it seemed I’d finally found a way to return to running for real this time.

A few months of practice later brings us to the September 1st Around the Crown 10K race. This was my first race in over 10 years. As far as I know, my last true race at this point was in middle school in the summer of 2013. It was a disappointing bout where I had lost my motivation. Here I was energized but nervous after a decade away ready to try again. Around the Crown is a heck of a race to return to form in. There were thousands upon thousands of runners in a frankly overwhelming city street. The race cuts through the freeway making for a truly memorable course.

Around the Crown solidified my feeling that I was in the right place with the Hare Bandits. This was a 10K, which was well above what I had done in a race before and more than my typical Bandits 5K practice. However, I had my teammates. I ran this whole race with one of our runners, Paige, sister of long distance Coach Hannah Baxter. Paige and I pushed each other to maintain a challenging pace and finish strong despite having to climb a freeway hill typically done in a car going 50mph. We finished in nearly an hour flat. I would’ve been under an hour had someone not rolled their stroller in front of me! I came across the line ready to vomit, but also fully energized to stick with the team. I had finally reclaimed my place as a runner that day.

My Hare Bandits experience is in large part thanks to my partner Thy Do, who draws digital art for the team and uses my camera equipment to document our runs. Thy has grown steadily more involved with supporting me over the 6 months I’ve been on the team, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

I’m also very happy to be writing this blog for you readers right now! I used to be a journalist and wrote day in and day out. I left that career for software development but have always wanted to return to writing.

I’m thankful to have this team and opportunity. The Hare Bandits is a key part of my fitness journey now and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. I’ll end on an anecdote that made me think of the Hare Bandits last November. I visited Arizona for my job and spent some time in person with my coworkers some of whom I’d never met before. We woke up early one morning for a run. One of my coworkers was training for a marathon, and we were there to support him. At least I thought we were. I was easily reminded of my time in high school when my coworker ran off ahead to show off their amazing pace, ditching us in the process. If you contrast this with my experience running alongside my teammates with the Hare Bandits, it’s easy to see why I’m happy where I am.

– Ethan Gilchrist