I’ve always been a runner, even as a kid. My dad always used to tell me “Run like the wind!” While I’m not as fast as I was a kid or a teenager, that love of running has stuck with me. I’ve done countless 5Ks, 10Ks, relays and half marathons. I had to take time off from running for quite a few years because of plantar fasciitis in my foot, so all my endurance went out the window. I’ve been trying to get my speed back, but have been struggling. In September 2022 I did a race in Providence, Rhode Island with some friends and I was really disappointed by my time, so much so that I decided that starting then and there, I would do one race a month for a year, then see how my time compared to the same race in September 2023. I have a lot of friends that I run races with but in recent years, I’ve bonded with my friend Taylor about our love/hate relationship with running. Her and I met at CrossFit, and while she is 10 years younger than me, we quickly bonded over our love of running, reading and the outdoors. So when it came to tackling my goal of a race a month for a year, I knew I’d be peer-pressuring Taylor into joining me for some. I also didn’t want to just do road races, or races in New Hampshire where I live, I wanted to find unique races. I found one in Brooklyn, at Coney Island, where participants would race along the boardwalk. Conveniently, Taylor and I have a mutual friend, Prince, that lives in Brooklyn so we decided we would do the Coney Island 10K for my June race and get to visit our friend at the same time.
It’s not a bad drive from New Hampshire to New York City and didn’t take us long to get into Brooklyn. Prince lives in a great area of the borough where everything is walkable (I guess that is most places in the city though). We spent the afternoon doing a walking tour of his neighborhood. We went to the Brooklyn Public Library (impressive), Prospect Park (larger than I thought), and a few bars and eateries. Since Taylor and I had to run the next day we didn’t want to get too crazy eating and drink but we did stop at a fun bar called Branded Saloon. We sat outside people watching, eating French fries and drinking frozen cocktails.
Sunday Taylor and I headed to Coney Island early in the morning for the race. Even though I spent a lot of time in New York as a kid visiting family, I had never been to Coney Island so I was excited to see it, especially since it’s so well-known. When we arrived to the boardwalk, the place was empty, minus the race participants. The morning started out pretty cool and windy but as the time passed, the sun came out and was relentless.
When we signed up for the race a few months prior, I was thinking it would be an easy run since the boardwalk would be a nice, flat surface. But jokes on me because the boardwalk was actually pretty uneven. The boards were warped in places and some of them jutted up at angles. And other, newer replacement boards were a little slippery in texture. I tripped a few times and my life flashed before my eyes. Thank god I caught myself before I wiped out and got impaled by splinters. Also, as I mentioned, the sun was out in full force as soon as the race started and there’s no shade on the boardwalk. So the race I was really excited to run turned out to be one that I struggled with the most. But, it was a fun experience and I love getting to do races in new places!
Once we got our medals, Taylor and I took the train back to Prince’s neighborhood. We freshened up and then the three of us hit the town for Sunday Funday. Our first stop was Mayfield for martinis and ricotta doughnuts with Nutella (trust me, just get them). Next we went to one of the cutest bars I’ve ever been to – Rhum Bar! It had such beautiful artwork and décor. I felt like I had just walked into a tropical vacation. The drinks were great too. We also made stops at The Barlow and Bar Meridan. After a few hours of day-drinking, we were ready for take out, movies and comfy clothes.
Taylor and I left the next morning to head back to New Hampshire. While it was a quick trip, it was a fun adventure and I got to see parts of Brooklyn I hadn’t before. When I travel or plan trips, even something fairly short like this, I like to try to incorporate visiting friends that I might not see otherwise. It makes trips even more meaningful!
Have you ever been to Coney Island?
📍I acknowledge the lands mentioned in this post are the ancestral lands of the Canarsie and Munsee Lenape people.
The Adventures of Suze 
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