HOW?
I identified the project as a whole. What constitutes San Francisco? This is fairly easy to define as it is surrounded by water on three sides and a strict county and city border to the south. Then I came up with a game-plan - for me that meant systematically making my way back and forth across the city in 20 to 30 mile clumps.
Prior to each run, I would printout a map (I preferred Yahoo maps because there weren’t any paid-for landmarks cluttering the map like on Google. Today, my preference is GPS Visualizer which has many different base layers to chose from.). I would study the map some before my run - this would include identifying dead ends, alleyways, ways to loop my run, etc. But for the most part I would kind of just make it up as I went along - map in hand, four colored pen to mark streets off as I ran.
I recorded my route with my Suunto watch and uploaded that to Strava at the end of every day. Once the route was uploaded, I went on to the “heat map” function on Strava or to City Strides to cross-check my progress
This is a visualization of my project created by Data Wizard Yvan Fornes. THIS IMAGE IS CLICKABLE - CLICK ON THROUGH TO SEE YVAN’S INCREDIBLE SITE.
WHY?
I’ve already answered why I was drawn to do this project before I began, but now that I’ve done it, WHY would I recommend others to do it?
It’s a sneaky way to train. You become so focused on this weird project that you don’t ever really realize that you’re training.
It’s a great way to get to know your home. I thought I knew San Francisco pretty well before taking on this project and came to realize that I hardly knew it at all. You are constantly discovering new things.
This project creates a pathway towards empathy. Knowing how other people live - whether that be the wrong side of the railroad tracks or the right side - is a first hand (foot) approach towards popping the bubbles we live in and appreciating our differences for what they are.
It exercises your brain as well as your body.
It’s out your front door. And your back door. We can’t all live at the base of an incredible mountain range deep in the Norwegian mountains, nor do we all have the luxury of time or money to run across the Grand Canyon at the drop of a hat. We can approach this as a tangible challenge that strengthens our community, our minds and our bodies.