Author Archives: Liz Derstine

Someone in the Crowd: Boston Marathon ’22 Race Report

I don’t know if there are two more opposite endurance events than hiking solo for seven days and nights in the woods, to tearing down a paved course from Hopkinton to Boston for a few concentrated hours, elbow-to-elbow in a sea of runners. I never heard the starting gun since we were so far back, butContinue reading “Someone in the Crowd: Boston Marathon ’22 Race Report”

Back to Before (Boston Marathon Preview)

Last Sunday, after crossing the finish line at the local Bridge to Brews 10K, I joined a throng of runners at the post-race party on the grassy waterfront park in downtown Portland. An energetic cover band was blasting some tunes, and my friends and I celebrated our completed races with commemorative plastic cups filled with beerContinue reading “Back to Before (Boston Marathon Preview)”

Talladega Nights: My Thru-Hike of the Pinhoti Trail

It’s been nearly a week since completing the Pinhoti Trail, but I feel as though the journey hasn’t stopped! After a half day of rest at the Pinhoti Outdoor Center, I hopped on a flight back to Portland and dove right back into work the next morning (I’ve been helping out as a teacher aid in anContinue reading “Talladega Nights: My Thru-Hike of the Pinhoti Trail”

Spring Breaker: Hiking the Pinhoti Trail

[Originally published Sunday, March 13th, 2022 via my newsletter] In less than a week, I’ll hop on a flight to Atlanta and embark on a new kind of journey, the kind I’ve dreamed about for some time but haven’t quite taken the leap to do. I’ve always wondered what I could do on a longContinue reading “Spring Breaker: Hiking the Pinhoti Trail”