2014 had the proper beginning for the makings of a very good year. The 2 key components?

Running and ice cream.

I know that’s not how most people welcome the start of a new calendar, but I try not to do things the way most people would.

This year I spent my first Christmas and New Year in Fairbanks. With the way the UAF schedule works, I was always back in the lower 48 by this time. I also didn’t go home for the holidays in 2011, 2012, or 2013.

Post-UAF I had a NYE to remember ~ 7K down the road from the East Cape lighthouse in New Zealand: the easternmost lighthouse in the world. After drinking wine and chatting with my fellow freedom campers, I sat in their campervan and listened to a somewhat drunken monologue about the relationship between music and emotions from Mike Howlett, a Grammy-winning producer for A Flock of Seagulls. (He also was in a band with Sting, Stewart Copeland, and Andy Summers before The Police rose up.) When I flew to Australia, I took their offer of a place to stay in Brisbane. Why not?

I drove to the lighthouse for sunrise and found about 20 other people also hoped to catch a glimpse of the first sunrise of the year.  Unfortunately it was cloudy, but I did get filmed to be on some Asian (South Korean?) travel tv show saying “Happy New Year!” as the token American. (People from various countries were filmed saying it in their language.)

Last year wasn’t as memorable. I just had a solo TimTam slam in my room at the oil camp in NE Alberta. Our Conservation Canines group had made the drive up from Washington just a few days earlier, so we were settling in.

This year I’ve been fortunate enough to care for my 2 favorite dogs, house, and car just outside of Fairbanks for the last 2 weeks. I went to an eleven pm candlelight service on Christmas Eve, watched the Northern Lights when I got home, and then didn’t leave the neighborhood for the next 3 1/2 days. The dogs and I walked, and I ran for those days.

I was wondering what to do for NYE in Fairbanks when I checked out the website for Running Club North – a group I regret not joining over my years up here. It turns out that instead of holding a New Year’s Day 5K (like I’ve run in Chicago many a time) they have a New Year’s Eve 3 mile run at 11:30pm. That sounded perfect! We’d be finishing up 2013 with running and possibly running into 2014. Of course at midnight we’d see/hear fireworks around the area.

Bundling up and climbing in the cold car was a little rough late at night, but I knew I’d regret staying home if I didn’t go for the run. I drove to The Diner near downtown Fairbanks, wondering just how many people were going to show up. Considering it wasn’t that cold out – only -5F compared to the -30s we’d left in recent days – I figured there should be some other runners around. Turns out that a record 51 of us showed up for a late night run! As I parked and then signed in, I noticed most runners were dancing around in various styles of layers.

The route was an out and back that mostly followed the Chena River to the entrance to Fort Wainwright. Although I hadn’t been training to necessarily push myself, and the run was more of a social event than a race, I found myself going faster than I should have. After all, it’s been observed that I’m like a sled dog. I just want to GO! It felt really good, though, and I think I finished just outside the first 10. As I was running and thinking of how the new year generally arrives, I had a startling thought.

In my years of watching fireworks, never do I remember laughing and saying to myself, “Fireworks, Gandalf!” 

What’s wrong with me? Obviously it’s impossible to produce fireworks as grand as Gandalf’s, but one can hope. Needless to say, I started laughing while I was running and thinking this over.

Finishing on a runner’s high minutes before the year ended, I mixed up a hot chocolate and started socializing with the other runners. That’s when I heard it: the accent of an Australian. Despite running in 35C just a week or so ago, he’d finished the run 2nd and was visiting from the Gold Coast.

I needed to grab my jacket before I got too chilly, so I left the conversation for a minute and walked to the car. As I approached, I suddenly found myself unsure of which side was the driver’s side – something that happens every now and then ever since I’ve been back in the wrong hemisphere. I think simply hearing the accent triggered the muscle memory to question the car’s layout, and that realization made me notice I was back in a happy place.

Chatting with other runners and – in this case – travelers, put me in the frame of mind for adventure. Runners really do count as “my people” because they’re just so friendly and encouraging no matter what. Since being back in town, I’ve felt like I’m stuck back in the Fairbanks groove with no refreshing changes. People go about their daily lives, generally commenting on the cold and darkness. There just hasn’t been anything particularly new going on, and now that I’ve gotten out and talked to a traveler, I know it’s time.

It’s time to jump on a boat and head out to the Bering Sea for winter. It’s time to meet internationals who all signed up for long days processing fish in the middle of nowhere. It’s time for potential seasickness. It’s time for adventure!

Of course before that happens, I need to run more, which is why I went for another run after I finished socializing. 🙂 My first run of the year happened around 12:45am on the 1st!

Unfortunately the other part of my NYE plan fell through as Fairbanks’ own Hot Licks ice cream was closed. 🙁 Needing ice cream to make up for all the running I’ve been doing, late night Ben and Jerry’s fit the bill.

The last reason 2014 is off to a great start? My Spartans defeated Stanford to win the Rose Bowl! Finally, some national respect.