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As the temperature drops and the leaves change, it becomes perfect running weather because it's dry, cool and sunny - just in time to prepare for a big race for one Williamsport man.
Jared Cave, who moved here just a few months ago from Vermont, has been trying to average 15 to 25 miles of running every week to prepare for the Kathryn M. Freeman Race for Ovarian Cancer, held at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 3 in South Williamsport Community Park.
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Jared Cave
The half-marathon, which is 13.1 miles, is for a good cause but also is convenient for Cave, he said.
"I need a goal," Cave said. "If no goal, I don't run."
The half-marathon is the third one for him. His future goal is to do one or two half-marathons a year, in addition to running a 5,000-kilometer run each month.
"That's the ideal," Cave said. "I'm working toward it."
Another goal he is working toward is a Pittsburgh full marathon, which he sometimes thinks about to give him motivation to continue running.
On a normal day, Cave wakes up, gets ready and is out running on the Susquehanna River Walk by about 9 a.m., because running in the late morning gives him more energy throughout the day. Sometimes he runs in a group, sometimes with his wife or sometimes alone.
He "surprisingly" does not see many other runners on the River Walk when he goes, he said.
"It's a great place to go running," Cave said. "Not a lot of people use it (though)."
One of the best parts about the races he participates in is the camaraderie.
"It's fun to be around people who like running," Cave said.
