Editor’s Note: This is the second part of a three-post mental health series. We interviewed two of our favorite members, Kelly and Pam, about how running has helped their mental health (especially during COVID).

Kelly Greene, Lisa Lee, Lisa Smith, and Maya Ziv enjoying a summer run

Was there a time during COVID when you didn't run consistently? If so, did any mental health issues arise?

Kelly: I strained my ankle a month or so into lockdown and had to scale back. Since gyms weren’t open, I took up power walking and got through. In terms of mental health: I just think better once I’ve had a chance to get outside every day—and there is almost always a way to make that happen.

Pam: If anything, the lockdown has made me run more. Partially, my remote teaching schedule freed up my mornings a little, but mostly because I realized it was the best part of my day. Especially in March after schools closed, I’d come back from an early morning run and routinely think, “Well, I feel good and even if it’s all downhill from here, I can get through.” It was such a hard time, but having run helped me deal with whatever fires needed to be put out that day.

Thinking about the mental health benefits you achieve from running, what are the most important to you?

Pam: I like to think that I work on problems when I’m running, and many times I’ll re-run lessons that didn’t go as well as I wanted and try to figure out how to make them better. To be honest, a lot of the time I just zone out (think Homer Simpson...“I want some peanuts.”) This alone is a great benefit, though. Sometimes I just need to take a break from thinking, or worrying, etc.

Kelly: When I’m alone on a run, I sometimes just let my mind drift, even while supposedly listening to a podcast or NPR. I often wind up thinking about how lucky I am—to be out running, to have my health, to be loved, to do meaningful work. [This provides] great perspective for whatever else is going on.

Do you prefer to run alone or with a socially-distant partner(s)? Pets & babies in strollers count!

Kelly: I always, always prefer company. That’s why I joined PPTC in the first place. Like all of you, I have made wonderful friends through running that now extend into “real life”: The people you still recognize after they have taken a shower and put on jeans. Having a partner(s) makes me more motivated to get out there, to run faster, and bring something to talk about to the run party.

One weird thing for me this year is that I usually “moonlight” part of the summer with a group of runners in North Carolina, and this year we missed our reunion. Hoping for December, or at least next summer.

Also: Pam Ritchie is my rock AND my pace bunny for speedwork! She is amazing, and you should all follow her on Strava. I may never catch up with her on Zoo Hill, but as long as she lets me I am going to keep trying! Mainly because just being in her aura makes me happy. Thank you, Isaac Josephson, for connecting us!

Pam: I like both! I run alone much of the time, but I also run with others. One of the first people I started regularly running with is Kelly, she’s one of the most dedicated people I’ve ever met. Not just in running–in life! She’s also an endless source of positivity for me. We‘ve run–and I imagine will continue to run–so many pitch black early morning miles together!

Has running during COVID changed for you? What are your top good/bad observations?

“When I’m alone on a run, I sometimes just let my mind drift, even while supposedly listening to a podcast or NPR. I often wind up thinking about how lucky I am—to be out running, to have my health, to be loved, to do meaningful work. [This provides] great perspective for whatever else is going on.”

— Kelly Greene

Kelly: Yes! I am learning how to run five days a week instead of four now that I have the flexibility, to take the pressure off the Saturday long run. And I got into a pace rut not training for any specific event, so I signed up for virtual Boston and started working with an amazing coach (virtually) recently to mix things up. I am viewing this time as recovery and base-building after two BQs last year that left my glute/hamstring attachments on both sides a mess. I didn’t race the virtual race all out; I just wanted to feel strong and push a bit running that far, as I haven’t tackled the distance since Chicago last year.

I am also discovering a new enjoyment of speed workouts, though, and am looking forward to signing up for shorter distances also post-pandemic—which is exciting, because I haven’t felt that way in years!

In the past, adding the fifth day often coincided with a muscle strain, so I’m being really careful about maintaining slightly higher weight and balancing other types of work to try to avoid that.

Pam: I’m running more miles, but am less focused. I’m OK with that. I like the schedule of working on a training goal, but running for the love of running is pretty great, too. I haven’t been able to muster the motivation for virtual races, but I love that there are also challenges that creative folks have put together. I plodded through the PPTC 1000K Upstate Escape, and got so excited when I saw the email every week. Not so much for the leaderboards, but it’s super fun to read about “where we are!” I always learn something new about NYS. Thank you, Linda, and all who worked on that!

Are you doing anything else - meditation, yoga, swimming, biking, sports, etc. - that helps with mood/mental health?

Kelly: Mobility exercises are new to me, and I like them so so so much more than yoga, and my hips love them! A good stretch makes me happier than yoga—but I’m like the last person in the universe who still prays, and even gets my kids to pray, so I am totally supportive of everyone finding whatever mind-body connection helps them get centered.

Pam: Running is pretty much my main way of helping my mood/mental health. I’ve started biking with my family a bit, but at the end of the day it’s running that really does it for me.

Anything else you'd like the blog readers to know?

Kelly: I’m incredibly grateful to have lucked into a small “pod” of runners, and we are very, very careful. Much thought goes into routes with fewer people, and everyone has been super supportive when I ask to leave places that feel crowded, or go out of the way to find a water-bottle-dispensing water fountain, or take turns in the bathroom and so forth. And everyone has their role: Mine apparently is to babble on incessantly during long runs. But I am also learning so much from this incredibly thoughtful, empathetic, accomplished crew. We all read a lot and work in nonprofit and publishing and have had amazing run discussions about the four interconnected crises we are all living through. These amazing women are my pandemic blessing!!!

I’m probably not signing up for races until there is either a vaccine or true herd immunity, since I am mom to a high-risk kiddo, but I still run, and hope all of you are too! Or, that you’re finding health and happiness in whatever way you can right now.

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Interview by: Donna Newton
Text by: Kelly Greene + Pam Ritchie
Edited by: Rachael DePalma + Linus Ly
Produced by: Alison Kotch

PPTC Members Talk Mental Health and Running