Lebanon
Drugs and alcohol were beginning to turn from ongoing problems to destructive habits, Caron admitted after Saturday morning’s participation in the Farnum Five.5 trail race on Lebanon’s Farnum Hill Preserve. An Ohio native, Caron, 47, said her life was at a crossroads and that she had a choice to make. She chose her health — specifically, running — and now resides in Danbury, N.H., with her family.
Running, Caron said, is more than just a sport. It’s a habit Caron hopes to pass onto her children.
“I was living a really selfish, destructive life,” she said.
Caron discovered religion and began to turn her life around, with focus on her health and fitness included.
Caron ran Saturday’s Farnum Five.5 with her daughters Danielle, 14, and Leah, 12. The race is part of the 10-race Western New Hampshire Trail Running Series; Farnum proceeds are helping the Lebanon Recreation Department’s efforts to build a new playground at Colburn Park.
The Farnum, an annual event for at least the last decade, is the ninth of 10 trail races around the Upper Valley that fill the four months of the summer.
Running, said Lebanon Parks and Recreation director Paul Coats, seems to create familial ties. Where those bonds already exist, connections to family and friends only get stronger.
That connectivity was on display in a race that featured several families competing together.
“It was not easy,” said Joel Bradley, who registered for the race on Saturday morning and had never run the course before. “The second mile was essentially all uphill, and rather steeply so. Then you go ripping back down, then ripping back up a hill. It has this very stop-go feel.”
Bradley, a Norwich resident who works at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, completed the course faster than anybody, crossing the finish line in 44 minutes, 4.7 seconds. His wife, Elissa, was not far behind at 46:47.3. She was the first woman to finish the race and fifth among all competitors.
“We’re cross country skiers,” Joel Bradley said. “We run a lot.”
Nathan McNaughton, a Springfield, Vt., resident who grew up in town and competed in track and field at Springfield High, ran the course with his children Zed, 14, and Myra, 11. Zed finished in 50:55.6, Myra crossed the finiah line in 1:08:38.8 and Nathan checked in at 1:21:13.0.
“(We like) the trails,” McNaughton said. “We get out and run.”
Danielle Caron did the route in 1:07:49.0 and said running with family is a special kind of bond. Leah Caron crossed the finish line in 1:14:17.3.
“It’s really nice (running with the family),” Leah Caron said. “It’s something we all like to do.
“I really like competing; that’s probably my favorite part,” she added. “But when I’m training, I just like thinking about other things when I’m doing it.”
Christine Caron finished the race in 1:20:40.3. She has eight children, and all of them have caught the running bug.
“Except for Alexander, my little one, who’s 3,” Christine said. “All of them have done a 5K. My oldest five have at least run 10Ks. … We love it.”
Caron dreamt of running a 5K when she was in high school. Now an adult, with plenty of running experience under her belt, she feels lucky that she changed her life when she did.
“When I was a teen, I had decided, ‘All right, I’m going to run a marathon by the time I’m 30,’ ” Caron said. “I got my life turned around just in time, and I was able to run that marathon.
“I always go back to running, faithfully, when I feel like a blob. I just want to be fit. But then I always realize it’s the mental aspect of it. It helps with my parenting so much as stress relief. It keeps me calm and gives perspective. The world isn’t the toys here and the mess there. It opens up my world.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.