During a mother/daughter weekend in New York City, my mother, sister, and I crammed into slightly less than 48 hours lunch at Carnegie’s Deli, a visit to Ground Zero, an evening show of In the Heights on Broadway, a meandering walk down 5th Avenue, a stop at the Met, and a solid 10 miles of walking including much of Central Park.

Perhaps it was that we were at the Park on one of the first really nice weekends of spring. Maybe it’s that with 11 million people in one city the Park is an obvious place to spend an afternoon. Whatever the reason, Central Park was brimming with people on every lawn, sidewalk, field, path, and playground. There were families, couples, dog walkers, musicians, artists, hula hoopers, tourists, locals, and cyclists. But what I noticed most were the runners.

Nowhere have I seen as many runners in one place, that wasn’t a race, as I did during a weekend walk through Central Park. Considering that the New York Road Runners Club has 300,000 members and that the Park is likely one of the most popular places to run in the city, it shouldn’t be too surprising that the Park was flooded with runners of all kind. Seeing all the runners simply made me happy. I even felt proud of them for being out there, for running. I tried to imagine the finish of the NYC Marathon and even just thinking about it gave me goosebumps and a huge smile on my face. The June lottery can’t come quick enough!

Our walk through the Park was nice, relaxing, and it was rewarding to be able to take it all in. But every time a runner passed me I wished I had my running shoes on. Next time I’m in Central Park, I will be running.