This time of the year always brings about a sense of reflection and community. During the holidays many of us create traditions of surrounding ourselves with friends and family, and together we celebrate the excitement of the season, and the dawn of a new year.
This year looks quite different, though. Many of us have endured months of solitude, and we’ve added the fear that coincides with a global pandemic to the myriad of stresses that we face in everyday life. The holiday season is supposed to be filled with laughter, joy, and peace, but the communities with which we share those emotions are now on the other side of a computer screen, instead of in our homes with us.
In normal circumstances, our City Running Tours team would be leading tours to festive landmarks, like the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, or the winter village at Bryant Park. Last year, just before Thanksgiving, we led a two-day corporate tour for Danske Bank, during which we watched the sun come up over a chilly, fall leaf-covered Central Park. When the tour was finished, a couple of our NYC guides ran home along 5th Ave, where they stopped to admire the holiday themed window displays, and the enormous tree at Rockefeller Center waiting to be lit to the tune of Christmas music.
This year, we can still admire the festive decorations; we can still watch our favorite holiday movies, and we can still sip eggnog next to a roaring fire as the snow falls gently out our windows. But we have to do those things alone.
Are we really alone, though? Perhaps physically we are, but, especially in the age of social media, when we have access to people all over the world simply through the click of a button, our communities are always with us in spirit.
At City Running Tours, we think a lot about the importance of community, and the value of making connections with others. We are lucky to have the ability to share our passions for running and history with people from all over the world, who come from incredibly diverse backgrounds. Even throughout the span of a one-hour tour, we form meaningful connections with our clients, and we believe nothing contributes more to creating a strong bond than running. Through the shared experience of moving our bodies, getting our heart rates up, and challenging our muscles, we can connect with and relate to anyone we meet.
We may be missing our running buddies this holiday season, but we’re never on our own. We can take strength and motivation from those who crossed our favorite running path, or trail, before us. This year, our CRT guides miss leading clients to our cities’ festive landmarks, but we take comfort in those memories. We know that our community is out there running and making the best of a tough situation, and that brings us the joy and comfort that should characterize the season. Whether it’s through a laptop screen, over the phone, or simply through shared memories, we are keeping our CRT community alive and thriving, and we look forward to when we can once again celebrate the holidays by running with you by our sides.
From our CRT family to yours, we wish you all very happy holidays, and a wonderful New Year.
