Turning thirty didn’t feel like an ending—it felt like a reset. Thirty miles on my birthday became a way to mark the moment, not for speed or spectacle, but to remind myself that I can do hard things. Project 30 is about returning to what grounds me, one intentional step at a time.

The first time I laced up for cross-country, I came here to Shore Acres. A park of sand dunes and shoreline, where every route is uphill, and the lake air carries you forward if you let it. Hard work in, reward out. Simple as that.