By: Krista Creech, a mechanical engineering student at the University of South Carolina with a huge heart for Gamecock Nation and the City of Columbia.

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At approximately 10:15 a.m. on March 14, 2020, my roommate walked into the living room and mentioned how she wanted to walk a half marathon at some point over the quarantine. Only a few words were exchanged and by 10:45 a.m. we were headed out the door with two water bottles, a few granola bars, and a portable charger. By the time our walking shoes were laced up, we had somehow progressed from thinking we should "walk a half marathon at some point over the quarantine" to declaring that we would walk an entire marathon that very day.

Krista + her roommate | Photo via Krista Creech

As we pondered which route we would take, we decided that it would be both joyous and nostalgic to walk past each place in Columbia that held personal significance to our lives. Without an exact plan in mind, we just started walking. Our 26.2-mile route ended up including; Williams Brice Stadium, Founders Park, The Riverwalk, Piecewise Coffee, The Vista, The State House, First Baptist Church, The Horseshoe, Cool Beans Cafe, The University of South Carolina School of Music, Colonial Life Arena, The Chi Omega Sorority House, Swearingen & 300 Main Street Engineering Buildings, Thomas Cooper Library, The Greene Street Cocky Statue, Capstone House, Five Points, The Shandon Baptist College Ministry Building, Barre3 Devine Street, and finally the Shandon/Rosewood Neighborhoods which eventually returned us home.

For 7 hours and 45 minutes, we walked, snacked, listened to podcasts, memorized scripture, and reflected on our time living here in Columbia. I'm not embarrassed to admit that a few tears were shed once we returned home. What started off as a spontaneous decision intended to pass the time of yet another day in quarantine, turned into a few beautiful lessons I didn't even know I needed to learn. I am thankful for my body and the distance it is capable of carrying me, I am thankful for the free time I have in this season to just be, and I am thankful for this city and all that it has given me. Remembering the joy this sweet city has brought to us and rejoicing in our healthy bodies that we can push to new limits, was well worth the many blisters and days of soreness ahead.

Just like that, we had walked our own little Columbia marathon . . . Because what else would we do during social distancing?