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He didn’t run the day I moved in. Instead, we bought tuna steaks and grilled them with fresh pineapple in the park behind the house. “Wow,” I thought, “this is going to be great.” But the next day, after he came home from work, he laced up his sneakers and I didn’t see him again for an hour and a half. Then the next day, he put on his shoes and went out again. And on the third day, when I realized this probably wasn’t a phase, I asked him, “So you run every day?” Almost reluctantly, the man who would become my husband said, “Well, yeah, it’s what I do.” And, save for when he was sick or recuperating from another race, he’s run every day since for the past 10 years.

For better or worse, running has the ability to define a relationship. In the Washington area, where, regardless of the weather, you’ll always find runners pounding the trails or circling the National Mall, you can often see couples running together, maybe even pushing a jogging stroller to boot. For some, running can be a bonding experience, providing countless training hours and racecourses to be shared.

For many, hiking the Appalachian Trail is a rite of passage. Spanning 2,180  miles from Georgia’s Springer Mountain to Katahdin, Maine, the “A.T.” challenges even the most seasoned athletes with its untamable terrain and unpredictable elements.

Just 64 miles northwest of Washington lies Harpers Ferry, W.V., a small, historic town nestled in the Shenandoah Valley where West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia converge. It’s one of the few towns through which the Appalachian Trail runs directly. Just a few weeks ago, Dustin Meeker, of Baltimore, and Gaithersburg resident Conrad Laskowski descended upon Harpers Ferry for the second time that day, this time to celebrate completing the Appalachian Trail Four-State Challenge — a 42.9-mile trek traveling across the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.

In the months leading up to 2015’s Fall marathons, RunWashington will follow several local runners as they prepare for their races. We’ll chart their progress as they train their legs, lungs and minds for the challenges they’ll race on race day. Each week, we’ll catch up with our runners and see how they’re doing. Read more about Amelia McKeithen, who is running the Marine Corps Marathon, here.