Jason Niblack Running Shoes (KSN Photo) April 24, 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Jason Niblack has been a runner for 10 years, and he always runs the same route.
“Most of the time I leave the house and run around my neighborhood, or I meet friends at the park on Saturdays for a run,” Niblack said.
In 2021, Niblack's friend Lacey introduced him to City Stride, which tracks your progress as you run around town.
“It looked really interesting, so I thought I'd give it a try,” Niblack said. “I'm very goal-oriented and I act towards my goals. Knowing that, uploading my data and looking it up, I've been a runner for about 10 years, I only had %.”
Niblack typically runs five days a week, and she challenged herself to run every street in Wichita.
“It started out very simple because there were a lot of streets near my house that I had never run on,” Niblack said. “In your second year, you'll be running four or five miles each way instead of 15 or 20 miles, which some people think is a little insane. They're like, 'Why are we doing this?' I have a lot of questions. Or people call you Forrest Gump. ”
While many others in Wichita are taking part in the City Stride and working to run every street, Niblack will be the first to complete it, running his last street in March 2024, and in 3 years. Completed all roads.
“It's been a really fun adventure. I love that every day I run five or six miles, I see the same house at mile three and the same dog barks at mile four,” Niblack said. “It's a mental thing. Running in new places every day was also a way to reduce the miles. When I see new homes and new things, the miles slowly subside as I run. I go too. I'm competitive. So when I'm behind someone, I'm like, 'Let's try and get the next person.'
Niblack ran a new route every day.
“I just ran around, only ran about six miles a day, and the moment I caught up with Lacey in first place, I thought, 'Okay, I can do this,'” Niblack said.
Niblack has lived in Wichita all her life, but walking and seeing the city has given her a new perspective on the city.
“It was interesting, because even though you think you know a city well, you often only go to the main streets,” Niblack said. “Don't go out into the neighborhood. And even though I've lived here all my life, I've found a lot of little parks and areas I've never seen before. Lots of free-ranging dogs. Although it was a bit scary to find out, it was interesting to see parts of the city that you thought you knew well, and parts that you actually didn't know much about.”
Wichita has nearly 2,000 miles of 4,000 streets, Niblack said. Along the way, he met people he hadn't seen in a while and explored new parts of Wichita.
“I was meeting people and running around the neighborhood and I heard someone say, 'Jason Niblack,' and I turned around and it was someone I hadn't seen in 10 years, and they were like, 'Do you live here? 'No, I'm just running around town.' And they stare at you. It's like, “Why?” So it always leads to conversations about things like that. So it was fun to see old friends,” Niblack said.
Experiencing all of Wichita on foot gave him a new perspective on the place he calls home.
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