Unplug’d 11: 25 Kilometres later

It’s been six weeks since the unplug’d11 community said goodbye and we all headed back to our regular lives. But we were not the same people returning to our normal routine. Many of us had formed friendships with people we had never met before based on common passions, and we had experienced an openness with each other that we believed was rare in a classical PD venue.

For Heather Durnin and me, it started on a train headed to an off-the grid retreat known as The Edge outside of South River. During a short “exchange seats” format, we were randomly seated with Kelly Power and John Evans. We were suppose to be talking about….hmmmm….Tom (@tomfullerton), what was that topic you assigned? Instead, we found our shared passion for running. We were talking about how people connect with educators online, and John discussed how he chooses people to follow on twitter by checking their profile to see what resonates with him. He used running as an example. The conversation that ensued sparked something in all of us which paved the pathway for our friendships. For some of us, it was the encouragement needed to get back into long distance running. It was the conversation where connections were beginning.

During the next 2 mornings Heather and I continued our sharing during our morning runs. The off-the-grid natural setting reminded me of a upcoming opportunity to run a 25 km trail run hosted by a similar retreat in Mattawa a mere six weeks away. At the time we were nowhere near being physically ready, but the conversations and coaching that followed from Chris Harbeck and John proved to be the spark we needed. A genuine connection.

Over the next 6 weeks, we trained hard, planned and were motivated by our unplug’d team members. Chris, Andy, John and Kelly continued to post words of encouragement as each of us independently worked towards the deadline. On September 24, we completed our goal.

So now we’re in the car driving home writing this blog post on an iPad. Sore, tired and proud, we’re both wearing big grins and reflecting on why this was such an emotional and empowering run for us. For starters, when we met up on Friday, we instantly picked up right where our f2f friendship left off. On Saturday, as we struggled up that grueling, slimy, muddy wall of a hill at kilometre 18, we both felt Chris, Andy, John and Kelly pushing us on. Heather could hear John’s voice in his last tweet. “Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy. Trail running is THE BEST!! It will fly by. Take some pics to share!”

When we finished the race, we knew with certainty that we wouldn’t have had the confidence to take on such a challenge without the unplug’d experience. We wanted to stay connected and saw this as a way to do so with a purpose that mattered.

There were similarities between this experience and unplug’d. As we prepared for unplug’d, we began our connection by sharing our uncertainties with each other. Was our topic worthy? Were we? The preparation for the race was similar. But because of the relationship that developed over those three days at The Edge, we already had the commitment - that was solidified at unplug’d. We knew we were going to get there, and our unplug’d cheering squad knew it too as they regularly checked in with us.

When we left The Edge, many of us were adamant that we didn’t want to lose these new connections, the sharing, the collaboration. For some of us the link is running, ds106radio and math. Yes, math! Our next project involves a classroom collaborative math project with Chris and Andy’s students using all our running data.

And so we wonder, how do others maintain the unplug’d connection when we all live so far apart?

25 September 2011 ·