The Rebuild, Entry 01, Home Base: A Family Trip to Fall in New England

Published 10/4/2026

In this entry: an 8-hour drive to Stowe, Vermont for peak fall foliage, a gondola ride up Mount Mansfield, and why I took a down week in marathon training to be fully present for it.

Prelude

Welcome to my new weekly blog series, The Rebuild. Each week I'll recap a different area of my life: Training Log, Rewind, Home Base, and Behind the Desk. They'll cover everything from my training, to earlier chapters of my life and running, to family and life logistics, to owning a business and everything that's come with being a running coach and now business owner of Running Explained. It will tell the story of "A Running Coach Tries Again!"

My goal is to rotate week by week through these areas, keeping you up to date on everything going on, along with stories and deep dives into my life. So welcome to The Rebuild. Here's the first entry: Home Base, “A Family Trip to Fall in New England.”

The Number

This week's number is 8 hours and 23 minutes: the time we spent in the car together driving from Perry Hall, Maryland to Stowe, Vermont on Wednesday. We spent plenty more hours in the car after that too, from Stowe to Woodstock, to Salem, and back to Maryland. By my calculations almost 20 hours in the car together, but the memories were worth it.

The Week

This was a vacation seven-plus years in the making. Ever since both my little ones were born, I've wanted to take a trip to New England to really experience fall. It's by far my favorite season: pumpkins, the changing leaves, memories of childhood waking up to play soccer or standing at a cross country meet in the cool, damp morning air. So this trip was something I've wanted to do forever, and I really wanted my kids to experience it and share in the joy.

The one memory I'll take away from this week is riding the gondola to the top of Mount Mansfield in Vermont, seeing a horizon of red, yellow, and orange treetops, and watching my kids just be amazed by it.

The Top of Mount Mansfield in Vermont and a sea of colors of leaves

The Thread

This trip was really just an opportunity for us to get outdoors as a family and explore nature without electronics or anything else. We had a jam-packed week but also plenty of free time to explore. In Stowe, we got to try amazing apple cider donuts and apple cider at Cold Hollow Cider Mill, do some cheese tasting at Cabot, and explore downtown Stowe.

Family Photo on the Top of the Mountain

On the way to Woodstock, we stopped at Sugarbush Farms for maple and cheese, explored downtown Woodstock and the covered bridges around it, and I got in a run around Dartmouth's campus that morning. Lastly, we headed to Salem, where the family got to experience all the other fun parts of fall, leaning into Halloween and witches. We loved the kids' history tour, made potions at the The Good Witch of Salem, and took photos with all our favorite Halloween characters. Salem was my least favorite part of the trip, but only because it was so crowded. Honestly, it's a cool town, so it deserves to be crowded. I'd just rather go on a weekday.

All dressed up in our family costumes in Salem

One of the big parts of this week was really leaning into family and spending time together, and for that reason, plus my love of all things fall, I leaned into a big down week for my training. I front-loaded my week: a short long run and an extra rest day, all so I wasn't squeezing in too much morning running and shortchanging our time to do everything we wanted to do.

What I loved the most about this week was really just getting to spend this time with my kids, we took them out of school for 3 days so we spent a lot of the time in the car and in the evening doing some makeup work and homework, but outside of that it was the family jokes, silly things, and all the memories we made that we will carry with us. My hope is one day my girls will talk to their families about this trip and how special it was.

For me, the most important part of training is sometimes just flexibility. Sure, I could have crammed in another day and 20 more miles this week and not taken as big a down week, but my fitness won't be lost because I leaned on family instead, and my family will remember the time we spent together this week.

The Family at Sugarbush Farm in Woodstock, VT

Next Week

This is my first go at a weekly blog, so let me know your thoughts and what you'd love to hear more about. Do you want me to go deeper into my week, or was this the right amount of detail, with photos? Next week I'll dive into the Training Log and give you a deeper look at what a week of training looks like for me, so if there's anything you want to know, send me a message.

Also, if you're looking for a 1:1 coach, I have openings this fall, so hit me up at this link and let's see if we're a good fit.

Why did you take a down week in training during this trip?

Family time mattered more than mileage this week, and one light week doesn't cost meaningful fitness.

What's the best part of Stowe, Vermont in the fall?

The gondola ride to the top of Mount Mansfield for a full view of peak foliage.

About the author: Nick Klastava is the CEO and head coach of Running Explained. He is a USATF and RRCA certified run coach and a masters runner with a 2:30 marathon PR and a Boston Marathon finish.