Whodunit?

During COVID Nancy and I got into a pattern of watching British TV mystery shows. We burned our way through all 22 seasons of "MidSommer Murders" and then moved on to "Vera", "Shetland", "Line of Duty", "Endeavor", "Grantchester", "Brokenwood", "My Life is Murder", "Death in Paradise" … and the list goes on and on.

Yes, I know many of these shows aren’t British - it’s probably more that they aren’t American. About the only one we watched that was American, that we enjoyed, was “Murder in the Building”. But I digress as this isn’t where I’m headed.

I work in the world of IT and enjoy solving problems with logic. Nancy is a Librarian who enjoys story lines, character development and as it turns out solving puzzles. We both love the settings for these shows and the superior writing and acting. We settled into a pattern, similar to “Name that Tune”, to see how early in an episode we could figure out who done it. As a sidebar, we can barely get through any shows now where within the first few minutes we say – “Ooh Ooh, that person was in ….” . Great thing about a long marriage - you don't even have to finish your sentences. Actors in these shows are recycled through and many are very good at their craft and believable in their different roles.

If you are interested in going down the road of watching similar shows - a great source is iheartbritishtv.com . You can subscribe to a newsletter email where you get all the updates you could ever want. I’d also advise a streaming subscriptions to Acorn, Britbox and PBS Masterpiece Theatre which you can get through Amazon Prime.

The lead detective walks through the suspects and facts of the case with their team and they work to figure things out. Invariably the team needs to go down a few rabbit holes to distract the audience, drop subtle clues and eventually find the perpetrator while the main detective also works through some personal issues on the side - usually in a seaside bucolic town.

Spoiler alert …. It’s amazing how often (especially in Death in Paradise) the person who discovers the body is the killer.

But, again, I digress.

How does this relate to running? I’m already telling you whodunit, or who I hope dunit …. Me.

Here’s where I tie things in … for any crime show (in this case run) there needs to be:

1. The Act(s) …. 1800 mile run over 234 legs. I’ve charted a course (still crystalizing) and set up guideposts to follow. The Act is the accomplishment of the full run, not individual subplot legs.

2 Suspense …. The unknown and whether there will be a solution. Will I be able to make it all the way? What obstacles will I face and need to overcome?

3 Means …. A way to perform the act. It may seem that all you need are legs, but for me I have legs and a body that needs a lot more care and special handling than they needed in the past. Running in your 60s is a lot more strategic and taxing than running in your 30s and 40s - at least for me. As a marathoner I learned that the first mile is just as important as the last, and that every mile needs to have the same commitment and purpose if you want to finish strong, let alone finish at all.

4. Opportunity …. It's all about time. Fortunately there’s no time pressure other than Father time. Nancy and I enjoy touring around New Hampshire and as empty nesters we have more control over how we spend our time. So for opportunity it’s all about weather, body and carving out the time so that the dogs aren’t alone for too long. The runs take place when time permits and the body is willing.

5. Motive …. Usually for crime shows this is sinister. In my case, I enjoy running as a way to see new places, enjoy traveling throughout New Hampshire and like the idea that I’ve found something that no one has ever done before … that I know of. It’s certainly not that other people couldn’t do it, more the question of who would want to?

6. “The Board” ….. What’s a crime show without a crime board. In my case I have cork board up with atlas maps, lines, arrows, pictures, dates and times. The biggest difference is that I’m the only suspect, and the Act hasn’t been committed until I finish.

So there you have it - I don’t expect the act to be complete for some time to come, so it’s still possible there’s someone else out there who wants to try and get there before me – but I can’t imagine why. There’s no prize to be won, no fame or fortune awaiting.

For those reading that aren't up to date - I've run 143 miles (out of 1819 projected) connecting 22 towns (out of 234) - so many miles and runs still to go. But I am plodding along. Within the next 2 runs I'll have completed connecting all the towns in Cheshire County.

Hopefully the answer to the question in the future of who ran a route connecting all NH Town Halls will be settled as – Whodunit? David McMullen

... I'll have made it all the way by foot and they won't be horsing around