FitLabPGH is a podcast about movement and movement opportunities in the Pittsburgh, PA area. Once a week we also highlight a FitLabPGH mover…someone who understands that movement is a lifestyle…not just an activity. The questions are lightly edited to allow for easy readability. Click FitLabPGH Features for more info if you want to be featured/know someone who should be featured.
This Week: Lily Engro
Are you a Pittsburgh native? If not, what brought you to the Pittsburgh area? No, I’m from Erie, PA. I would visit Pittsburgh occasionally growing up but to be honest it was not somewhere that stood out in my mind. I first moved here for an internship in college and fell in love with the city. After college I moved to North Carolina for more job opportunities, but found myself wanting to be back in PA and am so happy I now get to call Pittsburgh home!
What are your three favorite movement activities in the Pittsburgh area? Hiking, biking, and kayaking (I also want to say climbing but I still haven’t done that outside…)
Describe your fantasy movement-focused vacation…cost is not an object…where do you go and what do you do? Bikepacking across the US to see all the national parks and forests and other places I want to visit. I meet great people and they show me their town, give me the scoop on all the best spots for local eats as well as trails to check out. Taking my time for as long as I want in places I like, probably staying at a lot of cute AirBnBs. Recording lots of new hikes in new environments. I could keep going… now you guys have me thinking of all different types of trips I want to take.
What is your go-to weekday breakfast? Your weekend breakfast? During the week I’d say it’d be some kind of homemade yogurt parfait or overnight oats. On the weekend, an over easy egg and toast.
What is your favorite thing to eat in Pittsburgh? Note: it does not need to be healthy. Millie’s ice cream.
What is the most unusual and/or challenging movement activity you’ve done? Would you do it again? I went backpacking for the first time last September and it was the most challenging thing I think I’ve done, and I would 10000% do it again and plan to!
What movement activity/event are you looking forward to in the next year? I can’t wait to get out and explore more trails in the Pittsburgh area, go backpacking again, ride my bike 25 miles on the riverfront trails since I turned 25 this year, and hopefully so much more!
Would you rather go scuba diving or skydiving? Scuba diving. I was a swimmer my whole life and I still feel most comfortable in the water. I feel very at peace underwater and want to definitely give it a try at some point! I’ve only been in an airplane a handful of times and would be terrified of sky diving.
What is your favorite recovery or self-care practice? Couch cuddles with my dog Merris and drinking water! Everyone should drink more water.
What is the one place visitors to Pittsburgh “must” see? Riding your bike or walking the riverfront trail from Millvale to the North Shore, with a stop on Washington’s Landing for the city view from the island and just to be on an island in the river a few miles from downtown. That’s crazy! When we first went on that trail my boyfriend didn’t believe me it was even an island. He knows now I was right. I also try to encourage my friends and anyone really to value Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas a short drive away as great outdoor spaces. I think a lot of people get caught up in wanting to go West or to the PNW to be outdoorsy or adventurous. I really want to showcase Pittsburgh as a great place, and that you don’t have to live in the Rocky Mountains to be outdoorsy. I think we get bogged down in that these days with social media. Pittsburgh has so many wonderful trails a short drive from the city. If you drive 1-2 hours there are even more opportunities for adventures. I don’t think enough people take advantage of that and so I try to make it so that the trailhead 30 minutes away from my house is still something I think is a must see, because it is to me!
Contact info for Lily Engro:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilystrails/
