Running through these smells

Running is definitely a feast for the senses! It can physically make you feel good, it can be visually pleasing ( depending on the route) and there are smells that that can literally make or break a run!

 Here in our neck of the woods we experience all four seasons and each one of them has a distinct smell. I can't even begin to describe it, but you just know.  I can remember last year that distinct smell when I knew it was officially Fall. I don't know if it was the smell of the leaves, the crisp air, or the dirt, but it was the smell that you only smell on an Autumn run. Anyone else know what I mean?

It's not only Fall that has those distinct smells. I can associate a specific smell to each of my routes, some pleasant, some not.

1. Right now on the Island there are stretches of trail where the Honeysuckle is just amazing. I love that sweet smell. It reminds me of my grandmother. It's funny because I always smell it but can never see it.
2. Another smell I can never "see" is something that smells like grape soda. It has the aroma of a Grapple. I have no idea what it is but it smells so good.


3. As much as I would love to live in the town of Hershey and smell chocolate on my run, I'm pretty lucky to run here where I am.  I grew up in the town of Chef Boyardee and when I cross the river to go run back in that town I can smell spaghetti sauce being made. That company also makes Crunch n Munch Caramel Popcorn and there are certain days that scent permeates the town!

4. When I run in town the other direction I almost always catch the scent of someone doing laundry. I must say that is always a pleasant smell.

5. When I run at the Rail Trail I run by a landscape place that stores mulch out back near the trail. Now I will say I hate the smell of mulch when it is landscaped around people's homes (we are a mulch free household), but I do like the smell of mulch near the trail because it smells more like fresh cut wood!

Unfortunately not all the smells on the trail are pleasant. There are days that the Farm Smells are just overwhelming.  This isn't an every day thing though. It's only on certain days or when the wind blows just right. I just use this as incentive to run a little faster!

Tell me about a distinct smell on your running route. -M

18 comments:

  1. I dont think there is much to smell on my running route...and thats probably a good thing! I guess just based on the seasons I can tell that there are different smells in the air.

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    1. I agree, the air has that slight difference depending on the season!

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  2. Well, I live in Iowa! My town is rather "big" in comparison to the majority of Iowa towns, but still is relatively small in comparison to urban dwellings. That said, oh my. The "fresh country air" is not always so fresh. I did a du almost two years ago, and the biking portion (20 miles) was on Iowa highways and we passed several pig farms...and it was a hot/humid day with a viscous breeze. I'll just leave it there...

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    1. Haha, I know that smell! I've smelled it a time or two!

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  3. Living on an island in Hong Kong, the smells can really go from one extreme to the other. Most days I'm blessed with amazingly different fragrances from the blooming plants, trees, flowers. But there are times when running along the water, I can get a whiff of something fishy and it's terrible!

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  4. So funny! I don't actually like the laundry smell, but I think that's because in my job, I get closed into an exam room with people and that laundry smell becomes overpowering.

    When I went to college in Milwaukee, there were 3 smells, depending on which direction the wind was blowing. There was the chocolate smell from the Ambrosia chocolate factory to the east, which was wonderful. There was the beer smell from the Miller brewery to the west. And there was the horrible smell of decaying flesh from the tannery to the south. Who needs to watch the weather when you have a nose?

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  5. We also smell a lot of honeysuckle lately and it seems there is always cutting grass out on the trail. Nothing offensive though. Happy Friday

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  6. I know exactly what you mean about smells! Although we don't have all four distinct seasons, there's something about certain smells that reminds me of the time of the year! Fresh cut grass reminds me of summer for sure!

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  7. We have Blommer's chocolate here in Chicago so sometimes we get Brownie/Chocolate smell in Chicago. Otherwise city stuff and sometimes rain/spring smells. Oh and grass and other allergens ;)

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  8. mmm... I love coming across honeysuckle.
    Sadly, in my country part of the woods, its usually road kill or skunk or horse smells. NATURE at its FINEST!

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  9. Donuts (which can smell good or disgusting, depending on at what mile you're in), and smoked meat on football weekends are the standard good smells for our Saturday runs. Decaying dead animals (armadillo, and deer) are the bad smells, and hooboy, are they BAD!

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  10. I love this ! I have to tell you, I have been doing training runs in Hershey for 2 years, and have only had the pleasure of smelling chocolate 2 times.

    I would love the smell of pasta sauce!!


    One smell that is always around is the grilled food in the neighborhoods where I run.

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  11. I would love to smell spaghetti sauce while on the run! I often run the Forbidden Drive Trail and I have to admit there is a distinct wooded smell that I really enjoy!

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  12. I know exactly what you mean about fall scent. I do love a good farm smell... well, as long as it isn't pigs - they stink... call me weird, but the smell of cows and horses just remind me of the country and fresh air (ha!). I have a place that I run by that I can smell jasmine, but I never see it... it smells so good!

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  13. I love smelling the evergreen trees when I run trails! I hate the smell of what I call "stinkbug trees" that are planted along some sidewalks near my neighborhood...who thought those were a good idea?

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  14. I live near Stouffer's so I hear ya on the smell of sauce. I smell lasagna when I run by there for long runs and it's both amazing and torturous!

    I love/hate smelling laundry on the run. I like it but sometimes it's a little too much. I do like smelling people's showers when they have windows open, though. I swear I'm not a creeper even though that sounded a little creepy... haha! I just like the smell, it reminds me of camp!

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  15. The range of smells can run the gamut on my runs. I especially love the smell of coffee brewing coming from a local shop that I pass on some of my runs - always makes me want to stop and grab a cup :)

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  16. I love that we get all 4 seasons and yes, I know exactly what smells go.with each season even if I can't describe them to you!

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Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.