What do you look for in a running route? I hate running on
roads with cars, stopping at red lights, and worrying about whether or not the
sidewalks are even and if I will trip.
Because of these facts, there are two running routes that have slowly
become my favorites.
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| Island Park (picture from state park website) |
One of my favorite routes to run is a place called Island
Park. This is literally an island surrounded by the river on all sides. There is a nice path, half paved, half gravel
around the soccer fields and then a path that continues in a wooded area. This is one place that I make sure I have a
partner with me when I run. I just don’t like the fact that it is so
secluded. After this weekend’s run at
Island Park, I now have another reason to not run there alone.
I met my parents at
Island Park around 7pm. No worries here
as it was still completely day light! We
did two laps around the entire island ( including the wooded trail). My GPS
watch hadn’t hit my mileage goal yet so I continued to walk on the path near
the soccer fields. My dad walked with me until my watch registered a 5K. As we
said our good byes, I told him I was going to continue the path around the
soccer field ( I needed to get in another mile for the Boston Remembrance Run
that was closing out tonight). The path
around the soccer fields is pretty open and it was still light out so I felt comfortable
doing the lap alone (and there were other cars in the parking area, so I knew
there were still people in the park somewhere) My dad walked back to the car,
and I continued down the path. When I
got to the curve in the path, I remember saying “O My God” outloud! I just stood there, I didn’t know what to
do. There was a deer in my path. I figured that it was more afraid of me than
I was of it. (Isn’t that usually the saying?) I figured as soon as it spotted
me that it would run away. That was clearly not the case. That deer was
literally staring me down. I thought
about just continuing on my way, but I was afraid that if I ran past it, that
it would follow after me. I decided to
take a step up on the grass near the soccer field ( away from the deer) and at
that time the deer hissed/snorted and went up on its hind legs. Yes, I was a
frightened now! It pranced over to the side of the wooded area but did not go
in the woods. It still had its eyes on me. I took a little short cut through
the soccer fields and ran back to my car. I figured I could do another lap but modify
the route a little. I grabbed my phone just in case I saw anymore deer I could
take a picture. By the time I got back up on the path my GPS watch had gone dead.
I used this as a sign that it was time for me to just go home. I went home and did my last .78 miles on the
treadmill!
I’ve told this deer story to a few people this weekend and
it still shocks me each time I tell it. It was not an “Ahh, I saw( from a far)
a beautiful deer along my run” it was a “OMG,
I have encountered a deer”. And that is
just one more reason why no one should run alone!
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| The Rail Trail (Picture from Rails to Trails website) |
My other favorite route is a rail trail which is a
running/biking trail through a farming community. The positives of this trail are that it is
completely flat, and no worries of cars, red lights, or crooked sidewalks. It’s a popular trail, so I feel comfortable
even when I have to run it by myself. The downside is that a lot of the trail
is open field so there is little shade in most areas, and there are no water
stops. I use to worry about wild animals
coming out on the trail, but so far I’ve only had to dodge bunnies, chipmunks,
the occasional cat, and once had to jump over a gardener snake. If I hadn’t been running at such a good pace,
that snake may have flipped me out but I didn’t see it until I was practically
on top of it so I just jumped over and kept going. There are beautiful signs of nature along this
trail too. I’ve seen the sunset a few times from this trail and this is also
the trail were we saw the calf being born!
Do you have a favorite running route? If so, what makes the
route your favorite?