I joined the West Loop Trail from Long St. in downtown Columbus. From there I turned south for Lower Scioto Park. The river offers some natural scenery contrasting with skyscraper buildings and the roar of traffic. The multi-use path is 2.2 miles of concrete and pavement. At the end of the return run, a worth while stop is North Market.
The American Tobacco Trail, part of a national rails to trails push is being completed in stages. When finished it will run 22 miles from The Durham Bulls Athletic Stadium south to Beaver Creek. I had a chance to jog from the southern most trail head to White Oak Church Rd. in Wake County and found it very fine. The traffic was light with 2 equestrian riders, a few mountain bikers and a mom on foot behind a baby stroller. It is a rural section of wide packed white sand and shaded by tall pines and hardwoods. 5.1 miles
Convergence is underway amongst the peripherals. A sucker for a slick gadget, this one is a $29 iPod accessory attachment. Its receiver measures the beat in stride using 2.4 GHz wireless telemetry. [photopress:IMG_0567.jpg,full,alignleft] Data translates to distance traveled, pace, and calories burned all the while playing musical incentive through the ear buds. In theory, to complete the Nike + iPod sport kit one must purchase special shoes. Hoping to avoid that expense I learned of a hacker work-around shoe mod which secures the kit’s accelerometer transmitter using velcro. Innovative B.O.U.R.Girl came up with a similar DIY solution using materials on hand. Her custom stitched soft pouch attaches directly to the lace and secures the goods. Now for a test run…
A local airport jog through Tukwilla starts and ends with the mother of all hills. At least 3/4 mile is too steep to run and it becomes a hike instead. 7.1 miles hilly
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The idea was to jog to Deer Island by way of Winthrop, MA but a missed turn on the return route put me in East Boston. Using the Sun and a sense of direction I chose a DR course which luckily allowed my return — before I expired. The intended path cruises Suffolk Downs Race Track, Short Beach, and Crystal Cove. Distance: 9.2 mi. Mostly level except for some gentle rises.
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Not a place that I aspire to it but Revere Beach does have the ocean view on the one side so it does have merit. I saw many scrappy, rough looking retirees, some with Florida quality tans getting their sunshine worship. I can’t report on the sand as a running surface but the blvd sidewalk is ultra wide. From hotel to turn back point: 6.4 mi and flat.
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Smooth running in the Jacksonville Tradeport. The infrastructure is in place for a planned office business park/industrial development. But until the building phase commences a perimeter view of natural wooded area is a superior. No cars mixing it up neither. The trace route loop is 5.9 miles of wide sweeping blvds.
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One lap jog of Las Vegas via Paradise Rd – Riviera – (the)Strip – Flamingo Drive. Plenty of desert heat and hard pavement sidewalk. The wide open front doors of the casinos beckon tourists while allowing huge cold air to spill outward conditioning the blvd. Las Vegas is a spectacle. Even in the harsh sunlight, giant LED powered LCD video billboards dazzle. Traditional barkers have been surpassed with surround sound audio, which is synchronized to seamlessly play the width of a resort building, time shifting so as to prevent echo. It’s a kind of twisted adult theme park with shades of pirates-of-caribbean sin. Surprising though, to see other runners taking in these sights with exercise shoes on.
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Stepped off of the “Ocean Express” which is a free bus trolley – no doubt funded by local merchants to draw touristas from airport hotel highrises to Manhattan Beach shopping. I kept my plastic holstered however and put my shoes to the cement at Rosecrans and Highland – 4 lanes from the Beach. The Strand runs further than you or I can go and ran north with empty and isolated El Segundo Beach on the one and city utility, co-generation plants and industry on the other side. At the Hyperion Sewage Disposal Plant prior to Imperial hiway, I turned back, for a GT of 5 miles.
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