My favorite way to run (most of the time) is on a long bike path by myself. There is something great about zoning out and taking in the scenery for many miles. There is this park near our house that is awesome. It's a metro park that offers just about everything you could want out of a park. In the center, the actual park, its very woodsy and hilly. Once you walk into the tree line and you are instantly transported into what may resemble the one great feature Ohio lacks. Height.
From the bottom aaaallll the way up to the top up there.
On a trail run last October
The path has about 3-4 miles of trails with beautiful scenery of hills, trees and a river.
Once you walk north, the trail turns into a hard dirty/gravely path, suitable for cushioned running and walking, biking, and horseback riding. It goes about 4 miles north before you have to turn around. Personally, I'm not a fan of this type of surface. I find it hard to run on, with not much of the benefits a true trail run offers. But it is beautiful passing by a buffalo pasture and turning into miles of country and farmland.
We made some friends on the hike.
They don't do much
About face from the last pic.
It sure is a peaceful path. Quiet as can be.
And lastly, heading south out of main woodsy hub, is my path. Why is it MY path? Well, for one, I want it to be. It's my ideal path. Long, straight, secluded and beautiful scenery. The path is so long you can actually take it 110 miles straight into Cincinnati. Now I don't know if Ill ever run that far, maybe one day, but I always like options :)
It's also MY path cause frankly there is hardly anyone else on it. I'm used to the good old Olentangy. I lived right next to it for the better part of 10 years, and had ran and bike it's 20 miles more times then I could count. I love that path but MAN is it busy. Like all paths there are peak times, but if you ever desired to go for a run during those peak times, it was like fighting for a treadmill at 530 pm at the gym. So when I hit up the Darby creek path at 7am on a Saturday morning at the beginning of training season and only saw ONE other person, and they were a biker???
I'm hooked baby.
This path is just a little too far to make it my daily route, it's about a 10-15 minute drive, but for my Saturday long runs, it's perfect.
I turned around and stopped way too many times so that I could take a picture. This is the sun just starting to rise.
It was chilly, below freezing prior to the sun coming up.
I finally got to turn around just in time to see the sun peaking over. This picture doesn't do the view any justice.
The sun was gigantic. Again, no justice for the size it actually was.
Train tracks on one side, farm land on the other. I was trying to take a picture of these big white tailed deer just ahead.
Do you have a favorite place to run or do you try to change it up all of the time??
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