My kind of running

Not much can beat running with friends.  You cruise, you laugh, you push each other to reach new heights, you commiserate, you build memories and dream up new schemes.  Yep, running with friends invariably brightens the day.

Not much can beat a hard run that squeezes every ounce of energy out of your body, tears at your muscles, covers you with sweat, and leaves you depleted - and with a big ol' sloppy grin on your face because you just conquered the seemingly unconquerable workout.  Yep, busting open a monster workout is magnificent.

Not much can beat a run through the wildest elements that nature can throw at us humans: torrential rain, hurricane force winds, blizzards.  As Calvin & Hobbes (Bill Watterson) said in March 1993:

But I do believe my very most favorite kind of running is along a trail surrounded by wind, birds, critters and long vistas.  Our recent road trip treated me to a plethora of trails, every one enjoyable, every one unique.

• The Flint Hills Nature trail - of which I ran but 15 miles of its 117 mile length through the Flint Hills and tall grass prairie of Kansas, following the general route of the old Santa Fe Trail.  Rolling, breezy, prairie peace.
  

• The Little Traverse Wheelway is now a bicycle path running along Little Traverse Bay/Lake Michigan from the north edge of my home town of Petoskey to the town just south of Petoskey.  In the "olden days" (pre-bike path) I would run this route via a dirt/sand dune path.  It's a bit more modernized now, and I certainly encounter more people now than I used to, but the views of the lake still can't be beat.  It remains one of my all-time favorite running routes.

Trillium spotted along Little Traverse Bay

 

Little Traverse Bay

 



 

• The Upper Yahara River Trail in De Forest, Wisconsin was a most welcome discovery within a few minutes' running from the campground we stayed at on our way back to Boulder.  A lovely little trail through a park, tree, and wildflower corridor along the Yahara River.

  

  Upper Yahara River Trail - photo from Village of De Forest WI web site

• Kearney, Nebraska's Pioneer Path is newly completed and practically right outside the doorstep of our campground in Kearney.  It made for an easy morning run, off roads, alongside an abundance of wildflowers (and the north channel of the Platte River) and right onto the grounds of the Archway Monument.

So, yeah, trail running - an injection of peace and quiet while providing a delightful tour of whatever part of the country one might find oneself!