Runner's World

During the summer of 2009 I re-started my reading career which had been dormant since Middle School, a time I fondly reminisce about by sticking a knife in a light socket (they were both about as much fun).

Since I started reading again, I have loaned several books to friends from the Brad Fenter Library. Outliers; A Walk in the Wood; Plain, Honest, Men; all of these books have been handed out along with several others. The Social Animal has my record for most times checked out and is currently in a different time zone. Last week I received a checkout request from Kris, but the choice of book was left up to me. Since Kris and I share a similar passion for exercise and fitness, it was a no-brainer to choose Born to Run. This book is one of my favorites as I have previouslydiscussed, and I felt she would enjoy it as much as I would. What I did not know was that within two days of starting the book Kris would begin barefoot running, get into an argument with the salesman from Dick’s over minimalist shoes, and order her own pair of Vibram Five-Fingers.

I've created a Monster

Since running has been on everyone’s mind lately I would like to present my top runs from this past year. This list is not in any order, it’s simply a chronicling of the places where a few of my favorite runs from this past year have taken place.

Vedauwoo, Wyoming

Elevation: 8,000 ft

Shoes Worn: Brooks Cascadia Trail Runners

Vedauwoo (pronounced Veda-voo) is a rocky outcropping of Sherman Granite east of Laramie, Wyoming. Besides camping, biking, and hiking, Vedauwoo has some of the best crack climbing routes in the country. I must confess I knew as much about this place as you probably did before reading this post: nothing.

A friend suggested Vedauwoo as a good place to stop for a run, otherwise I would have never heard of this place. There was virtually no one there which I immensely enjoyed. I attributed the lack of people  at Vedauwoo to the fact that I was there on a Tuesday afternoon and most people have to work…or it could have been the simple fact that I was in people-starved Wyoming and my presence there brought up the state population a whole percentage point

You may have noticed the posted elevation of 8,000 feet. If you think this is a little high for doing any running, let me just say you are correct. There was a marked difference in my ability to breath compared to my usual running experiences. I assumed it was because of the lack of oxygen. Looking back it could have been the 6 hours and 1,000 miles of traveling I had done that day. While the elevation did have a small effect on my run; I only encountered one real problem during my run. When I first started on the trail I was enjoying the scenery and soaking in my new surroundings, “Look at those rock formations. Man, this place is beautiful and that view is awesome! I wonder…” BOOM!

I face planted into the trail! I decided that I really wanted to be one with nature and the only way to facilitate that was by inserting my face in it. My running partner can attest to this incident and the fact that I was soaking in too much of my surroundings to stay upright.

I love nature!

You may be wondering why this makes my top list since I was tired, couldn’t breath, and got personally acquainted with the trail. Short answer: the place had some unique and beautiful vistas, and anytime you got tired of trail running, you could explore the granite rocks (apparently running without any safety measures high above the ground is great fun).

Sac & Fox Trail, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Elevation: 810 ft

Shoes Worn: New Balance Minimus 20

The Sac and Fox trail is a run I love to do right here in Cedar Rapids. Coach Rodgers directed me here so I could get away from asphalt trails, and I have been visiting the place ever since. The trail is crushed limestone which is much easier on the knees than concrete or asphalt – I’m not as young as I once was. Also, the trail has some nice views of the Cedar River which the trail follows for a few miles. I know looking at rivers may be mundane to people from Cedar Rapids who have seen a river every day of their lives, but I absolutely love them. In Texas, a river is that stretch of sand that meanders through the landscape where water once flowed at some point in history (probably the same time Coach Rodgers was young).

My favorite part about running at the Sac & Fox trail can be summed up from this picture.

Muddy parking lots?

The trail isn’t exactly crowded, especially during week days. You may notice a pattern emerging here; all my favorite runs are at places that are devoid of other human beings. I have run the Sac & Fox trail enough that now when I do see other people there I almost get angry. “What are they doing here? Don’t they know this is my trail?”

When I started running this trail is also when I started wearing my New Balance Minimus shoes. It took a few runs for my body to acclimate to the new footwear (2 months of intense calf pain), but now I can run as much as I want without any knee problems. This has invariably led to more smugness on my part as I see other people huffing along, heel striking, in their big running shoes.

Wheeler Canyon, Utah

Trailhead Elevation: 4,840 ft

Shoes Worn: Brooks Cascadia Trail Runners

It was probably a small miracle that I ever found my way to this trail. Before this run I was in Ogden, Utah which sits just west of Wheeler Canyon. My friend and I wanted to go for a run but had no idea where anything was since this was our first time there. Me being the way I am, I refused to ask anyone about local trails because that would require social interaction with others and that was not happening. “This is my vacation! You mean I still have to talk to people?” Luckily my friend did not share in my scorn for other living, breathing human beings and engaged in the job of finding local running trails (She was so excited to have a friend like me). The winning bid came from a cashier at an outdoor clothing store who said, “take the highway east up the mountain, I think about 15 miles. Before you get to the reservoir there’ll be a turn off. Don't worry it's marked. No wait, maybe it's not...I’m not sure if it’s marked. Anyway, you’ll walk a short distance through the trees and you’ll find the trailhead. If you get to the reservoir you’ve gone too far.”

Oh thanks, Google Maps couldn’t have given better directions. After a few failed attempts, we finally found the trailhead and started our run. This being a mountainous region, the whole first half of the run was uphill. I know that sounds awful (it was a little bit) but the scenery was amazing. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperature was in the high 70s as we followed the snaking trail up the canyon through dense tree cover.  Eventually, we turned back when the trial began a series of switchbacks as it climbed higher up the mountain – okay, you win this one nature. The nice thing about the second half of the run was that it was all downhill. It only takes a Disney level knowledge of gravity to figure out going down was much easier than going up. We even managed to find a small clearing and did the day’s ab workout right there next to the trail.

Rocks: nature's yoga mat

Working out, running, great weather; these all contributed to this trail making the list, but the best part about this run was the solitude it offered – I know, you’re shocked. During our entire time on the trial I did not see one other human being besides the friend with me. Obviously, this would be bad if, say, I longed for nature’s embrace again but this time took a dive face first into the rocks protruding from the canyon stream. But to you I say, “Stop being such a Debbie Downer, I was fine. I’ll bet those views from your couch were breathtaking.” Plus, my mother worried plenty enough for everyone, trust me.