One phenomenon I have noticed increasingly over the years as a runner is that I have become hyper aware of running paths. Anytime I’m driving along and I see a trail, I immediately begin to parse out its running potential.
This is a great way to suss out new places to train, except that the tragedy is that often I never seem to get there!
Oh, not always. I’ve run on Assateague Island now (and it was awesome!). And I’ve run a portion of the trail by Pat’s brother’s house. But a lot of paths are still on my bucket list.
It can be my fault, of course. I first found my current running trail, the Bethesda Trolley Trail, while wandering around the neighborhood, but there are portions of the trail when driving toward work that I’ve never set foot on. They’re not part of my marked route, you see. What’s stopping me from stepping off the beaten path? Only myself and my penchant for routine!
Yet sometimes it seems it’s just not in the cards, at least so far. There’s this amazing fishing bridge we pass every time we drive to/from Ocean City, and I am dying to run on it. It’s a wooden bridge across a river with porta potties and little covered picnic tables and it looks picturesque and adorable! But it’s two hours from home and one from OC itself, so it’s never really convenient…
I saw a big one a couple weeks ago. I had a meeting at Mount Vernon, and while driving out of the facility I noticed a lovely running and biking path. It looked delightful and I idly thought it might be fun to run around the Mount Vernon area someday.
Well. Forget just running around Mount Vernon – as I drove around the outskirts of DC, this thing followed me for MILES. I don’t think I lost it until I saw signs for Dulles. You could fit massive long runs on that path!
I don’t know if I’ll ever knock out all my bucket list running trails, but it’s always nice to add to my collection.
Do you keep an eye out for running paths while you drive?
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