Day 26, Jan.26: The Runs

My Favorite Running Routes

of All-Time

1. Heritage Trail, outside Dubuque (The natural surface, shaded stretches and running brooks make it a perfect place to run. I truly believe it's provided me a glimpse of heaven, especially after I lost my first wife Jane to breast cancer.)

2. Snake River, Idaho Falls, Ida. (A path along the river near downtown was book-marked by two bridges. With mountains in the distance and clear air everywhere ... what more can I say?)

3. Peddle Hollow Road, near Kieler, Wis. (It's only about a 4-mile run, but starting at the bottom of Dry Hollow Road and winding up to Hwy 151, you're almost always alone in rural beauty.)

4. Farm field, outside Stoughton, Wis. (The field was adjacent to our home on Starr School Road. I would run around it to practice for high school cross country - I didn't like running on roads back then.)

5. Roosevelt Road, Dubuque (Kris taught me this one. You head out 32nd Street to Peru Road and take Roosevelt. At the top of the long hill, you get a majestic view of Dubuque to the west.)

6. Grandview Avenue, Dubuque (It's my current most common route and the busiest one I've ever regularly taken - I usually like to run alone with my iPod and music. But seeing others isn't so bad.)

7. Along railroad tracks, the Black Hills (I only ran this route twice, during a family vacation. But I'll never forget it. This was a special place for the Lakota Sioux Indians.)

8. Kaufman-Chaney-Asbury, Dubuque (My favorite run when I lived on Napier Street. Most of the time, I'd reverse it and go down Kaufman. I felt proud when I could run all the way up
... and keep going.)

9. Stoughton High School (One of our practice runs - as well as our home race site - was on grass around the school. One long hill made it challenging. Running with teammates was fun.)

10. An old track, Wahlert High School, Dubuque (I don't like running around tracks, but I'd often run this at night during the first few months after Jane died. The repetitive laps were therapeautic.)