Herbert Glacier Trail - Juneau, AK
Pikes Peak - Manitou Springs, CO
Junction Creek - Durango, CO
The Silver Comet - Smyrna, GA
Glenn Cunningham Lake - Omaha, NE
Bataan Memorial Death March, White Sands, NM
Congaree National Park, near Columbia, SC
Appalachian Trail - Rockfish Gap near Waynesboro, VA

Herbert Glacier Trail - Juneau, AK

Submitted by:  Jessica O.

Length of the trail: 3.5 miles

Length of run: 7 miles

Run difficulty: Moderate

Herbert Glacier Trail is a beautiful trail that winds through the Tongass National Forest. The trail is usually a little damp and there are slippery roots all over the place. You will run on a wide old growth trail for about 1.5 miles, then you start to see the vegetation slowly decrease in age as you come up to end at the Herbert River and glacier. The end is a great place to enjoy lunch or a snack and to do some exploring. I recommend this trail for all fitness levels.

Junction Creek - Durango, CO

Submitted by:  Jessica O.

Length of the trail: 4 miles

Length of run: 8 miles

Run difficulty: Moderate

Junction Creek is a popular trail for runners because it takes you up a gradual incline at first and then really challenges you towards the end. In early spring the ground may be a bit muddy still, but towards the summer, the trail is beautiful and easy for any type of running shoe. There are some parts where the ground may have very lose dirt and you will have to be careful with each step. The trail is in the San Juan National Forest in Southwest Colorado. It connects to the Colorado Trail that goes all the way to Denver. I recommend this trail because it is beautiful and gives you a panoramic view of the Animas Valley at the top. You will also see some of the Missionary Ridge fire at the top.

Pikes Peak Ascent - Manitou Springs, CO

Submitted by:  Dan Capshaw

Length of the trail: 13.32 miles starting from downtown

Length of run: 13.32 miles one way.

Run difficulty: Strenuous 

There are lots of great descriptions of this trail already on the internet.  Check out Matt Carpenter's website for some of the best descriptions and analysis of the run.

Here's the notes from my training log for the race:

Got up at 5:30 a.m. Lori had prepared the coffee the night before so I just heated the water to make the coffee. I also had a bagel with shredded cheese on it. Everything went according to plan in preps for the race. I had pulled all my clothes etc. out the night before. I ran with my new long-distance shorts. They have lots of pockets for stuff. I carried four Gu_s on the run, plus I ate one before the start. I also carried the ultimate water bottle which was the way to go. The camelback flashflo would have been a little easier while running, but it would have been harder to fill. The race started 30 minutes late because of snow on the peak. Lori ended up having to drive in 4wd at the summit and ultimately had to park about 3 miles below the peak and take a shuttle to the top. She packed my camelback backpack with two coats, sweat pants, gloves. She picked up my sweat check bag too. She was able to meet me at the finish, which was great! 

So, for the race: 

I forgot to shoot another Gu before the start. I had the extra one because I was going to originally do two before the start. I also didn't warm up a second time. My strategy was to run at a tempo pace for the entire race. Of course actual speed doesn't mean anything. It was all about the effort level. The first four miles of the run are tough, and I ran a little bit faster than a tempo effort, especially when I hit the Ws. It was really steep there. I didn't know if I should walk or what. I did slow to a walk to shoot another Gu near the top of the Ws. At about the 3.5 mile point there was an aid station with Gatorade, so I refilled my bottle. They had pitchers to do this, but I didn't notice until it was too late. Oh well. Once we got on the 'flat' stretch, I finally found my rhythm. I just kept telling myself to hold back a little bit and probably ran at a sub-tempo pace by just a bit. It probably would have been better to go a little slower on the Ws and a little faster on this flatter section. I hit Barr Camp at 1:30:55, so I was on pace to make three hours. Up to this point I didn't know if I could make it in three hours, now it seemed possible. I felt pretty good, I was passing people and able to keep driving up the steeper sections, and I realized that I needed to keep pushing. I started to see snow after Barr Camp, and the trail started to get steeper. The next couple of miles were a consistent push. When I passed the A-Frame I almost missed it. I didn't look at my watch at that point. When I hit 2 to go though, I saw that I was at 2:30 and that I wasn't going to make three hours. I'll have to study the GPS log to figure out where I really lost the most time. I hit one to go at 2:48 and the cirque a few minutes later. I think I did the last mile in about 23 minutes or so. I was starting to get dizzy at about 13,300 feet. I had trouble staying on the trail when I pushed over the golden stairs. The last three miles had a lot of snow on the course, the last mile was the worst with constant water, slush and mud. It was really slick. There is a short downhill stretch near the top that was very treacherous. I'm glad I didn't have to run back down the mountain. I got passed by the third-place woman with about 300 yards to go. I should have tried harder to hold her off. Oh well, she finished three seconds in front of me. I almost fell after crossing the finish line. I was really dizzy and disoriented. It wouldn't surprise me if I had blacked out, but I didn't. It took about ten minutes to stop feeling light-headed. I drank a couple of Gatorades and Lori and I shot some pictures, then we headed down. No injuries, no falls, no severe muscle pains, no cramps, just lots of endorphins. I finished 50th, and 5th in my age group after the top runners and masters were removed from the pool. I was actually 9th in my age group. The temperature at the start of the race was probably 60 degrees with the sun shining. On the course I was warm but not hot. I wore a long-sleeved Starter shirt with my sleeves pulled up. It really worked fine for the entire race. It was probably 45 degrees at the top, but the wind wasn't too bad, so I never pulled my sleeves down. It did cloud up about 45 minutes before I finished which made things colder. Still, I was dressed appropriately. The snow as about 6 inches deep at the summit. 7815 of elevation gain, just one hill though!

The Silver Comet - Smyrna, GA

Submitted by:  Dan Capshaw

Location: Just west of Atlanta in Smyrna, GA.  For directions and more information, visit http://silvercomet.tripod.com/wpagecomet.html.

Length of the trail: Up to 101 miles.

Length of run: 20 miles round trip.

Run difficulty: Easy

Description:  I ran this trail while on a business trip in the area.  The trail is a converted railroad bed.  I started my run at the end of the trail in the Marvell Road parking lot.  The trail is paved on this part of the trail.  There are mile-markers at road crossings for the first 8.5 miles or so.  It is basically flat with some slight grades.  When you are going up hill you will notice the increased effort, but there are no real visible hills.

Like other converted railroad tracks, this trail is a pretty mindless run.  There are no obstacles to worry about, and trail is in great shape.  It is tree lined and mostly straight.  The day that I ran it (a Friday at mid-day in the late Fall) there were a few walkers/bikers/roller-bladers/ and just a couple of runners in the first 4-5 miles.  After that, the trail was almost deserted.

I ran out for 10 miles, and then ran straight back.  It was a great place for along run.  Unfortunately I was running with my 40 oz. Camelback which wasn't quite enough water.  I ran out of water at about mile 17, so the last few miles were pretty difficult.  There is water at the Mavell Road parking lot, but I didn't see any places to refill.  If it had been hot, this would have been much more of a problem.

I ran the first five miles (10 miles round-trip) of this trail again a few weeks after the 20 miler above.  I ran in the evening, and it was a bit cooler.  Once again the trail was relatively deserted once I got away from the main parking lot.  It is a nice, fast run.

2004 Update:

I ran 7 more miles (one way) of this trail starting at about mile 9.6.  This added 6.4 miles to my previous runs.  The trail is basically the same as the earlier sections with a few exceptions:

1.  There was water and restrooms at about the 12 mile and 15 mile points on the trail.  It was a hot day, and I refilled my 24-ounce bottle twice on this run.  I'm glad it was there.

2.  The trail changes from pavement to concrete at about mile 13.  This does make for a bit harsher run.

One other observation.  At about Mile 16 the Paulding County water treatment plant looms.  It doesn't smell too sweet...

Glenn Cunningham Lake - Omaha, NE

Submitted by:  Dan Capshaw

Location: The north side of Omaha.  I followed the signs off of I-680 at 72nd street.

Length of the trail: 7.9 miles

Length of run: 7.9 miles to circle the lake.

Run difficulty: Easy

Description:  I have run around Cunningham lake a couple of times now.  The trail is about 50% dirt singletrack and 50% paved.  There are a couple of small hills it's all pretty easy and follows the water's edge closely.  This run is nothing special, but if you are in Omaha for some reason, it's a great 1-hour workout.

I did have an interesting experience here.  On one of the more remote sections of the lake I noticed an unattended fishing rod with a line in the water.  On my second glance at the line, I could see that there was a fish on it!  I stopped, reeled in the line, and pulled out 3 pound carp.  I threw him back, of course.  Hey, what more could you ask for?  A great evening run (beautiful sunset in progress) and a little bit of fishing on the side!

Bataan Memorial Death March, White Sands, NM

Submitted by:  Leon R. Shorey

Location: About 20 miles northeast of Las Cruces, NM at White Sands Military Base

Length of the trail: 26.2 miles

Length of run: 26.2 miles to circle the lake.

Run difficulty: Difficult

See www.bataanmarch.com

Congaree National Park, near Columbia, SC

Submitted by:  Dan Capshaw

Location: Take Bluff Road (48 East) off of I-77 from Columbia.  Go about 10 miles (or about 3 miles past the Westinghouse plant) and turn right on Old Bluff Road.  Go another couple of miles and turn right into the park.  The park closes at 5:00 p.m. so park in the after hours lot if you are not going to be out of the park before 5:00 p.m.  They lock the gate at 5 p.m.  It's only a half-mile run (+/-) from there to the visitor center.

Length of the trail: Most trails range up to about 13 miles from the after hours parking lot.  You could connect them to make a longer run if you were so inclined.  There are about 25 miles of trails in the park.

Length of run: I ran 7 miles one day and 11.6 the next day.

Run difficulty: Easy, but it could be a bit slick if it is muddy.

Description:    I really enjoyed running here.  I ran the Oakridge trail one day (7 miles) and the Bluff and River trails another day (11.6 miles).  I ran here on February 1 and 2, 2006.  This is one of the few virgin hardwood forests left.  The trees are tall -- the park service says they are some of the tallest hardwoods anywhere.

Some of the run is through swampy areas, but these areas either have boardwalk (basically wooden bridges) or the trail is high enough that they weren't too wet when I was there.  Since it was winter, there were no mosquitoes, and most of the trees did not have leaves on them.  I'll post some pictures when I have a chance.

The area around the visitor center has boardwalks.  There is a 2 mile boardwalk loop into the forest that people walk on.  I only saw one hiker off this boardwalk.  The rest of the run is through the forest on singletrack.  I hit a few muddy areas, but most of it was pretty firm.  I did hit about 200 yards of the trail that was submerged, but I was able to 'bushwhack' around the wet areas.  I put that in quotes, because the the vegetation wasn't very dense -- I really just walked off the trail and jumped some puddles etc. 

When I ran the River Trail I saw a wild sow and her piglets in the woods.  I was running along and heard this squealing noise in the woods a couple of hundred feet away. Knowing that there were wild pigs out there, I stopped to see if it was pigs.  It was.  Mama was a big black sow with 4-5 brown piglets in tow.  She made sure to move the clan away from me, but it was an interesting sighting.  After that I started to notice a lot of areas that had been rooted up by pigs.  There must be a lot of them, but I only saw this one family.

Overall, I found this to be really easy running.  There are some roots and mud, it's manageable if it is reasonably dry.  Oh yeah, the park is free too.  There is also free camping at the after hours parking area.  Your tax dollars at work - and well worth it!

 

Appalachian Trail - Rockfish Gap near Waynesboro, VA

Submitted by:  Dan Capshaw

Location: Exit 99 off of I-64, five miles east of Waynesboro.  There is a parking lot by the bridge over the interstate.  This is the Southern end of Shenandoah National Park.

Length of the trail: Really long.

Length of run: I ran about 3 miles north and about 3.5 miles south.

Run difficulty: Moderate (North is harder)

Description:  The trail is singltrack, and pretty worn and smooth... except for all of the rocks and roots.  It's hilly, as you probably expect.  I ran these two runs on two different evenings.  

North:  I've actually run this twice.  Once on February 19, 2004.  My notes from this one:  Ran a couple of miles on the Appalachian Trail.  It had a lot of snow on it, so it was slow going.  Finally, fell (hard) on a big ice-fall, so I cut off the trail onto Skyline drive.  Skyline drive was closed due to a rock-fall somewhere up the road.  I didn't see it.  Ran from the southern park entrance to the Beagle Overlook.  It was a beautiful day.  Probably around 50 degrees and sunny.  Great run with no cars.

I ran it again on May 11, 2004.  This time I stayed on the trail.  When I got to the spot where the ice-fall was, it was pretty tough even when it was dry.  The trail is definitely uphill out of Rockfish Gap, and does have quite a few rocks on the trail.  It was a great run though.  Notes from my log:  "Thunder crashing in the background, not a sole (or soul) on the trail, lots of up and down, 70 degrees. It was perfect.

South:  I ran this on May 13, 2004.  It was another great evening.  No thunder this time, but I didn't see anyone on the trail and the trail was definitely easier on the feet going this direction.  The first few hundred yards on the trail were downhill, and I had the sense that I was going down for much of the run. I turned around at 30 minutes and the trip back didn't seem too bad either.  I actually made it back in 29:45, so the overall trail must have been pretty level.  Of course it does have it's ups and downs.  There were many small rivulets and the occasional real-live streams to cross going this direction.  The trail hikers have put rocks in the streams for crossing, so there was no need to get my feet wet.

When I got back to my car 'X-man' was pounding his way south out of Shenandoah National Park.  He had hiked down from Front Royal in 6 days (I think they were all around 20 or more mile days!).  He was moving when he got to the car, and was looking good.  He is 60 years old.  Man, I hope I'm lookin' that good and that fit when I'm 60.

Overall, these runs were just excellent experiences.  I will certainly try to get out on the AT again.