Recently, my family and I visited my in-laws for a long weekend in Groton, Connecticut. During our visit, I had the opportunity to run with my nephew at two of his favorite running spots.
The first, Bluff Point Coastal Reserve, where I had run previously on my own. However, as a local, my nephew took me off the main trail, showing me stunning cliffside views, softy sandy beaches and forested dirt paths. The mix of rock, sand and dirt made the run unique and provided me with some distinctly different vistas.
The next day, he took me to Barn Island Wildlife Management Area. As an outsider, I would most likely never venture out here on my own. Being further up the highway, I probably would have seen it as just a boat launch area. Yet, the interesting mix of salt marshes and shaded woodlands provided a pleasantly contrasting run experience.
Clearly, my nephew knew and appreciated these places but more importantly wanted to share his experiences with someone who would like to take in opportunities to refresh their runs.
This got me thinking about taking advantage of local knowledge to venture off the beaten path. Often, we get into a rut of running the same routines and routes. These journeys inspired me to think about exploring new places and taking full advantage of this knowledge to discover my soon to be new favorite runs.
One of my favorite yet obscure routes is the Carlisle section of the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail off of Allen Road. This quiet, often unpopulated section makes a pleasant solitary short run in a natural setting or can be looped into the Valley Meadows and Dickinson Fields trails for longer runs.
Did you know that alleys and side streets in Carlisle are called “avenues”? An avenue run gets one unfamiliar path without having to venture outside the boundaries of Carlisle.
Do you have a favorite spot you would like to share? Your favorite place might just be our new destination. Reply here to share your favorite running routes with us, pictures are encouraged! We’ll feature a few in future newsletters.
About the author: Joe is a store associate at AppRunCo Carlisle. He loves running the city streets and hiking the great outdoors. In addition to being outside, Joe is a DJ and art columnist. He is a dad of two and has been married for nearly 30 years.
