Today I ran my 10.25 (125 minutes) on the American Tobacco Trail. First time ever running on a trail. It was harder than I expected it to be. And the gale force winds didn't help, as well as being intensely sore from Fridays lower body ST.
I am in pain as I type this, but I really enjoyed the run. There were tons of families, runners, running groups, cyclists, and walkers. I felt very safe and worn out in the end, which is good, means I ran hard, but it also made me think, does this ever get any easier? Anyways, I think I found my new "spot".
The trail itself is about 22 miles long, and spans through two counties, starting in durham county and Ending in Wake County. It's really gorgeous out there. No wonder it was packed on a Sunday.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
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5 comments:
Moving pretty fast there woman! The trail looks nice, 22 miles is really sweet, you can keep the eyes and mind busy. You are going to do wonderfully with that 1/2!!
Wow, great run, especially with the wind!! I've never been on the American Tobacco Trail, but am looking forward to running the Coach Bubba 4-miler there in a couple of weeks.
Elysia,
Nice to read your blog on running on the ATT. Glad you are enjoying it.
For some more variety, be sure to check out the southern Durham portion of the ATT.
From the Scott King Road crossing, where you can park along the road, or in Herndon Park next door, you can run one mile south to the currently undecked Northeast Creek trestle, and 2 miles north up to Massey Chapel Road.
This is a grass, gravel and clay surface, so it will vary, as compared to the fairly uniform asphalt surface of the urban Durham section. However, the softer surface will be softer on you too!
Also, drive a bit farther and do the ATT in Wake. You can run 8 1/4 miles one way on the trail in Wake and Chatham counties, down there. Wake has a compacted granite screenings surface which lots of runners love.
The Chatham section is grass, gravel and clay. But like southern Durham, TRTC volunteers have been working to take care of holes and ruts. We were out there, just north of the Wake-Chatham county line, this weekend working on drainage here.
The White Oak Church Road Access has restroom facilities, but no water. There is plenty of off-road parking. This is easy to get to from Durham.
In any event, enjoy the ATT. Best of luck in your runs and races! We'll probably see you at Coach Bubba.
Let me/us know if you have any questions or comments on the ATT.
Happy Trails,
Bill B.
Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Thanks Bill, since I live in Holly Springs, I started at the end, off HWY 751, near the New Hill area.
Once I progress, I will definitely try different parts of the ATT. It's gorgeous. Thanks for all you do on the trails!
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