Trail Blazer

Soon I will be moving a little bit farther away from my favorite park.  Although I sometimes complain about running/hiking/walking the dog at the same park every day, the truth is I love it and its making me very sad to move farther away from it.  It will still be within travel distance, just not a quick enough commute to get there in the mornings like I usually do.  And so I'm trying to find new trails.

I will be able to walk out of my front door and run which I can't do now.  However, roads are tough on the joints and in my case, on the mind.  So I'm seeking trails.
This really got me thinking about how to find new running places.

The first place I've checked is Map My Run and yes they have tons of runs for the town I'm moving to.  However, I wish the site had a feature where people could also enter what the run is like; hilly, sunny, calm, etc.  (I'm not a subscriber and I just use the free feature so maybe the advanced part of the site does this.)

The second way I've tried to find trails is to research running groups in the area.  There is a group, and I'm not gung ho to join just yet as I am still pining for the old running group I know.

Then, there are the running blogs.  As you all know, there are tons of running blogs out there, mine being one of them.  However, its difficult to determine exactly where a blogger is located unless they disclose it, so finding a new run this way is more hit and miss.

I also contacted the town hall.  They pointed me in the direction of a walks book that details all of the trails and hiking in town.  While the book is full of trails, I know that only some will be suitable for hiking.  I ran one the other day and it hadn't bee cared for in some time.  The trail was muddy and covered in pricker bushes.  However, I may go out with cutter later and fix it up.  Some of the trails will be too steep for a daily run and others too easy.  But I'm determined to make my way through the book and find out!  And it all brings up the issue of safety again.  I will be taking my whistle and cell phone with me all over again as I don't have code words for my new trails yet.

I did find one gem I'm really excited about.  Its Weir Farm. Its actually a NATIONAL Historical Site and National Park.  So I'm going to go explore once the soreness of moving has worn off.  Take a peek at their website here: http://www.nps.gov/wefa/index.htm