Running is a huge part of my life, and has been for over a decade now. While I lived in St. Louis, I thought I took it somewhat seriously, but I was nothing like I am today. At one point in my life, I regularly ran 65-80 miles per week, until injuries cut that short. Now I am trying to return to the sport I love. Yet, I wonder if I had moved back to St. Louis after I graduate, if I would still be so enthralled with this sport.
The running scene in Louisville is, in my opinion,
the best of any city of its size in the country. I believe Louisville has more parks per-capita than any other city in America, and that makes running in safe areas dedicated to that pastime easier than anywhere I know. Since moving to Louisville, I have never lived more than 4 miles from any major park system. Louisville annually hosts 4 road races that draw over 6,000 runners and walkers each, and I don't know of any city that can boast that fact. A local running store, Fleet Feet Sports (a franchise that is locally owned) sponsors over a dozen races every year and is involved in most of the major races around. They also sponsor a racing team for post-collegiate runners who are trying to improve to the elite level. This racing team added me as a member 2 years ago and I have been extremely grateful for the opportunity they have given me.The fact of the matter is, I hate going to St. Louis to run. The area around my parents' house is terrible for running, even though there are 2 parks within a couple of miles. For the casual runner, St. Louis may be a great running city, but not for the serious competitive runner. While St. Louis has vastly improved with the opening of Big River Running Company (owned by 2 former competitors of mine, though they are 2 years older). They have tried to revitalize the running scene in St. Louis by sponsoring a number of races, as well as their own racing team. So the city is definitely going in the right direction, as before St. Louis had to rely on the St. Louis Track Club, a group of wonderful people whom I personally thought could use a little improvement in their race management skills.
But between Big River Running, the extension of the River Des Peres Greenway and revitalizing of Forest Park, St. Louis has made great improvements in their running community, but unfortunately it is not nearly as runner-friendly as Louisville. So I have to give the nod to Louisville as the better running community. Well done and thank you Louisville for helping me become a better runner.
In Pennsylvania trip news, my training took a day off last night but I still ate quite a bit. Tonight I plan to eat an entire head of lettuce along with my normal dinner. I also bought a frozen pizza, which I plan on eating all of at one meal. And tomorrow (Thursday) I plan on eating my 2 footlong subs from Subway as my final major build to the trip. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I can accomplish this feat. I am actually having trouble making myself full lately.
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