Friday, June 22, 2012

Another Reason Aspiring High School Distance Runners Should Choose Penn State

Among the hundreds of reasons why Penn State is a great choice for distance runners is the opportunity to run in some of the most beautiful locations in the country.  Some of my favorite "Mountain" runs are:

  1. Bear Meadows/Switchbacks
  2. Pine Barrens
  3. Colyer Lake
  4. Harry's Valley Road
  5. Deer Pens/Observatory/Game Lands
I rarely complained about the Sunday Mountain Runs and have always considered them one of the highlights of my PSU years.

Here's an article discussing how running in a forest is twice as good as running in a gym. We may have to arrange for the Alumni "Run" to be downhill at one of the Mountain Runs with handy Van transportation to and from.  (Maybe it isn't such a good idea for those of us who have experienced being lost on one of these runs!)
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 22, 2012 at 1:31 PM

    I constantly complained about the Sunday Morning Death Marches and always considered them the lowlight of my PSU years!!! Ugh, those effing switchbacks. And which one started at the bottom of a huge hill on a highway??? Sheer torture. LTM

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  2. skwilliJune 22, 2012 at 2:16 PM

    Hee hee hee! That would be Harry's Valley Road, which was the road we turned onto after trudging uphill on Rt. 26 West of State College. Our "favorite person" once challenged me on the name of the road, but I supplied confirmation that it is indeed Harry's Valley Road (look it up everybody, or maybe I'll just put it in another post!) Then there was a 4 mile slight downhill among the forest culminating in a sharp left turn to circle back. If you knew the secret cut-off you had a 1/4 mile jog across a trail of the softest moss you ever imagined. Pure heaven, at least for this alum.

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  3. skwilliJune 22, 2012 at 2:23 PM

    And note that I did complain "rarely". I'm sorta kinda human, after all! hee hee hee

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