Where is the "coolest" place you've ever run?

[Cindylou]

With Helen's post about running over the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and Duane raving about his run on the Las Vegas strip and a few months back Steve enjoying his run in Central Park, I was wondering where have you run/walked that was the coolest, most awe inspiring, meaningful place?

I'll go first. A few years back I ran the Boston Marathon as a Bandit. (Way uncool, I know that now - I was young, I didn't know any better, but it's a bit of a rite of passage for people in this area.) Right before the halfway point you can hear this amazing noise coming from the women of Wellesley College screaming in full voice. You hear it long before you actually there. I got chills running through there. It was such an amazing experience. I still get chills to this day thinking about it.

How about you?

Cindy

 

[gsu1988]

Mine is not so much the place as it is the circumstance around the place. When I was running cross country in college our conference meet was held one year in Houston, Texas. It was to far to drive to the meet so we had to fly. Once I realized that I was being flown by the school halfway across the country to run in a race that made the meet all that more special. That along with finishing 12th in the conference as a freshman are things I will never forget.

 

[windwalker]

Mine is not so much the place as it is the circumstance around the place. When I was running cross country in college our conference meet was held one year in Houston, Texas. It was to far to drive to the meet so we had to fly. Once I realized that I was being flown by the school halfway across the country to run in a race that made the meet all that more special. That along with finishing 12th in the conference as a freshman are things I will never forget.

Like you my most memeable run was more circumstance than place. I was running around the back perimiter of Nellis AFB in Las Vegas. Iraq had just invaded Kwait. We were massing our forces in the Gulf to liberate Kwait. As the 1st Sgt of the Comptroller squadron I had to decide which of my troops to send into harms way. As I ran and stressed over the decision, I heard a cry off to my right. I looked over and saw a very rare sight. A huge brown desert eagle was pacing along with me. As I watched it looked over at me and then made a right turn over the mountain. Just the direction our jets would travel to the middle east combat zone.

Warrior Panda

 

[SilverE]

I drove across country for two months after college, so my "coolest" running routes (in no particular order) include:

street along top of Niagra Falls
streets of Toronto
Glacier National Park (saw mountain goats!)
Within site of Mount Rushmore
Beale Street in Memphis
Through San Francisco in site of Golden Gate Bridge
Along Las Vegas Strip
By Wrigley Field in Chicago
Around rim of Crater Lake National Park
Within site of Mount St. Helens
Yellowstone National Park (buffalo very close to me !)
Zion National Park
Near north rim of Grand Canyon
Bryce Canyon National Park
Arches National Park ("attacked" by enormous flock of bats ; ran back to tent with arms covering my head!)
Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs
Golden, Colorado (thin air, couldn't breathe)
streets of Denver
Bainbridge Island off of Seattle
Through streets of Cheyenne, Wyoming during Frontier Days Rodeo
Up/down all the hills in Quebec City (in rain; didn't matter: gorgeous city)

I used to live in Newton, MA, so my daily route took me along the Boston Marathon course right alongside the statue of Johnny Kelly. Running around the Charles River in Boston/Cambridge was always great too.

And, of course....I live in Maine, so I run near Acadia National Park once a year.

I was, and still am, amazed by the beauty, history and grandeur of the National Parks in the U.S. Please visit as many of them as you can during your lifetime; you will not regret it .

 

[princessrunner]

Mine is not a place but a circumstance. In October of every year, a town close by where my DH's grandmother taught at college forever and ever, they hold a 5K race in her honor. Every year, we run in it, rain, freezing temps, and whatever else nature throws, we run. My MIL (daughter of the namesake), her DD (my SIL), myself and this year, my DD (great grandaughter of namesake. One year, the whole family flew/drove here to run the race. I am hoping that next year, my DS6 will be able run too along with SILs 2 kids.

 

[SilverE]

Mine is not a place but a circumstance. In October of every year, a town close by where my DH's grandmother taught at college forever and ever, they hold a 5K race in her honor. Every year, we run in it, rain, freezing temps, and whatever else nature throws, we run. My MIL (daughter of the namesake), her DD (my SIL), myself and this year, my DD (great grandaughter of namesake. One year, the whole family flew/drove here to run the race. I am hoping that next year, my DS6 will be able run too along with SILs 2 kids.

Let me know the date for next year; maybe I can pop up to your neck of the woods to run it. (I'm all about the bling, though; are the T-shirts nice? )

 

[JimB.]

The flight deck of the USS Dwight D Eisenhower in the East Med.

 

[wtpclc]

Gotta' say teh SIlver COmet Teail in near Atlanta, GA. (Dh agrees) More of the circumstances than the place for sure.

For those that don't know, we DNF'd our 18-miler before our first marathon. We freaked out!!! We sepant a week and a half wondering how we would get 20 miles in in teh snow. They were having blizzards well to the south the week before the 20-miler too. We looked fro deals fro airfare, but couldn't find anythign. Dh sounded so forlorn when I told him that I was out of luck, that I trried thinking about other hubs. ENded up finding a deal to Atlanta for teh weekedn with hotel adn car fro what seemed reasonable after all the training we'd put in. E-mailed a friend that I met on the DIS DVC boards and seeing if there was somewhere we could run 20 miles. SHe foudn the trail and I booked teh flight.

We had been running in sub 20 degree weather, 4 to 6 inches of snow, ice adn semi-frozen slush with high winds. Got into mid 40 degree weather, ran in shorts adn Ts and flew. Took 2 minutes off what our pace had been! That was an awesome trip and our best run ever!