Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Al Buehler Cross Country Trail - Durham, NC

Very solid run with a (formerly) complete stranger on a wooded trail near Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.


Time: 55:12
Distance: 7.64 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Good
Weather: Sunny & Cool



When I was in college, I was in a hardcore band. We weren't very good. But, we didn't know any better so we planned a month-long summer tour across the South, the East Coast and looped back via Chicago and a few other Midwestern stops. We got gigs by finding names and phone numbers of clubs and promoters in fanzines. Pretty much across the board, everyone we connected with in the "scene" were like-minded and eager to help.  So we got gigs and got paid enough to cover gas, a little food and one oil change (biggest payday was $150). We slept on peoples' floors.


That summer came to mind today as I was running here in Durham with Dave R., a total stranger I met (gasp!) through the internet. Actually, it's not that random. Dave was in Boulder/Nederland this summer running the trails and hooking up with a few locals for jaunts in the hills. I followed his adventures now and then via his blog and comments on other blogs I follow. Like the folks the band met that summer on road, I have found runners to be similarly good people. Whether at races, in the blogosphere or on the trails, I have met nothing but warm, fun people. Quite a community we've got here...


Anyway...knowing I'd be here in Durham for a few days, I was eager to find some running routes. Who better to provide advice than a local. I dropped Dave a note last night and almost immediately got a "hell yeah" e-mail back. 


Fast forward a few hours and Dave and I were running a steady pace around a swell 2.91-mile crushed gravel trail through a forest located, miraculously, right across the street from my hotel. We had a good time chatting about life and times as we rolled through the forest at a steady clip.  As I said...good people.






We did two loops, plus a little one-mile loop as a cool-down. Squeezed it all in before the conference reception (beer!) and dinner (buffet!).  


Many thanks to Dave for the great company and for forgoing a nap (and time that could have been spent finding random pictures to illustrate his blog) to get in a few miles with an out-of-towner. 











3 comments:

  1. You're so right about runners being good folk. Before I started running again I was fairly adept at making a bike go fast.
    I came back to running in part because my dog can't turn a pedal and desperately needed exercise and in part because I couldn't stand competitive cyclists. Not to paint with too broad a brush, but they seem to be almost universally jack...s.
    Not so much for triathletes, but runners are by far the easiest folk to get along with for sure.

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  2. We still on for this Sunday, or was it next Sunday? I can't remember, I must be married!

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  3. Right on, Jay.

    PG - This Sunday. Bergen Peak. 11 a.m.

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