Running in the city

I wrote in an earlier post that running in Stockholm is great, and for running in a city, it is great. But I've realized lately that city running will never be as good as running through the countryside.

I miss the trails and country roads around Decorah, and even though they weren't as scenic, I still miss the rolling hills outside of Williamsburg. One mile through town, then calm country roads as far as you could see. Want a four mile route? There are at least five options, a loop to the north, south, east or west, and one around town. Same goes for any distance. You just can't beat that sort of variety. Yeah, I could create that many routes in a city, but only a few of the best routes would get away from the city roads and street crossings any allow me to run at a steady pace and forget about my surroundings. You just have to concentrate so hard on the people, the cars, even the cracks in the sidewalk when you're running in a city. It's hard to get into a groove.

The paved country roads were often busy by rural standards, but it would be a bad day if I saw five or more cars during an hour of running on gravel roads. It was peaceful that way. Nothing out there but empty fields, my thoughts, and the occasional red-winged blackbird to dodge or the mean farm dog to out-sprint.

These longings for country running routes aren't new, I've been complaining about Minneapolis running for years. The complaints died down when I got to a fresh city, but now that I've been here a few months they've finally re-surged.

So yeah, life in Stockholm is still great. Life in Minneapolis was great. But for everything these great cities have to offer, I'm still looking for more. Or less, depending on how you look at it.