Fictional and Real Famous Runs
Runner Plus has been an integral part of the support I’ve received during my fledgling running endeavor. The tools they supply to analyze Nike+ data are much better than Nike’s own site, and the community of fellow runners are warm, inviting, and very encouraging.
One fellow runner I met there recently blogged about his run up Currahee Mountain. Currahee is the mountain close to Army Camp Toccoa, where the first paratroopers trained for World War II. If you’re familiar with the book or miniseries Band of Brothers, you’re also familiar with the phrase “Three miles up, three miles down!” In the story (and in real-life) part of the basic training was for men to run the three miles up the mountain and the three miles back in less than 50 minutes wearing full combat gear.
Rahn wrote about his experience running the same trail as the troops in training and what it meant to him personally. What a great opportunity! I enjoy running in my neighborhood, but I’ve wondered what other famous trails would be rewarding to run.
The “Rocky Steps” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art - Ok, so Rocky isn’t historical. But wouldn’t it be a rush to run through the streets of Philly in a wet snow wearing torn-up sweats, then run up the Rocky Steps and turn around to strike the Balboa victory pose? “Yo, Adrian!”
The “original” marathon route - The very first marathon is likely also fiction. Regardless, I think it would be inspiring to run Pheidippides supposed route across the Marathon plains in Greece.
How about you? What famous (real or ficitonal) routes would you like to run?
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thanks for posting today. i’ve been thirsty for some Mx40 juice. i don’t know how “famous” it is, but the route of the walt disney world marathon is a dream for me. it is no secret i love that place. i’d love to run through the 4 parks before they open. i’d bet it’d be so eerily quiet considering how crowded it usually is when you are allowed in. it is known to be a lonely trail in b/t parks, but i imagine seeing spaceship earth in the distance would be quite the motivator (much like the birds nest was for olympic marathoners this year).
Ahhhh. Running through the parks would be cool. I take it there is more ground to cover between the parks than inside each kingdom. Are you training for a marathon too? Are you thinking about the Disney marathon?
Hey, we’re going to head back to Currahee to do repeats next month, if you feel like taking a road trip.
I like courses that are partially on actual Olymnpic courses. Then I can feel like I’m one of the elite of the world. Well, okay, the elite runners will be going more than twice my speed, but still, cool.
There’s also the Appalacian Trail or Pacific Crest Trail that would be neat to run sections of. Or maybe some other historic routes, like Louis and Clarks route, or for the more somber, some of the Trail of Tears route.
marathon is my goal, but i haven’t settled on which one. i’ll be ready by feb 2009, but the austin and fort worth marathons look a little daunting w/ their elevation changes, especially since all my training is done on the flat landscape of my neighborhood. if i can get 1 marathon in during 2009, i’d like to do the disney marathon in jan 2010 or 2011.
Interesting question! For my sport (triathlon), the holy grail is the Ironman world championships in Kona, Hawaii. You can only race it by qualifying in another Ironman or half-Ironman, so besides the 200 or so lottery slots they award, the athetes are all rock stars. People spend up to 10 years training and trying to get there, and there is a lot of mystique around the actual course. Race reports speak of “learning lessons about yourself in the lava fields of Kona” or “doing battle with Madame Pele” or “swimming in crystal waters above marine wildlife with helicopters overhead”. I can’t ever imagine finishing an Ironman-distance event, but if I had to pick one that would be worth the sacrifice, Kona would be it.
[...] A while ago I wrote about what fun it would be to run the same courses as several famous real and fictional runs. [...]