Tuesday Night Runs

Anchorage is a seriously active town. It seems as if everyone in town is into getting outside. Although someone I met at a potluck told me there is a strong stay at home and play video games contingent. They just don't seem to roll in the same circle as the outdoorsy folks.

Anyhow, one of my favorite activities that shows how active this town can be is the Tuesday Night Races. http://www.muni.org/parks/tuesday.cfm

The Municipality puts on these races every week from early September through the end of October. They are fun runs with two divisions that you can choose from. The Farm League does about a 5k and the Lightning League is usually around 10k. There's also a Munchkin League for the kiddies.

The runs take place at a different location each week, usually on a trail system. There are a number of parks around Anchorage with lighted trail systems that get used for cross-country skiing during the winter.

Two weeks ago we went to our first TNR. It was at a high school up near Elmendorf AFB and I had a great time on the 5k. That's such a fun distance. Although it was the first time I'd run in really cold weather in a while and my chest hurt from the cold air. After the run about 15 of us went for Mexican food at Taco King. Very passable.

This last week I ran the 10k (9.3k) with Jeff Kim. We were trying to decide which distance to go right up until the split. We went long and it was worth it. Although the trails are hillier than I am used to running. Davis is not good training for actual trail runs. I have flat and straight down, though.

The best part of this run was the finish. We were at a trail system in South Anchorage right by the Chugach. We made the last turn towards the finish and came out of the trees. We were facing East and saw the mountains lit up by the setting sun. The flanks of the mountains had turned yellow and red with the changing season and the low sun lit up the mountain with the snow above a brilliant white. With the finish line in sight, it was a beautiful view.

Hopefully I'll be able to make it the rest of the runs in this series.