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Sports

Running Spring Trails a Test For the Reflexes

Scratches, Bloody Knees and Sprains Are All Part of the Game

After some months of pounding icy pavement, running on the narrow margins between enormous snowdrifts and speeding vehicles, I greet the warmer days and melting snow with eagerness.

I have been able to get out on runs wearing shorts again and, without having to don massive gloves or heavy fleece. Even more exciting, the trails, which were previously off limits beneath the snow and ice, are thawing out. Never mind that for the next month or so, they’ll be sloppy muck courses, they’ll still beat out a dreary slog down Same Old Street any day.

One of my local favorites is Bluff Point in Groton, which has some lovely running paths with some of the most spectacular views in the area. In the course of a run, I like to stride along some of the cinder paths, go along the railroad tracks to nearby Haley Farm, sometimes I’ll combine it with a loop around Groton Long Point.

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I like to start out with a brisk run out to the bluff where I can get some stretching in view of local landmarks like Ledge Light, Orient Point and Fisher’s Island. After that, I test my lungs on the hill leading up to the grassy foundations of the Winthrop House. A right turn hear will lead down a windy side trail that drops into a hopscotch course of roots and rocks. There are more than a few places where a careless footfall can put a runner ankle-deep into freezing muck. With all the weird turns and uneven terrain, I’m bound to turn an ankle now and then or else enjoy a face-first plunge onto some rocks.

Bloody knees and sprains are all part of the game—I write while sitting comfortably behind a computer. When that root actually snatches my foot or I hit a slippery patch and my feet go sliding out from beneath me, my words will be less than philosophical.

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For reasons of clumsiness and perhaps a lower-than-average stride, I spend more time eating dirt than my fellow runners—a source of concern and more often amusement to them. “Fall-Down Fagin,” is one moniker that I can recall from my high school cross-country days.

Despite the hazards, trails are the antidote to the boring run. Cutting turns and leaping over logs all serve to stimulate the mind and to add an element of excitement. It’s kind of cool to think about all the parts that have to work in sync in a runner going over rough terrain.

The heart is already pounding, pumping the adrenaline and oxygenated blood through the veins. Meanwhile, the brain must somehow make snap judgments about the best place to place the feet, based upon a stream of visual information about the trail ahead—which it coordinates with  balance.

The feet are sensors too, demanding immediate attention from the mainframe whether they encounter solid ground or slippery rock. The challenge of staying upright while running over weird terrain requires a full body dance—a herky jerky, writhing tango with the ground. Swinging arms and twisting torsos serve to realign the body’s momentum and weight distribution in order to execute jumps and weaves.

Amazingly, our neuromuscular pathways are tuned so precisely that we can usually leap over that branch or negotiate that pile of rocks without messing up and somersaulting into the clump of briars along the side of the trail.

A more obvious benefit of any trail run is that it is a great way to experience some nature. Oftentimes, it seems like our connection to anything natural or organic gets crowded out by the sea of glowing screens and parking lots which define our day to day existence. While a walk outside is a wonderful way to get unhinged from this (however temporarily) a run can do the same thing, reacquainting us with the other forms of life that exists around us. This is another reason why I find treadmills, which confine exercise indoors, to be uninspiring, soulless machines.

Getting to their more practical benefits, the trails can ease the pounding on the joints that one encounters on the roads. You can also get a nice cardiovascular challenge out of trying to maintain an even pace going up steep pitches.

While I love running on trails, I often wish that there were more open spaces around the area for this. Having more trails makes things less likely to get repetitive and boring. There are talks now proposing the Tri-Town Trail that would link Bluff Point and Preston—how cool would that be?

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