On a limb with Claudia

In 1995, Stapleton Airport closed leaving many wild, wide open spaces. The upside was the vast amount space. The downside was that the rivers and streams were contaminated by decades of jet fuel. The EPA took over the river. In 1997, the Sand Creek Greenway master plan was created. And trust me, in 1997, the area looked pretty bad. There was obvious toxic material around. The river could barely sustain life.

Over the last decade, the EPA and the Sand Creek Greeway have worked to create a real wilderness area in the middle of the city. In the spring and fall, you can see the egrets fly through. The cormorants now fish the river. Coyote, rabbits, snakes, and other wild western creatures call Sand Creek home. Every time I’m there I see at least one red-tailed hawk. I’ve even seen a snowy owl there.  More recently, we saw four snakes. Of course, the ground hogs are ubiquitous.

We started going to Sand Creek around the time Rose came to live with us. She’s chased bunnies, played in the water and generally romped it up there. We’ve even cross country skied at Sand Creek when there’s a lot of snow. Over the years, Sand Creek Greenway has gone from a homeless hangout to a beautiful addition to the city.

Last weekend, we went out for a five mile run from I70 to Peoria. The path is well maintained gravel. There are steep hills and valleys but nothing overwhelming. There is limited shade so it can be very hot.

There is a parking lot off Smith Road and Havana. We usually come in from Quebec and park on the street. Dogs are supposed to be leashed but it’s rarely policed. Watch for Coyotes.

View Sand Creek Greenway Trail in a larger map
Difficulty: Easy in places. Steep hills in others. Great place to run hills or get a longer run in. Sand Creek continues toward Aurora if you’re looking for a really long run
Best place to park: Off Smith Road and Peoria or on the street near Quebec and Smith Road.
Best season: Spring, Winter, Fall. Hot in summer
Path is: dirt, cinder and sand. Well maintained with ample places for ‘off path’ adventure for a dog.

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Denver has gorgeous parkways. The Monaco Parkway has almost no trail but runs from 6th Avenue to 38th Avenue. The Sixth Avenue Parkway runs from Monaco to Colorado then continues down Seventh Avenue.  And the Seventeenth Avenue Parkway runs from Colorado to Monaco.

I have always wanted to run these parkways. I’ve been enchanted with the idea that, right there, in the middle of the road, you could get an outdoor, natural experience. The parkways are well maintained and a little slice of wilderness.

A few weekends ago, we went out to run the 17th Avenue Parkway.  The Parkway has a very thin path, so I mostly ran across the grass. Because I am more familiar with Seventeenth Street than running, I watched the streets go by – two for each letter of the alphabet. Between the grass and the slight incline, the run was challenging.

Running along the parkway also brought up situations I didn’t expect. We ran into (literally) a family with little kids. We found a stray dog. We found a hysterical woman begging someone on her cell phone to bring her a bag for her dog’s poop. (We gave her one.) More disconcerting, we could smell the pancakes and bacon cooking in the mansions along the parkway. At one point, it was all we could do not to knock on the door and ask for breakfast!

While the parkway may be ‘like’ nature, it’s surrounded by city life, city people and city problems. (Denver’s enforced curfew keeps the homeless out the parkways.)

View 17th Avenue Parkway in a larger map

Difficulty: Moderate –  mostly grass path with incline from Colorado to Monaco; watch for ankle turning tree roots.

Best place to park: Museum of Nature and Science road

Best season: Anytime it’s dry – winter, summer, fall. It’s a mud pit when wet.

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I started running in May.

Yes, me.

I’m not very good. I’m certainly not very fast. And I still have the spinal cord injury and the herniated discs. Heck, I even learned about another one.

Still, I am getting out at least three times a week and getting it done. I’m still not sure that I love running, but I no longer hate it. That seems like a good thing.

My goal? Las Vegas Rock N Roll Half-Marathon, December 6, 2009.

One thing I love about running is the chance to get out and see Denver and the surrounding area a little bit. These runs have become such a big part of my life that I thought I’d add them to this blog.

The run that is my ‘home’ run, is the City Park Running Trail. It is a brand new trail finished literally a few weeks ago. I’ve run on it through all of it’s phases of growth. The trail takes me through some of my favorite, and previously inaccessible, areas of the park.  It’s so new that the trail doesn’t show up on Google Maps.

Here’s my rendition:

View City Park Running Trail in a larger map

The trail is made out of loose cinder and is moderately maintained. There are a couple of muddy areas (near Ferril Lake and the piece between the small pond and the museum road). It has a moderate grade to Colorado boulevard then again from Twenty-Third to Seventeenth. It’s supposed to be 3.1 miles but it comes out to less than that on my map. The easiest place to park is on the Museum of Nature and Science road.

Otherwise, it’s truly a gorgeous place to run.

Distance : 3.1 miles (approximate)

Difficulty : Easy – cinder path, relatively flat

Best place to park : Museum of Nature and Science road

Best season : Spring, Summer, Fall (because it goes through the trees, it’s icy in the winter)

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