Rave Run: Great Western Trail (Lombard, Illinois)
This post is my fourth in a series that I started a couple years ago, unabashedly based on a regular spread in Runner's World Magazine called Rave Runs, in order to share interesting routes with other runners. Why a post on running within a blog that concentrates on business and technology? One habit that I picked up on the road as a consultant over the years is always inquiring about local running paths while visiting unfamiliar locales for the first time. As discussed in other posts, I find running a pleasurable way to explore new places, and running has been a gift to me from an early age by helping me focus and providing stress relief.
This particular post has been long delayed, living in draft state for quite some time, and I thought it would be a good idea to finally play catch up before the year is out. My regular running on the crushed limestone paths of the Illinois Prairie Path and Great Western Trail in the Chicago area should be no surprise for anyone who reads this blog. A stretch of the Great Western Trail that crosses St Charles Road in Lombard had been so unsurmountable for such a long time that it was exciting to hear the announcement that the railroad intersection was to be enhanced with a bridge for the path. The unfortunate reality, however, is that construction was also delayed far beyond the planned November 2012 completion date.
The official ribbon cutting ceremony happened the following month, but I made it out on the new stretch on July 4 of this year, since that morning the barracades were noticeably pushed aside for the first time to make way for many other runners and bikers, judging by the tracks left behind. On subsequent runs, the barracades were moved to their former positions, but after a couple weeks it appeared that runners and bikers won the long wait and so could finally enjoy the view. The overhead photo below shows (in red) where the three bridges were built over Grace Street and the Union Pacific Railroad, just east of downtown Lombard, alongside the original path route (in yellow).
The photos here were taken in late afternoon that same day. By late Summer, the barren sides of the overpass structure became dense with new growth. When running in an easterly direction, runners will notice that the slope that approaches the first bridge is very gradual, quite unlike some other bridges in the area which were built in the distant past, such as the Illinois Prairie Path bridge that crosses Route 83 in Elmhurst that I have affectionately named "Mt 83" because of its unnecessary incline. Be aware that to prevent erosion, the path over the new bridges here is also paved, and for a longer distance than one might expect due to the structure being such a long stretch, but in my opinion this is a small price to pay for the accessibility that is now provided.
The second and fourth photos posted above were taken along the dip in the path between the second and third bridges (counting from the East), with the former facing east and the latter facing west. This dip is sizeable, and it is unknown as to why the path was not made level. On my first couple runs, I personally found this dip annoying, but after traversing it dozens of times I came to appreciate it, due to the lack of hills in the area, unlike for example the Capital City State Trail that I frequented during earlier consulting engagements in Madison, Wisconsin, although even that trail was tame for those familiar with other much more challenging running paths outside the Midwest.
Rave Run: Buffalo Bayou (Houston, Texas)
Rave Run: C & O Canal Towpath and Potomac River Waterfront (Georgetown)
Rave Run: Ridges Road in Door County (Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin)