By Ralph One of the things I love about my job is the opportunity it provides to meet with leaders in the fitness industry throughout the country. This month, I had the good fortune of meeting key members of Total Gym and working out with their master trainer on their latest equipment. What these type of business trips also give me is a great opportunity to explore new ground on what I call adventure runs.
The morning before my meeting, I planned a run tour of San Diego. I was staying at the Marriott in the Marina, which is a great starting point for a run. Because I have been to San Diego many times, I knew about where I wanted to go, but the night before I went onto Google Maps and planned an 8-mile route.
8-mile course
This route hits many of the major sights in San Diego, and with the emphasis on Balboa Park, I saw a few new places. And that, by the way, is one of the main things I look for when I plan an exploration routes.
I started out running clockwise along the harbor. The energy is great in this area, with lots of runners and walkers out, and the USS Midway is always amazing to see.
USS Midway
Once you hit the airport, Harbor Drive gets less interesting, so I made a right up Laurel St. This is the connector to the park and a really nice climb, about 1.1 miles and about a 250-foot climb. Laurel runs you right into Balboa Park and that’s when the fun really begins. I just let the sights take me wherever and I ran around exploring. Here are a few of the cool things I found.
After the park, I headed south down 6th street toward Petco Park. This ballpark seems to be one of the few I have encountered that has pretty good pedestrian access all the time. I always get a kick out of running around ballparks. There are usually some cool statues, historical monuments and interesting architecture to see.
Petco Park
6th street from Balboa Park to Petco is pretty much all downhill, giving you back the elevation gained on Laurel.
After my round there, I hit the Harbor Drive Pedestrian Bridge getting me safely over Harbor Blvd and right by the convention center. From there it’s a straight shot back to the hotel. Or it could have been. A pretty good flight of steps at the Convention Center caught my attention. Naturally I was compelled to do a couple sets on the steps before finishing up my tour of San Diego.
The whole route was 8 miles and I had a great time.
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