Who's afraid of a few hills?

This is going to sound crazy, but I love running up hills. Lansing doesn't have a lot of them, but I find hill running to be my favorite running challenge. I love driving to Mt. Hope Cemetery in Lansing to run the loop around the cemetery - it's the hilliest route I've found in the area. My first half marathon was in San Francisco, and I ran the Knoxville, TN half - another very hilly race. I don't often get to run hilly routes, but heading home to West Virginia is a guaranteed way to get my hill running fix.

UT's hilly campus where I ran the Knoxville Half in 2011

My husband and I headed to WV last weekend for the West Virginia/Kansas State game. (Let's not discuss the game - I'd prefer to pretend it didn't happen). On Saturday morning my husband, who is training for his first 5k, and I headed out for a run. There is a flat river trail in Morgantown, but I didn't feel like taking the time to drive there. We headed out into the neighborhoods around my parents' house, and the terrain is very hilly.

I charged up the hills in the way I tackle almost anything, and my husband rocked it as well - especially for a novice runner. It is my favorite challenge, and it's always exhilarating. One of my favorite routes to run in Morgantown is a 3 mile loop around the Evansdale Campus where I lived in the dorms my freshman year. It's extremely steep, and sometimes I find myself jogging in place gasping for air during the run. But it's totally worth it. 

A view of Evansdale Campus from the top of the hill. I lived in those dorms my freshman year.

I haven't studied the course for the Pittsburgh Marathon, but I assume it's hilly. Running can become monotonous, and hills are the kinds of challenges that keep me going. I'll be doing lots of loops around Mt. Hope Cemetery to prepare for my next marathon.

Boustead St. is the steepest hill in Pittsburgh. I don't think it's on the marathon course.
  

 

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 23, 2012 at 7:40 PM

    I live in Pittsburgh and haven't run Boustead St...but I do know it's NOT on the course!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SamanthaOctober 24, 2012 at 9:30 AM

    That's probably is good although it could be a fun challenge. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. TROctober 24, 2012 at 7:14 PM

    Maybe one day, in the very, very, veeery distant future, I'll learn to love hills! :P haha :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. SamanthaOctober 25, 2012 at 8:26 AM

    Once you get used to them, they're kind of fun. In a painful, can't catch your breath, but hey I still did it way. :)

    ReplyDelete

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