trailhonky

LaFortune Park and the road runners

Posted on 24. Apr, 2008 by Brad in Training

I started running at LaFortune Park this week after deciding I should look for other trails in the midtown area. The Riverside trail is nice, but it can be a bit monotonous. LaFortune is a nice 3-mile loop of mostly small gravel with a few asphalt sections (one 1/10 mile section through the side of a parking lot). Compared to Riverside, it seems a lot more crowded, which is nice to keep it interesting.

With the crowds, though, come the road runners. Nothing against them, but it’s just you’re more likely to run into the ones who are hell-bent on getting in their workouts and will not let slower runners get in there way.

On Tuesday of this week, I had my first notable encounter. I had not even gone a quarter-mile when I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming of being in Spain. At first I thought it might be the running of the bulls but then I realized it was just someone trodding very heavily. Not only that, but as he went around me, I wasn’t sure whether to 1) get out of the way, 2) offer him directions to the nearest Catholic church, or 3) point him in the direction of the St. Francis Hospital emergency room. Common sense said just move, but with the amount of “Oh God” I was hearing, I really expected to see him carrying a set of rosary beads. Then again, with the labored breathing and flailing of the arms, I thought he might actually need help. As he stepped over into the parking lot and quickly calmed down, I was comforted in the fact that he was actually just adding a little extra drama to his routine.

The following day, another encounter almost topped the first. I was approaching the section on the north side near where the trail curves back to go behind a baseball field when I heard an interesting mix between a cough, a raspy voice whispering “Help!”, and an asthmatic wheeze (no offense to those with asthma). I quickly realized that this was yet again another runner who was more interested in hitting some goal time than avoiding steamrolling other walkers and joggers in his path. I mean, seriously…on a path barely wide enough for 2 runners to pass comfortably, don’t expect me to utilize the eyes in the back of my head that don’t exist to first notice your dominance of the sport and then to sacrifice myself against a tall chain link fence just so you can get around. Seriously.

Anyhow, I actually enjoyed two great comfortable runs. The course does have a few uphill sections that get the blood pumping. With an abundance of parking and easy accessibility from I-44, I will likely start making this my more frequent route for short distances.

Tags: lafortune park, running, tulsa