In a desperate effort to gain some weird form of validation, I stole an idea for a blog post and begged my readers to ask me a question. And they did. The buggers. Now I have to answer them.
Question 8: Jane asks, quite simply, for “The ideal jogging route”.
The ideal jogging route
This is pretty straightforward really. The ideal jogging route:
- is flat.
- is somewhere of temperate climate, not too hot, not too cold, a little drizzle on an early autumn day for example.
- has a gaggle of gorgeous cheerleaders lining the route.
There you go. Simple.
But. Well… The thing is…
- If it’s flat you don’t get the sense of achievement that comes when you reach the top of a big steep hill. Yes your legs burn, yes it’s bloody hard, but yes, you DO feel like Rocky and have to stop yourself from shadow boxing when you reach the top (ok, that might just be me).
- A nice day is all well and good but it’s the days when the wind is smashing the rain into your face, you’re soaked to the bone, and yet you still turn up to go for a run. THOSE are the days that really count. Honest.
- Ummm yeah that whole sexist.. degrading wummin… adolescent fantasies are sick.. thing… so ummm… yeah, cheerleaders would be ba… well.. ok, let’s just say they’d put me off my stride.
I guess the ideal jogging route would be somewhere that’s busy enough for things to be happening, but not too busy that you are running into people. Our club meets at Strathclyde Park, which has a large watersports centre at one end. The park is well used but big enough that you aren’t constantly avoiding people, or dogs or geese, but busy enough that there is always something going on, be it boats sailing on the water, people canoeing or fishing, or just other joggers or walkers zipping past.
Although I have to admit that some grand scenery would be nice, something like the scene in Forrest Gump where he jogs across the USA. In the middle of that montage there is a crystal clear lake, reflecting the snow-tipped mountains that lie beyond. That looks like a pretty damn nice place to run to me, and I’m sure Scotland can offer the same, I just need to find it.