Dec 7: 121 Richland Lane

The first run in December will be an early holiday present in the form of a themed run, followed by coffee at Cheryl's home at 121 Richland Lane. If you are not sure where that is, click here for what I hope is a map of the house. Cheryl suggests that you park in the Factory (building where the East End Food Co-op is located at the corner of Penn and Braddock) parking lot and walk over. Her home is up the street on the left, next to the apartment complex, before you reach Tuscarora. There is no parking on Richland and very limited parking on Tuscarora. For those running from the East End you can run down Reynolds to Ben Hur, turn left at the fence, traverse over a short unpaved path and you will be at the other end of Richland Lane.

Our running group luck held and although it was cloudy there was no rain for a run through Oakland lead by Tom. The highlight was a stop at the newly renovated Schenley Plaza fountain (http://www.popcitymedia.com/developmentnews/schftn1015.aspx), another turtle adorned sculpture (the other being the Westinghouse Memorial by the CMU campus). We also tried out the "new trail" up the bank of Serpentine Road. It was a comfort run for the last day of November 2008.

2008 Thanksgiving Week Runs

Hi All
Here is the run schedule for the upcoming holiday week:
Wed, Nov 26: 5:45 AM at Forbes and Murray as usual

Thu, Nov 27: 7:30 AM at Coffee Tree in Squill - Virginia will lead a 4 - 5 mile run through Oakland and back

Fri, Nov 28: 5:45 AM at Forbes and Murray as usual - Tom said he would be there

Sun, Nov 30: 7:00 AM at Tom's house - 5343 Ayelsboro

A surprising number of hardy soles turned up for a chilly winter-like run through Schenley Park. With clear blue skies, snow on the ground and bare trees it felt more like January than late November. Still it had its beauties such as the the glimpse of the rosy rising sun on the spare Oakland skyline.
Discussion subjects at coffee roamed far into our pasts (growing sprouts and other herbal treats) as we sought solutions for the shaky economic crisis.

Nov 23 Run: Wendy Bennett Trailhead

Next week's run will start at the Wendy Bennett trailhead for a Schenley park run, with hopes of still enjoying some morning light. Meet at the Coffee Tree at 6:45 AM to run to there (it is 1 mile).

Thanks to Paula Clemmens for her report on last Sunday's run:

We had a very nice run this am. The temperature was perfect. It was much nicer than later in the day. Virginia led us through a fascinating tour of Edgewood. For future information, the needed allotted time to run from Coffee Tree in Squirrel Hill to the tennis courts on Braddock is 15 minutes. The run-to the run runners had extra time before the official run which we spent showing the wall art map in Regent Square to Molly.

And a big thank-you to everyone who sent recommendations for eye doctors. Now I just have to pick one from the many. I will add the names to the list of runner recommendations that you can find on the right-hand side of our blog http://eastendrunners.blogspot.com/  when I have the chance.

Nov 16 Run: Tennis Courts on Braddock Ave

Virginia will lead a run starting at the tennis courts on Braddock Ave this coming Sunday. I imagine people may also be up for a run to the run? I won't be here but I suggest starting at the Coffee Tree in Squirrel Hill around 6:25 AM. It is about 1.5 miles to the tennis courts.

The group continued the streak of record book runs this morning with 17 people showing up for a fall run/hike through obscure but lovely corners of Frick Park. Even under a gray ski with many bare trees there were enough splashes of color to evoke the beauty of this fleeting season. As if that were not enough, we ran on some lesser known streets in Squirrel Hill and all took a turn on the fast slide at the new Colfax playground - even Tom! We ended up in Pam and Chris's cozy kitchen for coffee, cake, cheese, fruit and of course stimulating conversation. If lives permitted, I think we might have stayed there all day!

Watch from some upcoming themed runs....

Nov 8 Run: Pam Murray's House - 2200 Beechwood Blvd

Pam Murray graciously offered to lead a run through Frick Park while we still have morning light and perhaps some fall color. In addition she has offered to host after-run coffee - what a deal! Pam lives at 2200 Beechwood Blvd - close to where Darlington comes into Beechwood, not far from Colfax School. She lives on the "up-side" of the street.

I was glad that we had a big group to re-visit the Strip/River run a few of us did a while ago because it certainly is one of the classics. It showcases so many of Pittsburgh's appealing features: interesting new housing (the Cork Factory), emerging and established tree-lined river paths, the serene river itself, the bridges and skyline, hidden water features (the Convention center) and ending with wonderful coffee and pastries at a Pittsburgh institution complete with men with Italian accents.All of this on a cool Fall morning - what could be better?!