East End Runners

So many decisions could have been bad!

Sunday, June 07, 2009

June 14 Run: Teri's house for a book exchange

Teri Malmstrom is hosting a combined run and book exchange (we exchange books after the run :-) this coming Sunday which also happens to be Flag day. Bring books you are ready to retire and find others to read. Teri kindly offered her porch, if people want to drop books off the night before and not carry them while running to the run.

Teri lives on the Severn Street in the 1400 block of Severn St - the end closer to Wilkins on the right hand side as you face away from Wilkins. The house is trimmed in pink and has a lot of flowers on the porch. I confess she gave me her house number earlier today but I am uncertain I am remembering the final two digits correctly - I am sure she will send out the correct address sometime this week.

Many people ran from the Coffee Tree to the Hot Metal bridge this morning for I admit, one of my favorite runs along the Monongahela River past UPMC Sports Medicine toward Sand Castle. It is a flat out and back course and right now a screen of trees obscures the river, but the sound of the birds, the glimpses of the River and the forested hills on the other side give it a little bit of a rural feel - a pleasant break from our city streets.

We saw a tow boat and its barges on the river and there was some discussion about if it was a big tow or not: it was 3 barges wide and two long. My husband, former barge hand, says that this is the maximum size for the Mon where the lock chambers are 600ft. On the Ohio, where lock chambers are 1200 fit, the tow can be 5 barges long. On the Mississippi, were there are no locks the tow can be 10 - 12 barges long - but never more than 3 across.

Practically everyone came back to the Coffee Tree and consequently took over the front part. The new windows were open making for a very pleasant indoor/outdoor experience.

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