DarkeRunner.com is about my discovery of running and the role it is playing in my journey back to physical and mental health after a brain injury in early 2012. I have gone from being an injured and completely sedentary “desk potato” to having a goal of running every road in Darke County, Ohio - all 2500 miles or so, over the next … [Read More...]
Running Gear
Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap
I know I don't run in the desert, but I do have very fair skin that burns easily. I'm not real fond of sunscreen dripping in my eyes so I figured a decent hat would be the ticket for me. I did a good bit of research before settling on the Outdoor Research Sun Runner hat. A couple of "musts" for me … [Read More...]
SABRE Red Police Strength Pepper Spray for Runners
Sadly, it's come down to this... I get a chunk taken out me me eventually, or I get some pepper spray and carry it religiously. Simply put, there are just way too many aggressive dogs out in the country and all it takes is one big meanie to spoil the fun for everyone! I had some older bear spray … [Read More...]
Ultimate Direction Blaze Hydration Belt
While I know it’s not technically necessary to drink water on anything but my longer runs, there are times when I do like to carry water with me, even on shorter 5-6 mile runs. I’ve not tried a handheld water bottle, but I think that would really annoy me. I really don’t like carrying anything in my … [Read More...]
Daily Runs
Just a Pretty Sunset
I freely admit that running in a place as flat and cornfield-laden as Darke County doesn’t offer a lot of variety in scenery. It does however, offer an occasional nice sunset or sunrise. Here’s one for you, a sunset:
My Worst Run Ever. I Do Mean Ever!
I was recently told this blog is “woefully un-updated”. I feel pretty bad about that (you can still check out my progress on the “Where is DarkeRunner Today?” page) so here’s my most recent, and most awful run ever. Note to self… Don’t try to run 11 miles the day after straining your calf, because you decided to do a full speed sprint without any warm-up whatsoever, with a backpack on, in the dark and fog and rain and cold. It was a miserable run/walk back to the car after 4 miles. I REALLY should have bagged the run at the two mile point when I thought I should have.
Also, there seems to be an issue at the moment with MapMyFitness.com not pulling the map data correctly… so… you may not see a map below. Bummer. I hope that gets sorted out soon.
Edit – Many years later – I’m going through and manually fixing some posts/maps. 🙂
Petey’s Pizza to Hursh Road
Tonight was a slow recovery run of 4.65 miles since my legs have been tired the last couple of days. I parked at Petey’s Pizza (Thanks for allowing me to park there for a bit!) and ran south to Hursh Road, east to 503 and then back north and over to Petey’s.
It was a pretty uneventful night overall… no crazy drivers, no animals surprising me… peaceful and calm. I DID get a huge craving for pizza though as I finished up. Maybe next time I’ll be prepared and place an order when I’m about a mile away.
Oh wait… I DID get to run through some pretty pungent skunk smell. I kind of wondered if he would show himself, but no deal.
The Great Horned Owl of Lightsville
Tonight was a fairly routine run until the last quarter mile and then I had a n unexpected visitor. You can read about him here. I’m glad I still have a face. 🙂
Eidson Woods Preserve Trail – Darke County Parks
If there’s one thing Darke County is seriously lacking in, it’s trails! It’s been fun discovering places I didn’t know about, but sadly there still aren’t that many outdoor recreation opportunities here. To me, Eidson Woods Preserve is one of the most pleasant little gems in the Darke County Parks system. It has a nice, secluded feeling to it and I rarely encounter other people there.
Sometimes I just need to get off of the pavement so I’ll go to Eidson and run a couple laps on the dirt trails there. There are only two trails, which basically consist of a 1-mile loop with a cutoff path somewhere around the mid point which gives you (I’m guessing here) a little over a half mile loop, maybe 2/3 of a mile. The trail intersections are well marked but the trails themselves are not highly traveled so they have a tendency to be indistinct in several sections. After the leaves drop, have fun trying to find the trail in the southern most part.
Eidson woods is just off of Hwy 502 and Palestine-Union City road to the southeast. You’ll find a couple of Geocaches there if you like that kind of thing, along with a couple of big huge trees and also there’s a section of Kraut Creek running through the woods. I’ve seen a handful of deer, loads of little frogs, raccoons, a couple salamanders and all the neat bugs I could ever want. Depending on the time of year you visit, be sure to check for ticks when you’re done!
