Any avid runner knows the joys of a road without cars.
Though you only need about four feet of personal space, it’s a wonderful
feeling to have an open road before you and no metal beasts whizzing by with seemingly
total disregard for your safety. It’s the difference between feeling like you have
the whole world to yourself and feeling like you’re being stalked by a thousand
huge steel cats who quickly lose interest when they realize how little fun it
is to catch you.
Even better than an empty road is a brand-new road that hasn’t
been opened yet. The MacArthur Extension is a perfect example. I’ve run it
twice this week, and though I’ll be excited to use it when it finally opens
April 30, I’ll be disappointed when it becomes well-traveled by cars and likely too
dangerous to run. I ran it Monday before dusk, when a few workers were still
hanging about, apparently to time the stop lights. They gave a friendly nod and
wave when I passed, so I assume they didn’t mind my presence, along with the
handful of cyclists and a walker or two. My roommate Kevin and I ran it again
last night, just after dusk, and it had an eerily beautiful quality that you
only find by observing vast developed spaces of concrete and steel completely
devoid of human life. It evokes thoughts of a post-apocalyptic world or a
zombie film.
From the intersection of South MacArthur Boulevard and West North
Street to the top of the overpass deck is just over 1.5 miles, give or take a tenth. Doing that distance back and forth should give you a
pretty decent 5K run. (That’s according to my wrist pedometer, which may be
slightly off.) It is completely flat for most of the way, until you reach the
overpass bridge, where you’ll find a long and steady incline of perhaps two
percent. (That’s just a wild guess. It may be way off.) If you’re running only
the length of the extension, the hill shouldn’t be a concern at all. When I’ve
run it, I’ve already done about 2.25 miles just to arrive at the start, and
even after tacking on the extension, it wasn’t too awfully challenging. Anyone
who knows the Lincoln
half marathon route will be relieved to know the overpass isn’t even remotely
as steep as any of the big hills on that route.
It should go without saying, but in case you decide to run
the extension, don’t touch any equipment left at the site, NEVER throw anything
off of the overpass on to the highway, and please respect the environment by
not littering. We as runners have a duty to represent our ilk in a positive way,
and we have a special connection with the environment because of our proximity
to it, so let’s be sure and honor those obligations. Also, be sure and give a
friendly wave to your fellow runners, cyclists and walkers. This world could
use a little more cordiality.
Hope to see some of you out there!
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2010.
