Fall Running

I love autumn! I enjoy the fall colors and the way the air turns crisp in a way that reminds me I am alive, and oh yeah, where is my hot chocolate? (I think we had a very mild and short summer in Reno this year which makes me think we may have a cold snowy winter.) And I love running in the cooler temperatures- it keeps me from over-heating going up the steeper hills. Last week on Sunday Gretchen invited me to come up and run with her by Donner Lake.

It was beautiful, and the sun was shining and the sky was clear. We ran at an easy pace, and hiked up the steepest hills, about 6 miles total. I wish I had run with my camera to capture some of the magnificent views. After a little break and a stretch at the car, Gretchen headed home for some breakfast, and I grabbed my phone and headed back up the trail to take just a few pictures. I ended up enjoying the loamy path so much I ran another 4 or so miles! Here are a few of the pictures I took (although they aren't as nice a quality as my regular camera would have taken):

The Bridge~

A lovely little stretch of trail next to the stream~

Glittering brilliance~

A little hidden path to Donner Lake~

The LAKE! Man this is a cold one!


On Friday I also was re-introduced to a trail I hadn't run in a couple years, plus some new pieces that I hadn't run before up Evan's Creek Trail. It was another beautiful morning, and just the perfect temperature for another easy run. Here is a photo of downtown Reno from the upper part of trail:

And another of me haulin' back down the hill~

Thanks Turi and Gretchen for introducing me to some of your favorite regular running trails!