Every once in a while a thread will appear on LetsRun on the issue of the best place to run in the US. Now putting aside the reality of home and family and job, the usual suspects appear, usually led by Eugene, Oregon. Westchester, though (by which I mean southern Westchester, i.e., south of 287, which is the part with which I am most familiar), never appears. It should.

Today was one reason why. We had over twenty inches of snow on Friday. I’ll grant you that yesterday was more hazardous than I hoped and I suffered some stops-and-starts before I found a stretch of road that was clear and on which I ran up-and-down several times. Word was that Central Park was clear, and I’ve had many reports of folks enjoying that spot.

Today, however, was worlds apart. It’s been warm and so there’s been some melting. Most important, there’s been melting on the roads. So given a broad network of roads of varying amounts of traffic, one pretty much gets free reign once the ice is gone. This morning had me going, in shorts, from Mount Vernon to Bronxville to Tuckahoe to Eastchester to New Rochelle to Eastchester to Mount Vernon. A nice, big 11-mile loop, with a couple of miles added to get the time I wanted. Apart from a tense moment on a busy Wilmot Road (shortly after passing my alma mater, Iona Prep), it was delightful running. (In weather like today’s, I’ll often where a reflective vest even if I wear a white shirt, as I did today, and as a rule I wave thankfully to those who give me plenty of leeway.) I do try to stay off of major roads as much as possible, and the availability of paralleling side roads in southern Westchester makes this pretty easy to do.

Today’s run completed what was a down week given the Bar Exam and the weather. I had three runs on a treadmill, including one at the Waterbury Holiday Inn, and three outside, including yesterday’s adventure. Total for the week: about 39, a third of it today. But that I could get today’s run in outside, priceless.

Addendum, March 1:

I headed out at lunchtime and following JT’s comments about running a certain stretch in Scarsdale I elected to do it. Lo and behold, I saw JT both going and coming. I also saw that most of the sidewalks in Scarsdale were not shoveled. In a huff/snit/fury I set down to write a letter to Scarsdale’s Mayor. She calmly replied that because of the paucity of sidewalks in Scarsdale there is no requirement that homeowners shovel those abutting their properties. Instead, the Village takes care of that, but its been tied up clearing roads and wires and such. It will, I was assured, be taking care of it shortly. I should note that the road we were on (Walworth) is pretty wide and lightly-traveled and so it’s not a problem running in the street itself, with care and attention.

Now I know. Instead of huffing and puffing about it, I can relax.