6 Hot Miles - Rum River Trail

For a long time, I'd see the Rum River Trail was pretty highly rated.  Bonus for the trail head being at a library so I have a place to change after work.  The starts finally aligned tonight for me to give the route a try.  It was definitely not a fast run for me.  Nonetheless, I had a blast.

Construction: Despite consulting several maps more than once, I had a bit of a hiccup to start off with when the trail was literally not there and I found myself running in the tracks of graders and other construction equipment.  Luckily a quick consultation with Google Maps pointed me in the right direction and I was able to find a different way back to my car post run. 

Route: I started at the Rum River Library and headed south into the city of Anoka where the Rum River meets the Mississippi River.  The trail stays pretty close to the bank of the river and it's fantastic.  The trail goes by a bunch of other parks which seem to have bird watching and grass trails.  I didn't have the right shoes tonight, otherwise I would've explored those a bit more.  The trail is decidedly not flat.  I keep telling myself this is a good thing.  It kept me honest about pace and heart rate.

Heat:  It was hot and muggy tonight.  I'm finding that the craziness of our most recent winter has given me new enthusiasm for running in the heat.  There's something exactly no one ever would've predicted.  A fair portion of the trail is in the shade, but not all of it.  The weather was a mix of sun and clouds, and tons of wind.  I was a massive ball of sweat and mosquito bites by the end of the run.

Overall: I really liked this trail, and I'd do it again in a heart beat.  So far with the new job, I'm finding it hard to plan a run after work.  I've really only done it 3 or 4 times successfully.  This trail has some pluses, including a safe place to park and a good place to change into running gear, and I'd really like to do it again.  I've also read it's one of the better plowed paths in the winter (gah!) so it's a year-round possibility.