I went to our local park for my run today.  It had just rained, so I was hoping it was going to be relatively quiet, so I could run alone and be socially distant.  What I forgot was, the Pittsburgh Marathon was originally scheduled for today.  I got to the park and it was crowded with runners doing their ‘virtual’ race and also lost of people cheering them on. I mean really crowded.

As I started my run, the lyrics from a popular song by my favorite band, Iron Maiden, came to mind … “Run To The Hills, Run For Your Lives”.  It was so appropriate, so I chose the hilliest route I knew for my run.  Once on the hills, I never saw another runner.

Apart from reducing the risk of catching the Covid-19 virus, running hills is also really good for you.  For me this year, running hills is going to be especially important, because I am planning to do Ironman Chattanooga.  For those of you unfamiliar with the course in Chattanooga, there are lots of demanding hills on the marathon course.  The course is two loops and the back half of each loop is very hilly.  That’s right, just when you hit the hardest part of the marathon, at miles 20-21, you are faced with about a mile and half of uphill running.

I’ll be running the route I ran today, a lot this summer.  The main hill on the route, is very close to the main hill in Chattanooga, in terms of length and gradient.  It’s going to be good practice.  Today however, I ran it it to stay safe  … I definitely ran to the hills, and maybe, it did save my life…