Salem, Oregon's
Running & Walking Club Site
Home of
Willamette Valley Road Runners (WVRR)
www.WVRoadrunners.org.

East is East
&
West is West….
by Judy Martin

A few days after two weeks on the Big Island, I traveled 5,000 miles and six time zones away to New York City! Here are a few running tips, for your next trip to either fabulous holiday destination.

Wake up at the Dolphin Bay Hotel in Hilo to lilting cardinals and chirping geckos. Stretch (you’ll already be warmed up!) on your lanai lush with orchids and tropical foliage.

Generously apply sunblock. Don sunglasses and jog downhill to the Wailuku River. Pause on the bridge to marvel at the swirling current draining the slopes of Mauna Kea. Turn around to survey sparkling Hilo Bay. Follow the river to Bayfront Beach and run toward Queen Lili’uokalani Gardens and Banyan Drive.

Say aloha to ladies and gentlemen enjoying morning walks. Weave a path between mothers pushing their keikis in strollers.

Need water or a toilet? Visit a big hotel along Banyan Drive. Run back along Hilo Bay or cross Kamehameha Dr. to scope out which bento shop to buy takeout lunch for an afternoon at Volcano National Park. Want a hill workout? Run up Waianuenue Ave to magnificent Rainbow Falls. Ah, life on the Big Island is ono!

In Kailua-Kona on the island’s west side, get up before the sun rises over Mauna Loa. Running from hotels and condos near Ali’i Drive is convenient. Use the designated (very popular) running/biking lane with official mile and ½ mile markers. Revel in the dazzling aquamarine ocean scenery. Note location of toilets and water faucets in parks along the way. Venture down frequent public access paths to appreciate the skills of early morning surfers.

And on to NYC…!

From the Salisbury Hotel, jog on sidewalks past bagel and newsstands to Central Park a couple of blocks away. Pause at cafes to read menus for later meal possibilities! Join the steady stream of New Yorkers circumnavigating Central Park (6.2 mi.). Try to remember toilet locations described on this handy website: www.centralparknyc.org

Bask in the shade of stately American elms; view countless sculptures; linger at John and Yoko’s Strawberry Fields; admire boaters in The Lake; meander through Upper West Side streets. Imagine what it would feel like to be part of the neighborhood where thousands of families enjoy this splendid urban oasis.