Camp Chase Trail Preview

In my new neighborhood I live only a quarter mile from the Camp Chase Trail, a multi-use trail in Columbus OH that is part of the larger Ohio to Erie Trail system that runs from Cincinnati to Cleveland. The Camp Chase Trail could take me to downtown Columbus via a connector to the Scioto Trail if I wanted to do that (it's not far, I just don't know the distance or exactly how to make the connection). I finally made it out to check out my segment of the Camp Chase Trail on Sunday afternoon.

No outlet unless you use the trail, which runs at the end of this street near the Westgate neighborhood, where my brother lives

The trail segment near me is new and doesn't have a lot of use just yet. From talking to others, I got the feeling that the trail could be a little unsafe as some of the neighborhoods it runs through are not runner friendly, and there are some homeless people on the trail. I decided to make my first introduction to the trail on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, a time that I suspected to be peak time for runners and cyclists.

Where I started on the trail near Georgesville Rd, looking to the northeast; the Hollywood Casino is to my left (didn't see my finger in the frame with the sun)

First impressions:

  • It's a nice trail, recently paved in asphalt and wider than most multi-use trails I've used in the Washington DC area.
  • It needs some mile markers and directional signage at some of the turn-offs. There was one point where I didn't know which way to go when the trail split; I chose correctly this time. Since the trail is new, maybe these things are to come.
  • While the trail itself was mostly clean, the areas adjacent to it were overrun with litter. The backside of the casino was the worst, and this area is fenced off from the trail, so you'd need to drive way out in the casino parking lot to access it for clean-up.
  • It was quite desolate, at least near me. In the two mile stretch that I walked (from Georgesville Rd to W Broad St), I only saw 5 cyclists, 0 runners, 2 skateboarding teenagers, and a few walkers who were not walking for exercise, but more to get from point A to point B. I was alone most of the time, and with the curves on the trail, with no one in sight. 
  • I did feel slightly uneasy a couple times due to some shady characters I saw on the trail who were definitely not there for physical recreation. And I heard a couple voices in the woods but I couldn't see them. Therefore, even on a bright Sunday afternoon, the trail is a little questionable for a solo female.

The view standing on the railroad bridge over West Broad St looking east; if you squint you just might see some of the Columbus skyline

I very much want to get to know this trail and incorporate it into my runs. Maybe it will be better once it becomes more well-known. Maybe there will be more people out there in the spring and summer. Maybe I will buy some pepper spray just in case. I'm not used to feeling unsafe on a trail. The trails in the DC area are fairly well trafficked and I was almost never completely alone. Or if I was alone, there were nearby houses or businesses, or other populated places to find safety. The Camp Chase trail is different, and I hope traffic picks up because I do most of my training runs alone and would love to use this trail.

The trail runs behind the Hollywood Casino; on my way back I cut through the casino parking lot

My running club is participating in a trail clean-up this Saturday, so it will give me a chance to see more of the trail and maybe learn about the best times and places to run.

Comments

  1. WinedazeFebruary 20, 2017 at 2:56 PM

    Ohio have a 'concealed carry permit' class/license?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandy HugillFebruary 21, 2017 at 5:44 AM

      It doesn't matter because I'm not going to run with a gun.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2019 Hong Kong Marathon Race Report

Image
I registered for the Hong Kong Marathon  on a whim. I was already going to Asia to attend my friend Christine’s wedding in Thailand and then run the Tokyo Marathon the following weekend. My friend Dave posted on Facebook about the Hong Kong Marathon, which was a week before the wedding. I entered the lottery not expecting to be selected, but I was. It was going to be a two-country-marathon adventure.  It’s the year of the pig (or boar) and we got this medallion in our race packet.  I was woefully under-prepared for the Hong Kong Marathon. My training suffered through the winter, but knowing I had a 6-hour time limit for the marathon, I wasn’t terribly worried - until I got sick. At the end of January I caught a severe cold that I’m still not fully over, three weeks later. I was weak, slept little, and worked out zero times in all of February. But the Asia trip was coming anyway, and being a realist, I gave myself permission to DNS (did not start) or DNF (did n...
Read more

2017 Hefei International Marathon Race Report

Image
Most of my regular followers will know that I was selected as part of a team of five to represent Columbus, Ohio at the marathon of our sister city Hefei, China. I blogged about the announcement here and here , and about my team's fundraiser here . On November 8, 2017, we set off to the Far East, arriving in Hefei, China late evening on November 9th. We spent five days in Hefei, after which everyone went separate directions. My travels took me to Bangkok, Thailand, and then back to China to spend time in and around Beijing. But this post is about Hefei and the marathon I ran there. Post marathon with Courtney, Bernard, me, Echo and Lily in back The Hefei International Marathon is a large event, with tens of thousands of participants across all race distances (marathon, half marathon, 5K and 10K). The marathon had the smallest race field of all events, but included some very competitive elite runners. The Lead-Up Through the sister city marathon exchange, our team o...
Read more

2018 Running Recap

Image
I haven't blogged all year. In fact, I didn't even finish my 2017 race reports. What happened? I still ran. In fact, I ran several races, and did meet some of my annual running goals. But I also focused on other areas of my life that needed attention. I dropped the ball on some things, and I missed some of my other running goals. Right now I'm not going to write new running goals, because I'm not ready. I will, however, state one broad goal, and that is this: I will post a running-related story once per month in 2019. So, here's the 2018 recap: My 2018 Goals I will lead the 11:00 pace group for CWRC. CWRC is the Columbus Westside Running Club , which I joined after moving to Columbus, and this goal was about the winter/spring training program leading up to spring races. I started this, but I didn't finish. Very early on it became clear to me that I was not in the game mentally and not prepared to lead others on a weekly basis. A January training run ...
Read more