Fortunately, Season 4 of The Wire provided more than enough
distraction to make the flight bearable.
As the plane began its descent, the Pilot mentioned something about
fires but I was so wrapped up in episode 3, that his comment didn’t really sink
in.
When the show was over, I focused my attention on the
window. I’ve always loved flying at
night, specifically, seeing the dramatic distinction between urban areas
(lights) and rural areas (no lights).
That’s when I saw it to the north-west.
At first, I thought it was just a bright light at the top of one of the many
mountains that ring San Diego, but the faint halo soon made me realize that I’d
be dealing with fires on this running trip.
So why was I going to run in San Diego? Well, I was a tag-along of sorts. A few friends and their families were heading
down for a short stay before heading to Disneyland and they asked me to join
them.
Honestly, with all the troubles I had been dealing with, I
was extremely uncomfortable with the thought of going and on multiple occasions
I tried to convince myself to bail. The
thing is, I had previously bailed on a trip with these same folks and earned
myself the nickname “Craigy All-Talk” as a result. Getting rid of that label and the guilt that
went along with it was the main reason I followed through this time. The secondary, and more important reason, was
that these are great people and I’d be guaranteed of a good time. Finally, San Diego has A LOT of running
options and is only a few hours from Joshua Tree which would provide me with my
first desert running experience.
Up first though, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve.
The Location
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve is located a short drive
(30mins) north of San Diego and, surprise-surprise, is found immediately beside
the popular golf course that shares the same name. Of significant note, the Reserve is located
on the shore of the Pacific Ocean so if you have a thing for water, then look
no further.
The Trails
If you are preparing for your next ultra and need to put in
a full day of running, you may want to consider other locations. The trail network at Torrey Pines is not
extensive. Stringing together all of the
trails in the Reserve MAY reward you with 5 miles of total effort. This said, you do have other options to
extend your run which I will get to in a bit.
All of the trails at Torrey Pines are extremely hard packed
with thin covering of very granular sand (almost pebbly). You can leave your trail shoes at home. A good pair of road shoes will be more than adequate
to get you down to the beach and back up again.
As a matter of fact, I must have passed 3 or 4 other runners who were
barefoot (I guess that trend isn’t dying afterall ...) and this is probably the
best indication of the lack of “technical-ness” of these trails.
My run started out on the trail heading towards Red
Butte. The trail is relatively flat and
served me well for my warm up. While the
Pacific is clearly in view, it seemed distant and detached and my focus
remained fixed on the big red rock directly in front of me.
Once I reached Red Butte, everything changed. The sounds and smells of the ocean took over
my senses and my adrenaline started to flow.
What’s more, I was finally witness the dramatic geology that makes this
location so remarkable. I was now fully
engaged in this run and was completely excited to make my way down to the edge
of the bluffs.
From Razor Point, I ventured to Yucca Point before doubling
back to join the Beach Trail. The
majority of the vertical loss/gain in the reserve (roughly 350 feet) can be
experienced on the Beach Trail. From Red
Butte, the trail descends quite quickly down to the shore. Instead of hitting up the beach at this
point, I decided to jump on the Broken Hill Trail and make my way to the
Outlook for a moment of reflection and to ponder all that has happened in my
life over the past six months.
Unfortunately, the Broken Hill Outlook was a popular destination
on this particular day with numerous individuals, tripods and DSLRs. Self-reflection would have to wait. No biggie cause at this point, I was simply
enjoying life and was looking forward to a cold beer by the pool and chance to
play with the kids.
However, before heading back to San Diego, I had to hit up
the beach. As I alluded to earlier,
there are options to extend your run at Torrey Pines and, folks, the beach is one
of them. Torrey Pines State Beach isn’t
like the fluffy, sandy beaches of the Caribbean. It’s fairly well packed and doesn’t easily
give way, so the experience is closer to running on trails than to running on
loose sand. If you want to add a few
more miles to your run, it’s a great option especially with the cliffs to your
right, the ocean to your left and Del Mar hiding in the fog in front of you.
Side note - If you’re looking to add even more miles to your
run and don’t mind pounding the pavement, consider parking at the main Beach lot
and running the road up to the trail head.
The grade and length is certainly challenging and appears to be popular
with the local bikers and road runners (both the human and bird variety) alike.
The Summary
At first, I was somewhat put off having to pay $15 to park
at the Reserve. But on second thought, a
little cash goes a long way towards protecting these areas and ensuring that we
can experience them in the future.
I cannot say that Torrey Pines has found its way into my
list of fave trails (not that such a list even exists yet), however, with its
combination of moderate terrain and outstanding scenery it was, without a
doubt, a perfect venue to begin my latest running adventure.
Up next ... 9,000 feet of Mount San Jacinto.
