Run 52: Walnut Hills

At the beginning of our Walnut Hills run I decided that instead of following our usual routine of launching right into the run, we should try a little warm-up. We opted for skipping in the middle of the street.

Once we were all warmed up, we headed straight up a hilly path to Eden Park's Presidential Grove.

Presidential Grove got its start in 1882 when an oak was planted to honor George Washington.

Here’s a shot of Kayla posing with that very oak: (she and George share a birthday):  

I posed with Ronald Reagan’s Sycamore (me and Ronnie share a love of mac and cheese):

The only thing that I would change about the Presidential Grove is its size. I wish there was more to explore. The land that is developed is a great getaway from the city below.

Heading down from the Grove, we got some great views of Krohn Conservatory:

I’ve probably run by this place over 1,000 times, yet, I'm sorry to say I’ve never set foot inside. Apparently, Kayla hasn’t either. That trend didn't change on this run, as we looped around past the front entrance.

The trek from downtown through Eden Park is a staple for any Cincinnati runner. Especially a runner who is looking to take on the Flying Pig marathon. The Pig--notably, unfortunately, mercilessly, uncompromisingly--takes runners up a steady incline from downtown.

On our trip around the overlook we stopped to take a few scenic shots, which, even on a cloudy day, really show off Cincinnati’s tremendous beauty. Where else can you get a view like that?

We also came across this statue of Lupa Romana (The Wolf of Rome), who was credited with nursing the founders of Rome (Romulus and Remus) to good health.

With the great views behind us, we left the overlook and headed to Park Street to explore the Walnut Hills that lies beyond Eden Park.

A large part of the neighborhood is made up of a mix of Victorian homes and more modern condo complexes:

The Verona, just around the corner from McMillan, combines the old and new:

At the corner of Gilbert and Taft, we came to the corner bell tower, which is what remains of the Walnut Hills Presbyterian Church, designed by the prolific Samuel Hannaford.

Further along Gilbert, we came to the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, which is where the author wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Hitting MLK, we did a U-turn and headed back down Gilbert toward downtown. This is the exact course that the Flying Pig Half Marathon follows. That's significant because as we were headed down Gilbert Kayla told me she is planning to run the half this year.

On the descent, we passed the Greenwich, a arts landmark that features some of the best jazz performers around as well as spoken word performers and the occasional independent film.

 

Continuing down Gilbert, I had planned a little detour onto Florence street, which was at one time Cincinnati's Little Italy.

The Florence Avenue that we discovered has transformed over the years into a light industrial district.

Overall, we enjoyed the gradual winding downhill that led us to the border of Walnut Hills and Mt. Auburn. We also passed this piece of Cincinnati history--the Cable House, which is now an office building that once served as a storage site for parts to the cable cars that ran from downtown to Walnut Hills.

Once we reached the bottom of Florence, our run wasn't finished. Just around the corner was Gilbert. Quickly, our gradual downhill stroll transformed into an intense uphill climb (there was good reason for those cable cars). In the midst of this climbing, I managed to snap a "relfie" (running selfie):

At the height of her hypoxia, Kayla broke some big news. She's going to run the Flying Pig half marathon!

Picture her going down this hill in May

About a quarter of the way up Gilbert, we reached our final destination. The historic Gilbert-Sinton district. At one corner of the district is Andy's Mediterranean Grill, where Kayla and I once enjoyed a Valentine's Day dinner complete with belly dancers. 

The rest of the district features Victorian housing with much of it in the form of condos and townhouses. This row of townhouses along Gilbert had us longing to live so close to Downtown.

On our way home, we passed this couple on a tandem bike, which led Kayla to ask what I thought of taking on "Tandem 52" next year.

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After a flashback to our last, and only, tandem bike ride around Mackinac Island over the summer of 2006, I came up with my quick and unequivocal response to Kayla's idea: Absolutely not!

See our whole route here: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=531313

Run 52: Sedamsville

Okay. First, things first, it’s: Sed-ams-ville not Seed-ums-ville. Admittedly, I made this mistake when I first saw this place on the map. Sedamsville is a tiny neighborhood on Cincinnati’s Westside that is famous for its haunted legends. It’s also notable for being the birthplace of one Peter Edward Rose. 

 

Revealing what she’s most interested in Kayla’s route took us by the Haunted Rectory, but we never made it by Pete’s birthplace. She explained that the rectory had been featured on TLC's Ghost Adventures show, which she must have caught in between Octo-Mom, The Elephant Mom, and The Goriest ER Surgeries Ever Recorded.

Building upon the haunted theme, our special-guest-runner (3rd time!), Emily Lee suggested that we dress up for our run. Emily showed up with a Hello-Kitty t-shirt, explaining that she was a middle-schooler.

As for Kayla, she pulled out a long-sleeved t-shirt that said “Sedamsville Make a Difference Day.” Her costume? Make a Difference Day volunteer.

Having just watched Run For Your Life, a documentary about the late New York City Marathon Director, Fred Lebow, I went for his look minus the tiny cap. What can I say? Nailed it.

After perusing through some Google Image searches, I decided that Kayla and I could have been Grete Waitz and Fred Lebow.

Once we were done comparing costumes , we started to explore Sedamsville. As we made our way through the neighborhood, Kayla reminded us that she was something of a Sedamsville expert as one of her first duties as a community organizer at her previous job was to canvas the streets of Sedamsville to get resident input on a business that was considering a new location along River Road.

 

The building stock in Sedamsville is really interesting, as it echoes the Italianate feel of nearby Lower Price Hills while maintaining its individual feeling.  The vista has the feel of a West Virigina mining town:

Adding to the small town feel were a few small businesses at the end of the residential blocks. These are the kind of shops that make me want to drive across town to buy a light bulb.

From the  neighborhood we made our way into Boldface Park, which sits on River Road. The first thing we noticed at Boldface was the very well done pavilion that overlooked the park. This ornate structure inspired an extensive photo expose.

 

Five hours later, we headed down River Road, which lived up to its name: check out this view!

Recently, there has been talk that there could soon be a river trail beginning from Lower Price Hill and continuing through the existing parks along the way all the way to Sayler Park.  

As we headed down River Road, I noticed that in the distance there was a man standing at the edge of the concrete steps in front of his house.  I wondered what he was doing and then noticed that he had several bottles of water in hand and was waving for us to stop.

Handing over a bottle to each of us, this Sedamsville resident wanted to know where we had been running.  A runner himself, he suggested of a loop that we might check out at  some point  in the future. He explained that if you ran along the riverfront, you could make a 12 mile loop out to Anderson Ferry and back along River Road. I filed this suggestion away for some weekend when the monotony of the same old loops becomes drives me to try something different.

For me this simple act, was an illustration of how running requires you to depend on others--even total strangers. With the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, just a week away this truth was especially poignant , as I couldn’t have trained the way I did without Kayla. From her commitment to nutrition, which has kept me healthier this year, to her matter-of-fact assessment of my fitness “well you run over 20 miles every weekend, why would you be nervous about doing it next weekend?” Without her I might be wondering what I could have achieved instead of setting out to achieve it.

So what does this have to do with Sedamsville? Everything. When we started Run 52, it was because we knew that running and community go together. And in neighborhood after neighborhood we have been reminded of this fact, and Sedamsville was no different.

 

See our whole route here: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=530161