Run 52: Mt. Lookout

First things first.  Here is the prettiest pooch in Mt. Lookout:

When we left for this run, Zola Budd watched through the patio door as we headed down the driveway without her.  Like on our Linwood run, we started our Mt. Lookout route from home.  We live right on the border of the two neighborhoods, but the Auditor’s website says we live in Mt. Lookout, so that’s what we’re going with.  

Like in many of the neighborhoods we’ve run so far, it’s impossible to run in Mt. Lookout and avoid the hills.  We started by turning up Sheffield and then again up Heekin.  And I was dying already.  My lungs were burning.  My legs were burning.  And my face looked--strangely--flat as a pancake:

 

But it was totally worth it because at the top of Heeken is Ault Park, which is one of the loveliest parks in the city.  I’m going to get all Leslie Knope here, but to live in walking distance of a park like this means everything. 

 

 

 

 

 

We even ventured onto the trail for a short while.

 

Leaving Ault Park, we ran through the neighborhood, which has quiet streets with lots of tutor and craftsman style homes. 

 

The white house on the left is where we lived when we first got married and moved to Cincinnati.  I’ll always remember rolling up with three bad cats and a U-Haul full of clothes from the Buffalo Exchange.  The neighbors must have been thrilled.

When we lived in this house—which backs up to a wooded ravine—a herd of deer would often hang out in our backyard.  When we run in Mt. Lookout we always see deer, including this one, who was actually feeling pretty nonchalant about snacking on this person’s front yard:

And then there is Mt. Lookout Square, which is what attracted us to the neighborhood in the first place.  The square has EVERYTHING you could ask for in a business district: four bars, two pubs, sushi restaurant, Mediterranean restaurant, pizza place, Thai restaurant, Subway, gift shop, four salons, dance studio, vet’s office, coffee shop, interior design store, photography studio, brunch place, bookstore, gelato shop, funeral home, dry cleaner, oil change place, shoe repair, boutique, chiropractor, drug store, realtor’s office, bank, music venue. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and a fully-stocked UDF, which tops Donnie’s list of neighborhood must-haves.  When we moved out of Mt. Lookout for a few years, Donnie would often complain that he missed being able to walk down to the UDF to get a post-run Gatorade. 

Personally, I don’t think it gets much better than some vegetarian cabbage rolls and happy hour:

I don’t know if it’s just me, but sometimes I get an Alpine feel from Mt. Lookout Square.  I think the hills and the hustle and bustle call to mind a thriving ski town during peak season. Or maybe the association just comes from Alpine Avenue, which is the steepest hill we’ve climbed on Run 52.  So steep, I’m embarrassed to say, that I walked the last dozen yards:

We looped around Alpine, down Paxton, and then back through the Square.  The bouncer at Mount Lookout Tavern was otherwise occupied so stood in for him for a few minutes.  When I saw what he was doing, he snorted a little bit like I had no business acting like I could keep the hooligans out of the bar:

Next, we ran past Our Lord Christ the King Church.  I love that Jesus is giving the peace sign.  This statute also always makes me think of the intro scene of Baz Luhrmann’s, Romeo and Juliet, which I swooned over in the eighth grade:

I also saw it fourteen times in the theater, in case you’re wondering how I spent all that money I made scooping ice cream.

So that was the run.  To celebrate the Mt. Lookout leg of Run 52, we returned to the square on Friday night for burgers (cow for Donnie, bean for me!) at Zips, followed by gelato at Buona Terra:

 

I had the tiramisu flavor and Donnie had cookies and cream, but they also had Earl Gray and a white chocolate lavender flavor for those with more sophisticated palates.  Like with many things, we go by this place every day, but it was the Food Hussy’s review that got us to stop in. 

I don’t know how to wrap this up except to say that I love this neighborhood.  I love the park, the hills, the trees, the drive to work along Columbia Parkway.  I love the deer and the gelato.  I love the black bean burger at Zips.  I even love this old cat, who hangs out in the storefront window of the photography studio, and who Zola loves to terrorize:

The running is not bad either.

 

-Kayla

 

Full route with mile markers: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=523295
 

Run 52: Millvale

Mill: A building equipped with machinery for grinding grain into flour.

Vale: A valley, often coursed by a stream.
 

Millvale is a small West Side community, the Millcreek and its industry to the east of the neighborhood and a pretty hill with a forest of trees to the west. 

We started our route by meeting up with Emily at the corner of Beekman and the Hopple Street Viaduct.  This was the third time we drove to a Run 52 in the pouring rain (East End, Hartwell).  Each time, we’ve been lucky that the rain has stopped just as we got out of the car to start the route.  I actually really like running in the rain (it’s like running and swimming at the same time!) but for the sake of my camera phone I was grateful for the drier conditions. Here was our lineup of runners:

The Running Pro:

The Yoga Pro:

The Squirt:

(Maybe it’s just the angle at which a taller person took this photo, or maybe it’s my giant hat, but I appear very short here. Shorter than I actually am. Right?)

Much of the neighborhood is made of up Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority townhouses, but there are also single family homes and businesses along Beekman Avenue.  First, we ran down Beekman past the factories and warehouses that line the Millcreek:

We made a loop through the housing development, with its colorful homes and green lawns. The back row of townhouses backs up to the woods, which must provide a pleasant view.

The townhomes are conveniently adjacent to Ethel M. Taylor Academy and the Millvale Recreation Center.  

The Rec Center, housed in a cool modernist building, has an impressive collection of murals, a big swimming pool, and a patio garden:   

Doesn’t this dog on the chain-link fence art look like our Zola Budd?

 

At the end of our run, we ran back and forth across the Hopple Street Viaduct, which overlooks the Millcreek, its factories, and its busy rail yard:

We also got this shot of one of the hundreds of billboards trying to lure Ohioans to vacation in Northern Michigan.  Here are Donnie and I saying, “Been there, done that, Billboard!”:

For proof, see photo above re: Zola Budd.

Three last points.  First, Millvale is not to be confused with rural Millville, where I sold ice cream out of a window at the tender age of fourteen. The ice cream shop was across the street from a store that sold hard candies and cowboy hats.  Not sure why that detail is relevant or interesting, but there you have it.

Second, it was quite chilly for late July.  Although admittedly, maybe it was not quite cold enough to warrant the windbreakers and sweatshirts we were wearing. 

Most importantly, Millvale marks the half-way point of the Run 52 challenge.  Twenty-six down, twenty-six to go!  

-K.