The V3H.com - Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam

This is a guest post from Mojgan Fay. Aside from waxing poetic about all things chocolate, lemon, and sweet, Mojgan’s passion lies in making ice cream, mixing non-traditional flavours, and baking! Her foodist ambitions have made running, golfing, and yoga a daily necessity. Find her on Twitter at twitter.com/somethinglemon

A recent listen to CBC’s Definitely Not The Opera (DNTO) got me thinking: why do we run?

Some run to release energy, some to become more fit, some are running away from something, while some are running towards something. For some running is a form of art – The Movement Movement, as mentioned by DNTO, runs with art by running in art exhibits!

For me? Well, I figured that beating eggs and whisking cream, while they do make my arms strong, should not count as my only form of exercise. In fact, it’s a little alarming. So I decided to start running with the goal of finishing a 10K race by September. The following is an account of my running adventures in the Tri-Cities area as I try to find the best running routes and build up my stamina towards a 10K race.

First thing: where do I run? Well, thanks to Walk Jog Run we don’t have to be swept away to a magical land in a tornado in order to see the yellow brick road. On Walk Jog Run you can see routes that fellow runners in your neighbourhood have created. Often times useful comments like whether you can also ride your bike on the route, how hill-y it is, and what the mosquito situation is (I got eaten by mosquitoes way too many times as I was trying to find new routes), accompany the route.

Routes are categorized by distance. I wanted to start with an easy 5K run. An obvious route started from Rocky Point Park in Port Moody, went along Murray Street, turned onto Ioco Road and struggled up hill on Ioco and then back to Rocky Point Park. This was a good route but I found myself gasping for air and feeling my legs get heavy as I was running up the hill.

I wanted a somewhat flat route and David Avenue’s long stretch and tree-walled side-walks seemed promising.

Click the picture to get the route map

Oh, but don’t let the slow and steady incline fool you. I really enjoyed having a nice side-walk for my running, and the friendly people that said ‘hello’ and ‘good morning’ to me while passing me by as they were walking their dogs or running. David also provides a nice route for bikers.

Alas, the incline was a bit challenging for me. It didn’t seem like I was running uphill, but I was. So I turned to other runners to help me discover a flat surface and Guildford Way in Coquitlam was the answer. This route starts from Landsdowne Drive along Guildford Way to Pinetree Avenue and ends back at Landsdowne Drive. You can come back through Guildford or just to change the scenery run along Glen (do note that Glen has a bit of construction happening on it and there is a short stretch where the sidewalk is blocked).

Click the picture to get the route map

It was a nice surprise to reach Lafarge Lake half way through this run. To go around Lafarge Lake is 10K and this is a route that I would like to try as I run more.

So Guildford Way helped me become stronger and now I’m ready to run further. Next stop: an easy 10K. And what is easier than running down hill? I decided to start from David Avenue and Noons Creek, go down Pinetree Way, turn right on Guilford Way, finishing the run at Rocky Point.

And I did it! I ran a 10K!

This running experience, aside from helping me become healthier, has been great for meeting other runners in my neighbourhood. Most importantly, it has made my chocolate indulgences guilt-free.

If you are thinking about running and are in search of your yellow brick road, maybe this post will help you with a couple of options for easy routes, hilly routes, and scenic routes. As I’m continuing to run and discover new routes in my community I will write more posts and share these with you. In the meantime, if you try any of these suggestions and see me, say hi.

And, please share. What is your favourite running route?