Jim Podolske's Favorite Run

This early morning run starts at our cabin in New Hampshire and follows a small gravel road along the lake for an easy one mile warm up. From there it's another mile down the hill to the public landing at Highland Lake. A quick dip of water from the lake starts the "honest" part of the run, which proceeds 3.5 miles back up Route 123 to the parking area for Pitcher Mountain Lookout. The final 3/4 mile is completed at a run until the trail thins out, and is reduced to a "hands on thighs" power walk up the final rocks to the summit. Once you're at the top you can look back down the mountain to the lake you were at earlier, and enjoy the cool breeze and wonderful sunrises.

The second half of the run is, in some respects, tougher than the first in that your quads have done the majority of the work to get you up the mountain, and now must absorb the shock of running back down. The initial descent is tentative, as gravity is pulling you faster than your legs can carry you, but tends to even out once you're back on the road. Once the legs are ready to work again the next several minutes are a combination of effortless downhill running combined with the 50 mile views that are now in front of you. The road takes several switchbacks on the way down, and you never know what you'll encounter. Moose, deer, wild turkeys and skunks have been seen on my early morning trips down the mountain. I guess my labored breathing on the way up is enough scare off any grazing wildlife.

On the way back down you run past the road that returns to the cabin, which at this point is a tempting shortcut. The official "Lake to Lookout" course however, is such that you must first go further down the hill to the landing to again dip some of the lake water. This time the landing is a very tempting body of water that works well as a swimming beach in the summer. In winter, the obsessive/compulsive behavior is noted by a quick tap on the ice to complete the loop.

The remaining miles from the landing to the cabin are an uphill reminder of the climbing that was done earlier, and serve as the catalyst to consider doing the run again.