Whether I am driving around town or sitting on my porch for coffee, I see a number of people walking their dogs or runners of various speeds jogging along the sidewalks and streets. It is good to see healthy people staying in good physical condition while at the same time keeping their dogs fit. It reminded me of a special group that I was part of. The group was long distance runners. All of the members could run between 15 to 20 miles. What made the group so special was on weekends we would gather at some location and go for a long run. Conversation was always welcome, and any person that wanted to join us was greeted with a “glad you can join us today.” There are some runners and walkers that have a route that they follow every day. Other runners have several routes that they follow for some variety. Our long distance group was more of the variety type.
Our favorite run was the Freeman Ranch road to Wimberley. This was before the rerouting of the Freeman Ranch Road. It was roughly a 13-mile distance over a mostly dirt road and crossed the river down at the bottom of the “switchbacks”. The best part at the end of the run was a visit to Cypress Creek Café and having a big cinnamon roll for a reward. The number of running stories that were told during the run never seemed to end.
And for a challenge, we did several runs from another town. One we did regularly was drive over to Lockhart and then run back to San Marcos for breakfast at a local restaurant. The logistics were somewhat of a problem as either getting the group to Lockhart or having one of the group leave their car in San Marcos so we could drive the group back to Lockhart to pick up their cars. We usually made a stop in Martindale for a drink at the local store or gas station. You have to remember this was a long time ago before traffic and subdivisions were increased.
