OnFootBlog.com

I’m going to stop posting on here for a long while. Possibly forever.

When I first started this site, my employer was the Annapolis Capital, a wonderful paper that (at the time) had no running or transportation blogs. Now, however, I work for the Baltimore Sun, which within the last year has launched both a wonderful transportation blog and, more recently, a very nice running section. Since these vastly outdo my blog in terms of quality and quantity, I’m happy to say that it’s now quite redundant.

That said, I’d still love to see you at a Friday meetup, as those will continue.

View Running meetup spot in a larger map

This was a good suggestion. Thanks to Richard for the comment.

Now I just need to manage to show up. I’ve missed it the last two weeks.

The team, led by TND Planning Group, will release its plan for area around the proposed red line stop on Monday at the Southeast Anchor Library, according to the Baltimore Sun. The Highlandtown area is located between Patterson Park and  Greektown. The most popular red line proposal involves light rail running from Woodlawn to the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus.

While this plug is a bit last-minute, it’s for a really intriguing event: The Baltimore Hiking meetup group is hosting a cemetery “photo walk” around eastern Baltimore on Saturday. There are some really gorgeous grounds in that area, so it should be a rewarding experience. While I won’t be able to make it, I’m looking forward to seeing the pictures that result.

Along with the usual onfootblog Baltimore Friday running groups, there’s something special happening tomorrow in the city.

Check out this site for more information on biking to work in Baltimore for bike-to-work day 2009.

For people who live in the Hampden, Station North, Roland Park or Druid Hill areas and work somewhere near downtown, it’s pretty easy.  The Jones Falls Trail and an abundance of bike lanes (plus some shared, hashed bike routes) get rid of a lot of the hassle. Other areas of the city can be spotty, though I know that the Pigtown/Carroll Park/Gwynns Falls Trail corridor is also developing nicely for bikes.

As usual, dress safely and don’t over-exert. Good luck!

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One more note: This is the first yearly iteration of bike-to-work day for which all MTA buses will have bike racks.

Here are some choices for this week:

What I’ll be doing: Nothing too active. I did something stupid this week, and now my foot is recovering.

Other options: The Baltimore Bicycling Club is holding rides for four different ability levels on Saturday, with another four on Sunday. It looks from the site like the Saturday session might be the more beginner-friendly of the two. In addition, there’s a slew of footraces and walks from 5K to 30K in length.

In the future: Another dozen, including the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile & 5K.

As always, you can see a full list of upcoming road races, transit events, training rides, walks, and runs via the on-foot calendar of events.

Here are some choices for this week:

What I’ll be doing: Too early to say yet, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist a run that promises pi. Mmm … pi*.

Other options: There are at least five 5K races in the area this weekend, which means we must be getting into spring. Those include the KELLY Shamrock 5K here in Baltimore. I’m sure a lot of people will be making a day of it by swerving their way in and out of Fell’s Point bars afterward.

In the future: National marathon? Yeah, we have one of those.

As always, you can see a full list of upcoming road races, transit events, training rides, walks, and runs via the on-foot calendar of events. Quick reminder: We really do have bike events on our calendar as well, despite the relative lack of them in recent weeks. I encourage you to e-mail me any upcoming events that I may have missed. We’ll usually be happy to link to them.

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*I know I’m probably the 8,000th person to make that joke this year. I don’t regret it in the slightest. The world can always use more middle school math puns.

A quick housekeeping note: I’m slightly tweaking the layout of this week’s options. There’s no shortage of stuff to do this week: I just realized that in certain future weeks, I might not be so lucky, so I should probably shorten things up a bit and leave people to their own devices at bit more.

That said, here are some choices for this week:

What I’ll be doing: Probably just training this week. Perhaps by myself, or maybe with the Panera running group if I’m able to make it down to Glen Burnie.

Other options: It’s getting late enough in the year that you could theoretically run a marathon and not be categorized under “completely insane.” If you run the Seneca Creek race, however, be warned: It’s point-to-point, so you’ll want to park near the finish line and take a bus. More events on this weekend’s calendar include a few 5Ks, a 3-miler (just shy of 5K) and a 12K.

In the future: Next week, a 5K track run in far yonder western Maryland. Other stuff as well.

As always, you can see a full list of upcoming transit events, races, training rides, walks, and runs via the on-foot calendar of events.

Here are some choices for this week:

Nearby: If you’re nuts, but not entirely loopy, there’s a 50K coming up. Reiterating: That’s 50 kilometers, not 50 miles. It’s a still a lot farther than I prefer to go without the assistance of wheels.

Farther out: There are two predicted-time races on my calendar, both in other states. I tend to prefer short, tough-to-predict runs,  but to each his (or her) own.

Other options: There’s a 5K in Wheaton and a bunch of other stuff farther away.

What I’ll be doing: Not really sure yet. If I go to something, you’ll recognize the skinny guy wheezing near the rear of the pack. I’m afraid I’ve been exercising even less than I’ve been writing. Which is to say “not much.”

In the future: Another shot at a local marathon if you missed this weekend’s.

As always, you can see a full list of upcoming transit events, races, training rides, walks, and runs via the on-foot calendar of events.

As I write this, I am inflated with the happy bloativity of too much spiced sausage, meaning that any sort of physical activity at all is very unattractive.

That said, I figure I should start planning ahead a bit more for my weekends, now that the season for outdoor activies is getting closer. So here are a few choices:

Nearby: The Howard County Striders are putting on the rrca challenge this Sunday, which at 10 miles should offer a nice chance for marathon and half-marathon runners to blow off some steam.

Farther out: On Saturday, the Frostbite 5-Miler makes its way through Ambler, PA.   It’s a bit of a trip, but handy if you’re out there anyway.

Other options: There are a handful of other events — all running/walking (sorry, no bike stuff) — on my calendar for this weekend. Many of the most interesting appear to be in Virginia, and most of those are links from the Run Washington calendar.

What I’ll be doing: Probably not much. Maybe a training run, plus some walking to and from the grocery store.

In the future: The marathon (and half-marathon) on the old Baltimore and Annapolis Trail is what I’m personally excited about next week, but there’s plenty of other stuff too. E-mail me something!

As always, you can see a full list of upcoming transit events, races, training rides, walks, and runs via the on-foot calendar of events.