Giving Ottawa-Gatineau
the run-around
Top runners share their favourite routes
BY KATHLEEN WILKER
All you need to get out for a run are shoes, motivation and a route that inspires you to keep on keeping on. You’re in charge of the shoes and the motivation, but we’ve enlisted three local experts to talk about their favourite routes to encourage other runners to find their own best tracks.
An Ottawa communications consultant who started running with her sister-in-law six years ago after her son was born recalls, “We didn’t have proper running strollers when we started.” Bridget Mallon laughs now, assessing how far she’s come. Her current goal is to run a fast five kilometres. “There’s a big push in the running community to continually expand your distance, but I’m more interested in increasing my speed,” explains Mallon, whose route of choice includes hill repeats in the steep residential streets between the
Queensway and the Civic Hospital.
Her advice to other runners? “Don’t be afraid to get lost.” A missed turn
could lead you to your newest favourite route. Gatineau Park is on Angie Cameron’s doorstep. But this nine- time marathon runner trains on both sides of the Ottawa River. “In the early spring I love running up the Parkway in Gatineau Park,” says Cameron, a social sciences teacher and a dragon boat paddler. “Most of the snow is melted on the Parkway, but it’s still closed to cars so you can stay dry and train on solid ground.”
The Parkway opens to traffic by mid-May, which is when Cameron switches to trails throughout Gatineau Park’s woods. “I can go any distance, the scenery is beautiful, running on trails is good for my legs and sometimes I meet wildlife.” Cameron has encountered deer, snakes and even a beaver on her favourite route up to Ridge Road, which she likes because you can warm up on a walk up the hill, and then enjoy the ups and downs. There are no huge ascents, and she takes comfort in
PHOTO CREDIT: NICO_BLUE-ISTOCKPHOTO.COM
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