Davidson College Trails

Time: 89:41
Distance: 13.37 miles
Pace: 6:42
Map

I had a hydration clinic this morning at Run For Your Life University which brought me to the north section of Charlotte. A group of Charlotte Running Club members were running at Fischer Farm just beyond Davidson and then were going to chill at the Hovis condo on Lake Norman. I wasn't going to be able to meet up with the group, but I figured that I could at least get in a run and meet up later.

I parked my ride at what I thought was the condo complex (turned out to be right) and took one last peek at my phone's map. I knew the general direction of Davidson College and was pretty certain there were trails on or near the campus. I stumbled upon the campus around 2 miles and ventured near the track. The athletic facilities looked awesome. The track was situated in a cool stadium, the soccer fields were well groomed, and I'm sure "Steph Curry" basketball court was just as nice. For a small school, Davidson College seems has done a nice job with their ability to share the focus of academics and athletics.

Eventually I asked a guy to point me in the direction of the trails. I was no more than 150 meters away when I asked. There was some sort of sign posted about the trail being closed on Tuesday for varsity practice. As I mentioned before, I had heard about the Davidson trails, but I wasn't sure what to expect. They are awesome.

I'm not sure how good the cross country team is at Davidson College, but there is no excuse for them being bad. The trails were shaded, soft, smooth and hilly. You couldn't ask for a better area to run intervals. I bet the runs there would get a bit boring, but for me I enjoyed the run immensely. I looped around on the course and found about an hour worth of running. I wish there was a water fountain out there because I was pretty tapped running back out through campus. The pace had picked up considerably and I started feeling a smooth rhythm.

Splits:
7:29, 7:05, 6:59, 7:10, 6:57, 6:35, 6:49, 6:39, 6:38, 6:21, 6:21, 6:25, 6:01

If you're a relative, high schooler or colleague it's time for you to stop reading. Thanks and good bye.

Near the end of the run I had Ben Hovis and the Austins honk/yell at me. This meant I was in the right spot for the post-run CRC hang out. When I got to the house I found MB (protecting the identities of those involved) was refueling with coffee and beer. After some time in the lake, a group of BH, JC, JK, BS and MB lounged by the lake, played cornhole and enjoyed some summer brews. I've never really been a lake fan, but today was lots of fun. The food provided by Megan Hovis was great and the company by all the runners couldn't have been better.

Eventually, I had to get home to nap, take a shower and get ready for dinner at Cabo Fish Taco and more socializing at the CRC Fall Marathon Social at Thomas St. Tavern. The night of festivities didn't disappoint. I think CRC brought some of the fittest and best looking Charlotteans to Plaza Midwood for drinks, eats and chats. My only complaint, and I'm not sure how this would be remedied in the future, was that cliques formed a bit. Common abilities in running further showcased their talents by drinking together. There didn't seem to be much intermingling amongst the group across running times. Oh well. It was still fun. I got to chat with a couple of people in the club that I had never met before.

I was out of there around 11:30 which was good because I was scheduled to run with Nick Frank in the morning. Between living the High Life and Caitlin's girl scout shots I needed to be home.