Good Sports

by Budd Glassberg

Reprinted with permission from the Zionsville Times Sentinel on August 9, 2006

How Far is it to the End of the Trail?

Sometimes this column is directed at only a few people. This is one of those times. If you have never trod upon either the Rail-Trail or in Nancy Burton Memorial and Starkey Parks in Zionsville, this would be a good time to turn the page (or hit the back button if you are reading this on the web).

There are many people who walk/run/bike /roller blade and never have a desire to know how far they went. For these people, the act of travel, exercise and scenery is reward enough. For others, including me, the distance traveled often takes on an importance of its own. It is one of the reasons that an odometer is included on cycling computers. When riding my bike or driving my car, I am one of those odometer checkers. The Zionsville Track Club owns a metric wheel that is stored in my garage; one that has measured nearly all of my running routes. When asked how far I’ve run on a given day, saying an hour and a half is not as satisfying as saying ten miles.

Last year members of the Recreation Advisory Committee of the Zionsville Parks Board placed both directional and distance markers on two courses set up in Nancy Burton Memorial and Starkey Parks. Both courses begin at the entrance to Nancy Burton Park above the parking lot off of Starkey Road. The 3-kilometer (1.9-mile) course is marked with red circles on the signs with distances of 1K, 1M, 2K and Finish all marked. The 5-kilometer (3.1 mile) course has green circle markers with distances 1K, 1M, 2K, 3K, 2M, 4K, 3M and Finish all marked. Both courses use arrows for directions on the flexible signs placed throughout the parks. The Parks Board had a large sign made at the Start/Finish line with a map and key included to help keep people informed. The Zionsville Middle School Cross-country teams run their races on the 3K course and practice on both courses. The 5K course is roughly the old Zionsville High School Boys Cross-country team’s course. It is used to run the 4 plus loops at the Zionsville Anti-Mini Marathon run each spring as well as a part of the course for the Squealing Pig race which is run in the fall. While I have no proof nor have I kept statistics on it, I believe I have run the 5K course more than 4,000 times. What’s more, I have never been bored running it.

Several years ago, I measured distances on the Rail-Trail when it extended only from Oak Street to Whitestown Road. The parks placed wooden mileage markers beginning in Nancy Burton Park at the ramp that goes down to Starkey Park. The first marker there is 0.0 M. The markers continue going north at one half mile intervals. The first (0.5M) comes at the entrance to Nancy Burton Park. The next (1.0M) was placed just north of the shelter behind the Zionsville Town Hall. The final one (1.5M) was placed on the trail about one third of the distance between Bloor Lane and Whitestown Road. Recently, I was asked to measure the remaining parts of the Rail-Trail. This week the Parks Board is installing new wooden markers. About 100 meters north of the Whitestown Road tunnel is the 2.0M marker. The next one (2.5M) is just past where the Pleasant View Elementary School connects to the trail and where the Cobblestone Lakes housing development links to the trail from the west. The three-mile marker is next to a dying bush just off the Spring Knoll housing development. The final marker (3.5M) is placed at the end of the trail on the north side of the two metal gates keeping motorized vehicles off the trail and just before hitting 850 East Road.

Most people would not care that the final marker should actually have 3.46M on it for it is 74 meters short of 3.5 miles. For the obsessive/compulsives about mileage, like me, turn right (north) on 850 East and travel to the tree in front of the first house that you come to on your right. You will discover a yellow mark painted on the road. That mark is 3.5 miles.

Over the years that I have run in Zionsville, numerous people have seen me out with the orange metric wheel measuring distances. People have come to ask me how far it is from one place to another. I get e-mails about every two weeks from people asking me about distances. This column is for all of them and any others who want to know. I know it is pretty dry and not for the average reader, but I hope it will serve as a helpful reference to anyone who has distance curiosity.

Budd Glassberg is a resident of Zionsville who is active in the local running community. Visit www.runz.com for reprints of all his columns. You can reach him by email at budd@runz.com.