TITLE: Running on the Road: Vancouver, British Columbia
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: October 31, 2004  4:38 PM
DESC: Vancouver is a great place for a conference.  It is also a great place to run!
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BODY:
(The third stop in the Running on the Road series.
The first two were
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2004-09.html#e2004-09-16T07_43_33.htm">
   Allerton Park, Illinois</A>,
and
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2004-10.html#e2004-10-11T12_12_51.htm">
   Muncie, Indiana</A>.)

<IMG SRC="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/running/vancouver/aerial-view.jpg"
     WIDTH="200"
     ALIGN="right">

As we chatted before his address to the OOPSLA Educators Symposium
last week, Alan Kay said "Canadians really know how to do big
cities."  He's certainly right about Vancouver.  It is a great
place for a conference.

Do you see the little sail-like structures in the middle of
the picture at the right?  The tall building just to their
left is the Pan Pacific hotel, which is where I stayed on
my last two visits to British Columbia.  It's a luxury hotel,
more expensive than my taste for paying but just right for
my taste for enjoying life.

Now, look to green patch near the middle of the photo.
That is Stanley Park, a gem in the crown of urban parks.
Among its many charms is a 10km seaside trail for running
and biking, along with numerous roads and paths that
criss-cross the wooded acres.  It's the best place to run
in the so-called north mainland of Vancouver.

<I>Stanley Park</I>

The 10km seaside trail is a wonderful run, flat and scenic.
You'll run by and under a couple of small lighthouses that
alert the bays many vessels to steer clear of the peninsula.
You'll run past a couple of commemorative statues and even
a children's park.

Add in the 1.25-mile jog from the Pan Pacific area to make
a nice 8.5 miler.  In previous trips, I've thrown in a second
loop to make a 15-miler.  Run the trails up to
<A HREF="http://www.prospectpoint.ca/">
   Prospect Point</A>,
far and away the highest point in Vancouver, to add some
challenging hillwork to your workout.  Some of those trails
seem nearly vertical...  Mix in some minutes running on the
interior streets and trails of the park to craft a variety
of runs up to the distance of your choice.

On my
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2004-10.html#e2004-10-22T16_23_37.htm">
   most recent trip</A>,
I continued my recovery from the
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2004-10.html#e2004-10-17T15_23_52.htm">
   Des Moines Marathon</A>
with three of the simple 8.5-milers, in 72, 70, and 78 minutes,
respectively.  They were my longest runs since the race, and
that middle one was my fastest, too.

<I>False Creek</I>

False Creek is an inlet from the bay to the west of Vancouver,
separating the north mainland of the convention center and Pan
Pacific Hotel from the south mainland of commerce and residence.
There is a an 8km loop around False Creek from the Burrard Street
Bridge on the west around the inlet and back.  I ran south down
Burrard Street, which terminates less than a block west of the
Pan Pacific, about one mile to the Burrard Street Bridge, to
connect with the shore trail around False Creek.  That all-urban
connection is just about a mile long, with a few small hills
making it interesting.

<IMG SRC="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/running/vancouver/night-sky.jpg"
     WIDTH="200"
     ALIGN="left">

The photo to the left shows you what early morning runs through
the city look like.  You can even see this panaorama from the
southeast corner of the False Creek loop.

I didn't know how to get straight on the loop after crossing
to the south side of the bridge, so I ended up running a little
bit more than planned around a Molson brewery and through some
seaside businesses.  Eventually I found the paved seawalk and
began my big lap.

As I
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2004-10.html#e2004-10-26T11_00_21.htm">
   wrote earlier</A>,
this coastline run is a mix of urban park, pretty modern
buildings, and occasional industrial spaces.  It's not as
undisturbedly scenic as Stanley Park, but it gives you a more
complete sense of what Vancouver is.

<IMG SRC="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog-images/running/vancouver/mountain-view.jpg"
     WIDTH="200"
     ALIGN="right">

With my fumbling around at the beginning of the loop, I ended up
with a nice 72-minute run -- right in line with my other runs this
week.

In my three trips to Vancouver, I've never had a chance to
venture beyond the north mainland.  The mountain view to the
right hint at some of the other sights and activities to be
had in this beautiful city.  In the future, I hope to take in
a cruise on the bay, hike in the mountains, visit other parts
of the region -- and run all over place, of course.
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