Normally when we walk starting at Tuttle Park, we head north toward Clintonville and after half an hour we turn around. In fact, several of us decided we really don’t like walking there for long distances because we always turned around after only 30 min. Today we intended to walk 11 miles, so we took a different route heading south toward downtown Columbus.

The Olentangy Trail in this direction is a lot less crowded than sections further north. No massive marathon training groups, fewer bikes and no rude bikers screaming at us.

We followed the Olentangy River past OSU all the way to downtown and the Broad Street bridge. It was great! We ended up walking across the river from the Santa Maria all the way to COSI.

It was nice walking a part of the trail we didn’t know well. It was very scenic and fun walking through campus. The only thing I didn’t like was having to wait for traffic to cross two major roads, and we got a little off track twice. When we ended up on sidewalks it was sometimes confusing to figure out where we should go to stay on the trail.

Regardless, it was a great walk. I’ll definitely walk it again, though I would feel uncomfortable walking a lot of this trail alone.

Hey Larry, thanks for the recommendation!
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Though we had intended to do 11 miles, we did only 10. I had a hot spot on my left foot that ended up turning into a blister. Peggy, who was walking with me had a similar problem. I need new shoes, but this is going to sound lame, I’m having a hard time justifying spending the money right now. Tons of auto repairs, huge vet bill, wedding gifts…. And I have to admit I’m spoiled. Over the last few years, I’m used to getting shoes for free. Now that WALK! has folded, I don’t get those free shoes.

I know, for the health of my feet I really need to get the shoes. I’m hoping I can hang in there just a little longer. In the meantime, I’m wearing shoes that are just a little too stiff, but have great padding and very little mileage on them and make my feet feel great. They just are not good for racewalking.

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