My first walk with them was their fiftieth: From City Hall to the State House.
Last summer I went on their Cadwalader Park to Stacy Park walk.
During Patriots Week I joined the Ten Crucial Days walk. It snowed!
In March, I attended their South Trenton Redevelopment walk led by Mercer County Executive Dan Benson.
Also in March was the Trenton Architectural Tour around the State House.
More recently I went on their Bordentown walk, and Don and I joined them for Two Bridges, Two States walk on our anniversary.
Talking to Becky I decided to move my travel posts to PillsburyTravel.blogspot.com in order to make it easier to direct friends and strangers to our travels.
Tonight's walk's focus was on cross country running. Though Becky and Tim have not stated this, I suspect it is more interesting for them if they come up with new twists to the walks. They are both insatiably curious about life. They like to bring in local experts to guide the walks.
Coach Jordan was our expert. In addition to other roles, he is one of three cross country coaches at Trenton Central High School. He wants to encourage more people to run and walk in Cadwalader Park. He is on the team of people creating a 5k cross country loop within the 100 acre historic park.
Cadwalader Park is the last great urban park designed by famous American landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmsted in 1888. All three Olmsteds were involved with the design including his stepson John Charles Olmsted and his son Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
As with his other parks (New York City's Central Park being perhaps the most famous), this park was designed with intentionality from the trees chosen, to the paths, to the placement of groves, ponds, meadows, and streams. Walking through the park it is hard to believe it is only 100 acres. It feels much larger.
Towards the end of our tour, Jordan brought out a map showing Olmsted's original intention before funding cuts stopped progress in 1892. There is a clear path where the cross country trail was to be. We learned there are two different styles of cross country courses: European and American.
European cross country came about first. It was started in the United Kingdom in the late 1800s, about the time the park was being built. It is more challenging, highly technical, a point to point course on trails using natural sight lines.
American style, by contrast, is faster, more open, and less technical. They rely on longer loops looking more like a track. It came about post World War II, I wonder if the soldiers learned about it during the war and brought it to the United States adding their own twists.
There should be a 2:1 ratio of uphills to downhills. Ouch! They are designed to be taxing even for the most experienced runners, but also fun! Jordan described it as a "roller coaster" style.
Cross country differs from track running in that cross country takes place on softer surfaces, such as grass, instead of pavement. The hills are a big difference, too.
Cadwalader Park is embracing this sport. From 1920-1999 they used to host races. These picked up again in 2024. The city has been filling in gaping holes and trying to make the course more runner-friendly. For races they use washable paint to paint arrow, and bring in flags identifying straight (blue), left turn (red), or right turn (yellow). There are hopes of adding permanent markings so others see the course. To me it just looks like mowed grass.
The city is sponsoring fun runs, walks, and runs every Wednesday in July and August. They want to build up a community of people who will use it and care for it. In addition to the cross country loop, there is a paved walking look, walking along the D&R Canal, and plenty of parking.
I slacked off on taking pictures.
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