Favourite type of run

As striding involves running all sorts of runs depending on the area I was wondering if anyone else has a favourite / least favourite type of run.

My favourite is the “landgrab”: a loop around a large streetless area, usually somewhere a bit rural, yielding few completed streets but good coverage on the lifemap.

My least favourite are gleaning runs: collecting unconnected leftover streets/blocks/nodes in areas that I ran before joining CityStrides (especially annoying if narrow streets and poor gps signal are involved…). Messy, lots of turns and doubling back, low yield.

Curious to hear what other striders enjoy/dislike :grinning:

I actually quite like those ‘gleaning’ runs - I feel that’s when I start to feel more familiar with an area I’ve only run a handful of times, and view it as one of the last times I’ll take in a particular zone if CityStriding alone is what took me there in lieu of some other hook (being scenic, having a good restaurant or other sort of attraction, etc.)

My least favorite run is to an area I previously planned to run but ended up avoiding due to being chased by a dog or it looked real sketchy, involving perceived or actual danger of some sort. Then again, when I’m going back to grab those nodes I tend to run a bit faster and feel more exhilarated/a sense of accomplishment upon having finished them!

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Least favorite is definitely when I need to pick up a lot of cul-de-sacs and other types of dead-end streets.

Next least favorite is when there is a tangle of streets where the most efficient route is very difficult to figure out. (The area around Mile 4 of this activity is an example.)

Favorite is the run that completes a city. :slight_smile:

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My least favorite is the last part of the run as I approach my home going West. I also never liked the last part of the run in Duarte on the bike trail. I was always tired and it seemed like it never stopped.
Another area where it seemed like it never stops is the part of the Long Beach Marathon which is on the beach. Just when you think you are going to turn around, another stretch opens up.

I have always tried to make up different routes for the weekend run when there is no marathon. So I like the new routes, new marathons, new trail runs. etc. One running buddy needs to see the route beforehand and checks it out studiously. Not me. I just show up and marvel at the beauty of the new scenery.

+1 to that!