Author Archives: nicholaskemper

Bishop Garrigan High School Run time: 57:12.5 + 2-minute kick Back to the comfort of a school track. It was just across the road and through the cemetery from the hotel, so… hard to resist. A beautiful Iowa afternoon in a small town that I choose to pronounce “All-gone-a.” There is a serene beauty toContinue reading “Algona, IA”

Run time: 57:10.5 + 2-minute kick This was an ultimate rural run. I ran around the perimeter of a newly-mown corn field, mostly in the corn field itself. Turns out if you stay in the space between the rows (now rows of corn stalk stubble), you can run just fine. There is some harvest debris,Continue reading “New Hampton, IA”

Run Time: 57:08.5 + 2-minute kick Wintertime is coming. Started the run in the daylight, finished it in the dark. I was a little late to the hotel, but the weather was clear, and it seems a little easier to start a run now that I alternate walking with running, especially when the first 10Continue reading “Loves Park, IL”

Run Time: 57:04.5 + 2-minute kick On a blustery walk to dinner with my daughter, her husband, our granddaughter, and my wife, we passed a trail that led toward the river to the north of their house, and Kevin, my son-in-law, suggested that I could take that route on my run and get to LakeContinue reading “Rochester, NY, Part 2”

Run Time: 57:03 + 2-minute kick With no local knowledge, I ran first on neighborhood sidewalks. I left my daughter’s house on Smugglers Lane, headed east on Eaton, then south on St Paul, then east on Pinecrest, and then turned around when my time was halfway done. The homes were old and beautiful. Lawns wereContinue reading “Rochester, NY”

County Ditch 52 Loop Run time: 57:01.5 + 2-minute kick The first run of the Fall for which I felt compelled to don the stocking cap and gloves. Comforting. Yes, body temperature does seems to rise when you run, but I prefer to feel warm before I start the run. Putting on the hoodie andContinue reading “Redwood Falls, MN”

Run Time: 57:00 + 2-minute kick I spent 2 nights in Grand Forks – a rare 2-night hotel stay. It was nice to get up the next morning, eat some breakfast, send some emails, and then grab a few items and a coffee and hit the road. I have become efficient at packing the suitcaseContinue reading “Grand Forks, ND”

Aspen & Prairie Loops, Harmon Park Reserve Running Time: 56:58 + 2-minute kick The closest running trail in All Trails was close enough to my hotel to run to, which is a bonus, because it was not planned. I have stopped trying to map out my runs in addition to my flights and sales routesContinue reading “Inver Grove Heights, MN”

North Surrey Secondary School Run Time: 56:57 + 2-minute kick Surrey is not the garden spot of Canada. At least, I hope it isn’t. There were quite a few homeless people on the main road I took from my last sales visit of the day to the hotel. Also, parts of the town remind meContinue reading “Surrey, BC”

Sertoma International Keith White Sports Complex Running Time: 56:47.5 + 2-minute kick An unplanned bonus run. I made a 3-day trip to Saskatoon for a trade show. I flew into Minot Friday, drove to Saskatoon, attended the trade show on Saturday, stayed in Regina Saturday night, then drove back to Minot Sunday to fly home.Continue reading “Minot, ND”