It is a great course for road runners because there are virtually no roots or major rocks to climb.

The scenery, well…you saw the pictures.

Thanks for the kind review. I have another endurance collection of stories called “The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of My Feet.” And First Marathons, and Becoming an Ironman both inspired me to write RTTW.

I also have really enjoyed some endurance related films. Running on the Sun is one of my all time favorites.

Thanks again,
Neal

Just make sure those BM’s don’t happen at mile 2 in a race or behind a house in your neighborhood.

You had quite the experience. Thanks for the insight.

I have also had a run-in with a wild cat. While I’m not sure the cat print you saw was actually a big cat, I’m sure they exist, and from personal experience, I’d much rather run along the beach than through the woods, that’s for sure!

I had one jump down in front of me while I was loading my friends truck with boxes from a house I was moving out of.

It was late at night, and my house was is situated near some very large boulders, and the top of them are out of normal sight, even when the porch light is on.

At first, I heard a noise in one of the trees that are up there, but I didn’t think anything of it. When I came out the front door with another box, I turned to hear another noise coming from the tree, and this time I caught a faint glimpse of the cat jumping from the tree, to the top boulder, and then down in front of me. The total area he jumped was well over 30 feet.

When he landed, he took the brunt of the fall in one fell swoop, and stayed stationary where he landed, with his shoulders poking up behind his head. He stayed crouched down, and gave me perfect and ample time to loose all the breath I had in my lungs.

For some reason, I quickly scanned the ground for something to throw at him, and saw nothing but pea-gravel, so in a flash, I grabbed a handful and threw it at him while shouting a breathless yell, “Get outta here!”

He flinched and then looked at me as if to say, “What are you doing?” I thought, “CRAP, I’m dead MEAT now!”

Then, slowly he skulked away, still staying crouched down, into the darkness.

The driveway was paved black, so the light from the patio doesn’t reflect well, and in the dark, he disappeared. I then walked backwards from there into my house.

My best friend was inside, laying on the couch, and when I slammed the door, he asked, “What did you say?”

I told him about what had just happened, and he jumped up and said, “Let’s go see him!” I was like, “Uh, no, let’s not and say we did… He’s OUT THERE!”

My friend Scott went outside anyway, and so did I, getting into his truck, rolling windows up as fast as I could. Sure enough, there he was, behind a boulder that lined the driveway.

My advise to you - don’t run through the woods unless you have a whistle. I don’t have to tell you that owning a hand-gun is another useful tool, but you can get out of alot by using anything that makes alot of noise.

Also, tell your local wild-life officials what you saw. They actually will relocate animals or kill a big cat, as they did in my case.

Sometimes relocating a mountain lion means they will die anyway, when they enter the territory of a bear or of another mountain lion.

Either way, you educate the people that need to know and it keeps other people educated about what to do if another case arises.