Attn: Flagpole Willy or any other Columbus, OH runners!

Kamikaze,

As you know I grew up here and so I'm sure my view is a bit biased. Even so, I think I can be objective and point out the bad things.

Here are my points:

1) Housing is no problem. I know some people from Dayton, and they think it is expensive here, but they're from DAYTON. I guess it depends on where it is you're coming from. I cam back here after living in Maryland close to DC, and THAT was expensive as was Palo Alto where I also lived, so for me I think this place is a bargain. Try

www.rent.com

to get an idea of apartment costs.

2) I work with some single people, and it seems that this is NOT a great town for single night life type things. Again, I guess it depends what you compare it to. If you like hockey and arena football and OSU athletics, then there's always that.

3) I do hate that Central Ohio is the cloudiest place in the country - not as much rain as other places, but it is the cloudiest.

4) Some ok places to run here, but nothing great. Olentangy Bike Trail is decent if you don't mind running on pavement. I pick it up behind Thomas Worthingon High School, but there are other entry points. Highbanks Metro Park has some nice shaded dirt trails. Sharon Woods Metro Park has a nice little 3.8 mile loop that's hilly and paved.

5) Lots of places to live really. Since you're not married and don't have kids, probably more places to consider since schools won't be an issue. There are some nice apartments and condos over by the Easton Town Center. A guy I work with lives over there, and he likes it. Upper Arlington and Worthington are more expensive. Stay away from Morse Road - lots of bad stuff going on there. Hilliard is nice. Pickerington is nice but the joke is that that's where the rednecks in town live. Dublin is VERY crowded and I would stay away from there. Westerville has nice areas.

6) Good State Fair here - more interesting for families.

7) Great places to eat here - Columbus has every chain restaurant you can imagine most likely - at last the national ones. The best restaurants are owned by Cameron Mitchell (www.cameronmitchell.com). Max and Erma's was just voted as having the best hamburger in town; can't vouch for that since I don't eat beef.

8) Get your running shoes at one place and one place only - Front Runner on Lane Avenue. Excellent store run by runners.

Let me know if you need any more info.

I just move away from the area after living there for 33 years and running there for 16 of those years. You have Blacklick Metro Park which has a 4 mile limestone loop in Reynoldsburg. A friend of mine does a lot of running at Three Creeks Metro Park which is just south of 70 on 270 which has 9 miles of paved trails. Now here are my favorites if you don't mind driving. In Lithopolis there which is just southeast of 270 on 33 there is a beautiful park with many miles of dirt and limestone trails. Hilly, lots of trees, soft surface and good scenery. There is another a little farther out in the country named Chesnut Ridge. The first one was Slate Run. On Sundays there is a group of faster runners that meet at Clear Creek metro park just south of Lancaster. It is a bit of a hall probably 45 minutes for you, but I always found the trip well worth it. Find somebody to run with when you get there and keep up or wait or you will get lost. They are a freindly bunch, but tend to forget that not everyone knows where they are going. To find these parks do a search on Ohio State Parks and there are maps there. If you are the adventerous type I would suggest that you make a trip to Old Man's Cave and other HockingHills parks for maybe the most beautiful running in the state. I have been aways for 4 months now and I miss the trails of southwest ohio. Lots of places to live it just depends on what your looking for. Flagpoleid a good job in that category. If you decide you want to live out of the Columbus area and drive in like I did then I can help you there. Good Luck!

isn't there supposed to be a new running store soon? running or company. i found the website when i was fooling around online www.columbusrunning.com anyone know about it or when it opens?

Frontrunner, run by runners for runners only. If you aren't a runner at our level, stay the hell away, this includes all gallowalkers and penquins! We cost more because we discriminate more!

I personally relate better to the runners at Second Sole at Stoneridge in Gahanna. The managers were good runners at Ashland University and they give me deals. I have never gotten a deal at Frontrunner. They threw a pizza party for my cross country team for them to come in and buy shoes at a discounted rate. I was wondering would you consider Ian Conner a penguin? I have bought shoes from him once in this store. They hire many of the OSU distance runners. If there was a team race I can guarantee that Second Sole at Stoneridge could put seven runners in from of the Frontrunner top seven. On the other hand the Employees and one of the owners of the Frontrunner have always been quite professional and helpful when I bought shoes there. They just cost more and they don't do the little things that Second Sole does.

I would add to B.F.'s list that on the eastside of Columbus there is a park called Blendon Woods. It has a main trail of approx. 2 miles - but they have added now a cross country trail in the back section that is probably 3.5 - so you can get a 5.5 unrepeatable trail - it is pretty there, very quiet - not heavily used. It would officially in Gahanna suburb.

Old Man's Cave is the most awesome place if you have ever been there - and Clearcreek - nearly as awesome - the trespassing trails are the best...you will have to catch up with us if you want to find all the trails.

FrontRunner is considered the top store in Columbus to buy your running shoes - use to be two guys who started it, but you rarely see them anymore, and it feels a little more like shopping at Walmart. I too have found the Second Sole in Gahanna to be knowledgeable, closer to home, and seem to get you what you want and need.

Both stores are good and both owners are knowledgable and competitive runner types.

You can go to the Horseshoe on Saturday and watch Robert Reynolds assault people. Great !!

I have also found second sole to be a superior store to front runner. The guy who runs the place is really into his customers and does a great job with giving awesome prices to runners...just my thoughts

Broken Dreams wrote:

You can go to the Horseshoe on Saturday and watch Robert Reynolds assault people. Great !!

Actually you can't. He's been drafted by the NFL, and he did that in Wisconsin anyway, not Columbus.

gahanna? westerville? dublin? worthington? hilliard? pickerington? come on man, don't be another one of the columbus suburbanites. the city could be plenty vibrant for singles if they would just decide to actually live in the city for a change. german village, short north, arena district, etc - all great places to live, close to the action, and completely similar in rent prices to the suburbs. plus, there is a big housing drive in development to bring people into downtown.

all that said, all the best places to run are out on the edges of the city, although the central city is by no means a bad place to run (decent tree coverage on generally uncrowded sidewalks

general ripper,

German Village is cool (the original Max and Erma's is there). The short north has some things going for it. Both of those areas are the big GAY areas. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but that needs to be pointed out. Kamikaze might end up there and wonder where all the women are.

As much as I hate to admit it, I just don't see the city getting much better. There is more crime there, and the schools are worse which is why family people like me decide to live in Worthington (actually technically Columbus, so I REALLY AM living in The City, but Worthington school disctrict, and it is way up on the north side, so no one really thinks of the suburb I'm in as part of Columbus).

NBBJ is located on the west side of Columbus. Locations to live that are close to that business would be Grandview, Upper Arlington, and Hilliard. I would add to the mix of Victorian Village, along with German Village to live. The Olentangy bike path and Darby Metro Park would be the closes to run. I agree with Flagpole (who doesn?t) that you need to research crime rates for some of the places inside 270. Some of the suburbs are very similar (ex. Hilliard and Pickerington) so location to work may play a factor. Fleet Feet is always opening in Columbus this year. I work part-time at FrontRunner so it is interesting to read the comments on the differences in stores.

Thanks for all the info everyone. Good suggestions for sure.

Here is a little more info about what I am looking for. I like to be within 15-20 minutes of running places during the week, be it from my aprtment or work. I prefer dirt or gravel trails for at least 50% of my running.

I did notice that the company on the west side, I wrote the wrong this previoulsy.

I like all sorts of entertainment from arts, music , and sports. I would rather like diverse cultural area than the suburbian white picket fences, but do not want to be downtown with no running routes in concrete jungle.

So we will see. Ill keep ya informed, thnanks

cfilrun wrote:

NBBJ is located on the west side of Columbus. Locations to live that are close to that business would be Grandview, Upper Arlington, and Hilliard. I would add to the mix of Victorian Village, along with German Village to live. The Olentangy bike path and Darby Metro Park would be the closes to run. I agree with Flagpole (who doesn?t) that you need to research crime rates for some of the places inside 270. Some of the suburbs are very similar (ex. Hilliard and Pickerington) so location to work may play a factor. Fleet Feet is always opening in Columbus this year. I work part-time at FrontRunner so it is interesting to read the comments on the differences in stores.

cfilrun,

Hey there my FrontRunner brother! I'm in need of shoes and may be seeing you soon.

Flagpole, are you still racing any?

How did you fare in the half marathon you ran recently? Have you kicked the injury troubles?

Flashmile wrote:

Flagpole, are you still racing any?

Did a half marathon in early April and haven't raced since - I was sick with a sinus infection that day and then it was windy with sleet and 33 degrees - not the perfect combination. A very slow time for me was the result.

Might run a 5K on Memorial Day, but I haven't decided yet.

You?

How slow is slow? What kind of time were you aiming for in the half?

I'm trying to get back into running in my 30's and need some inspiration.

Question,

Injury troubles are a thing of the past. I've been running injury free since October.

I will refrain from answering your time question though since it can only bring about all the typical "you suck" type responses. I did finish in the top 25% though which will bring enough "you suck" responses in and of itself. This April half for me though was just a stepping stone to getting better - just a few months before that I was wondering of my achilles injury would ever go away, so to be able to run a HM was a good thing.

Ran a moderate training run of 8 miles right on one hour flat (7:30 pace) just last week, so that's where I am.