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Since Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday (typically the day for a lot of long runs) why not take your running honey bunny on a romantic route in LA? What? You don’t believe there are any out there? Think again…

Venice Canals – nice secluded neighborhood, cute parks, gondolas in the water, you can even go for a boat ride after your run to relax!

Fisherman’s Village (Marina Del Rey) super quaint harbor that offers a view of Marina del Rey’s dominant feature as one of the largest man-made small boat harbors in the U.S., with 19 marinas with capacity for 5,300 boats. Not something you see as a feature at other beaches in Southern California. Plenty of bike paths, usually not too crowded.

Catalina Island Trail Running (Catalina/Avalon Loop) – the trailhead is inside the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Gardens where you can view plants native to the Channel Islands. The course is on a wide, smooth dirt road, with views of Avalon and the Los Angeles Basin across the channel.

Griffith Observatory Trail Run – Griffith offers gorgeous views with California oak trees, wild sage, and 53 miles of hiking trails over chaparral covered hills.
Even though some of these trails are restricted to hikers, there are still plenty of paths from which you can choose from.

Malibu Creek State Park – The scenery here combines the “typical” desert chaparral landscape with greenery, streams, and craggy mountains. It is easy to fall in love with mother nature and spend the entire day here. Good for the adventurers out there.

(And Why Can’t You “CONNECT” on Garmin Connect?)

If you’re a relatively new Garmin Forerunner user or have yet to experience the full effect of Garmin Connect (http://connect.garmin.com), this will blow your mind:

Aside from some cool analytics features for pace, time splits, max/min speed and elevation change – you can also find cycling and running routes via other Garmin Connect users.

From the Garmin Connect page click on the “Explore” tab. You will be taken to a search page where you can look up by keyword and location different activities from other Garmin Connect users. Filtering options include: activity, event type, distance and elevation.

It’s a very cool way to know what to expect when running a route (depending on notes + output). For example: I found a user who ran the the trail at Elysian Park – one I’ve been meaning to check out. After clicking on the route I found out that there was a decent elevation gain – and am now able to figure out alternate routes if the distance is not what I’m looking to do (this person ran a 5 mile route).

From the looks of it, you cannot “friend” or “connect” with other Garmin Connect users (ironic). It would be cool to be able to connect with other Garmin users who are running the same routes (especially because you already know their pace). I doubt that Garmin would put much time or money into building out an online community from the possibilities their site presents. It is a really stellar opportunity for a developer to create a mashup app based on a geo-location game. Wishful thinking? Maybe?

View Santa Monica Mtns Trail Heads in a larger map

I’m a trail runner / mountain goat before anything else. If you haven’t tried your hand at some off roading in Los Angeles – you *need* to check out these trails.

View 10 Places To Run In San Francisco (Before Judgment Day) in a larger map

San Francisco is more than just another pretty face among the many in the Golden State. It’s also the home of Rice o’ Roni, the Nike Women’s Marathon and the #1 Placeholder for Runner’s World 25 Best Running Cities in America. That being said, if you ever find yourself in SF make sure you check out these 10 places and make the most of your time there. For reals!

1. Crissy Field
   One of the best places to run in San Francisco. Having wide open fields, you can run along a long and flat dirt path. And – awesome views of the Golden Gate Bridge!
2. The Presidio
   This is San Francisco’s national park covering over 1500 acres. This old military outpost is a great place to go for a nice quiet run.
3. Golden Gate Park
   I love this place! Part of the NWM runs through GG Park. You can make your route as easy or as challenging as you like with a nearby total elevation change nearing 2000ft to below sea level out and backs.
4. Ocean Beach
   This is another great place to run a path along the sand. If you want to come here for your long run, start out at Seal Park and head towards the water.
5. Twin Peaks/Mt. Sutro
   Here you’ll find the best views of the city and a steep b*tch of a climb. Plus, hello, it’s Twin Peaks! I just like the name.
6. San Francisco Bay Trail
   Want a tour of the entire Bay? Try this popular dirt trail on for size. Also a great place to meet other local runners.
   
7. Lyon Street Steps
   These incredibly steep and will crushing staircases are popular among hard core runners and masochists in the know. If you make it to the top of the staircases (close to 300 steps) and back make sure you do a Rocky Stance!
   
8. Embarcadero
   The Embarcadero is the eastern waterfront roadway of the Port of San Francisco.  You will not come up against auto traffic but it does get busy with tourists. Great and easy to get to for runners visiting the city. Views = A+
9. Baker Beach
   Good routes around Baker Beach can go from 2-8mi. Go here and especially check out The Sand Ladder, which is apparently epic. Rumor has it there is some nudity in the area. I’m in!
10. Dipsea Trail*
    Escape from the city and run this breath-taking 7 mi trail which also happens to be the home to the oldest trail race in America (The Dipsea Race)! I’ve been trail running in SF and trust me, it is no joke.

Much love to John Frenette of Hella Sound Running Music , John Hegstrom and the people of DailyMile.com for help compiling this list!

*If you want more amazing trail recommendations in the Bay Area check out The GPS Runner.

View 10 Places To Run In LA (Before You Die) in a larger map

“Walking in LA… Walking in LA… Nobody walks in LA.” – Missing Persons

I always find it odd that Los Angeles isn’t really known as a “running city” by any of the running magazines or popular sites online. Why not?! It’s home to some of the best world class races, great weather and several broken Hollywood dreams. Here’s a list of 10 places in the City of Angels that you absolutely need to run at least once before you die… seriously.

1. The Strand/Venice Canals
   I love Venice… it’s the grungy Hollywood of all the beach towns. Great place to run and people watch at the same time… always lots to see in Venice. (Watch out for bums.)
2. Santa Monica Stairs
   Want to feel like Rocky but get your ass kicked? The Santa Monica Stairs are notorious for making grown men and sorority girls cry. It can get pretty crowded there so try making it between 5-6am.
3. Runyon Canyon Park
   Here you will find A+B list celebrities, great city views (from Downtown to Hollywood) and some killer climbs. Also offers several routes at varying intensities for the weak at heart.
4. Rose Bowl Loop
   The Rose Bowl Loop is a nice short (approximately 3 miles) well kept trail. Also has a tendency to get crowded.
5. Griffith Park Observatory
   The park area is well kept, the trail and fireroads even for the most part and distance heading up towards the Observatory is doable. If you really want to make it a little more challenging go all the way to Dante’s Peak. One word: winded.
6. Manhattan Beach Chip Trail/Sand Dune Park
   This run not only kicks ass – it was voted most likely to kick your ass. A challenging 7 mile chip path with one point ending at the infamous Sand Dunes where sprints there will separate the men from the boys.
7. Sullivan Canyon Preservation
   Love this place! The out and back trail hits a little over 10 miles, so there’s plenty to see. If you want to make your run longer, you can run up any side of the canyon and find yourself along the ridge of the Santa Monica Mountains.
8. Westridge Trail
   At the top of Sullivan Canyon is the Westridge Trail – home to my running. The Fireroad is the most popular place to run, I however, like to take the high road and do the 1500 ft climb.
9. Dockweiler Beach
   Do you want to be left the fnck alone when you run? Then go here. Dockweiler is a ghost town compared to the other LA beaches and is just as nice. An 8+ mile out and back run north will take you to dock at Marina Del Rey – gorgeous!
10. Elysian Park
    If you’re an Eastsider, this is a great place to get your trail running fix. Here you will find hilly paths, trails as well as some cool sites like the as Marion Harlow Garden. You can also choose to make your run longer and head to the LA River Bike Path entrance (watch out for cyclists).