Back home, I found nothing more cathartic than an outdoor run by myself. The solitude, the endorphins, my lungs brimming with that fresh air — all of this brought an unwavering peace, one that could neutralize any school or personal stress. Runs were obviously important to my overall health, but they were also equally as invaluable to my academic performance as studying or doing my class readings.
For my first couple of months at Yale, I was on the hunt for running routes I could eventually do by myself. I practiced with the Yale Running Club on various routes around the city for a couple of weeks until my schedule got too busy. I’d go on walks with friends on the Canal Trail to evaluate how far in either direction it extends. Crucially, I walked to East Rock at 5:30 AM one morning to watch the sunrise with friends.
This was the trail.
A run from Old Campus along Orange Street and to the East Rock summit if you take the wrap-around road instead of the stairs is roughly 8 miles. You’ll get almost 400 feet of elevation gain. Physically, it’s wonderfully challenging.
But the scenery is even better. You’ll run past coffee shops and book shops in New Haven’s East Rock neighborhood. And once you get to the park, you’ll catch breathtaking views of the Connecticut countryside and an aerial view of downtown New Haven once you reach the summit. This is a run you can do over and over again and never get bored because there is too much to see and not enough time to process it all. A new light refraction, different cloud arrangement, slight shift in direction of the breeze — anything can render the views fundamentally unique and novel every time.
Get running!
