Toronto Women’s 416 GOLD Run Challenge—Week Four, Trail Etiquette

The city of Toronto has many trails that weave throughout parks, wooded areas, rivers and lakes, and are home to many flora, fauna and wildlife. We are so lucky to have access to these multi-use trails that seemingly take us out of the city and into a beautiful world of nature.

 

With COVID-19, however more and more people are getting out and enjoying the trails and with this increased popularity comes some challenges.

 

Users of multi-use trails can include walkers, runners, cyclists, tricycles, trailers, strollers, and roller bladers. But there is some confusion on how everyone can use the trails together in an amicably manner.

 

Trail etiquette is mostly about common courtesy and common sense, and because of COVID-19, both are especially important right now for maintaining a positive atmosphere on the trail. Here are some basics of trail etiquette to keep in mind:

 

 

Be Viligent about Social Distancing

Don’t bring your friends and spread yourselves out over the whole trail, leaving nowhere for anyone to safely pass by. I don’t know how many times I would be running by myself only to come across two or three people “socially distancing” themselves across the whole trail, leaving nowhere for me to go. Creating gatherings of people makes it more difficult for other trail users to pass you—especially if you are maintaining two metres of space from the friends you are walking with.

 

Be Courteous.

All trail users, including bicyclists, joggers, walkers, wheelchairs, skateboarders, bladers and skaters, should be respectful of other users regardless of their mode, speed or level of skill. Smile and say hi or give a wave in friendly greeting.

 

Be Predictable.

Travel in a consistent and predictable manner. Always look behind before changing positions on the trail.

 

Share the path.

When in a group or with your pets, use no more than half the trail so as not to block the flow of other users. There is nothing more annoying than trying to pass a group of people that have spread themselves out all over the trail.

 

Keep Right.

Stay as near to the right side of the trail as is safe, except when passing another user.

 

Pass On The Left.

Whether you are walking, running or cycling, when passing others going your direction, pass on their left. Yield to slower and on-coming traffic. Look ahead and back to make sure the lane is clear before you pull out and pass. REMEMBER: KIDS AND PETS CAN BE UNPREDICTABLE.

 

Give Audible Warning BEFORE Passing.

Give a clear signal by using voice, bell or horn before passing. Call out, “passing on your left,” then give the person you are passing time to respond.

 

Keep Dogs on Leash. 

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a dog walker use, “he’s friendly” as an excuse to let their dog off-leash, right before running up to my dog, almost knocking my daughter over in the process and proceeding to terrorize my dog (who is on a leash and therefore cannot get away from said dog who is now jumping all over my dog). Off-leash dogs that approach other people, whether the dog is friendly or not, can disturb the users’ experience and can cause frustration.

 

Off leash dogs can also cause disruption to vegetation and bother wildlife. On my run on Sunday, I encountered a walker who had lost her dog. He had gone into some brush and she couldn’t find it. As I was running further down the trail the dog came out and I took it back to his owner. Not only had this dog disturbed and trampled vegetation, but so had the woman trying to find him.

 

Clean Up After Yourself

Do not leave glass, paper, cans, plastic, or any other debris on or near a trail. If you drop something, please remove it immediately. Since the pandemic, masks discarded all along the trail has become a huge problem. People come to enjoy nature, but then destroy the habitats of many animals by just dropping their garbage on the ground. Use the garbage receptacles throughout the park or take it home with you. Nature is not your garbage can.

 

Clean up after Your Pets

When I ran in the trails on Sunday there was a women walking in the opposite direction with her dog off-leash.  The dog was running all over the place, and then went to the side of the trail to have a poop. I could already tell by the woman’s expression that she wasn`t going to pick up after her dog. Sure enough, when I looked back she just kept on walking. No one likes to take a nice afternoon stroll through the park only to have it ruined by landing in an unsuspecting pile. Picking up after your dog is also a way to keep your dog and others safe. Many canine infections spread through contact with feces and his waste contains pathogens that can end up in rivers and lakes and can contaminate drinking water.

 

Weekly Running Recap         

 

This week I ran 75.23 km for a total of 300.13 km. I have 115.87 km left before I’m finished the challenge.

 

 

I didn’t think it was that cold when I headed out for my run Sunday morning, but as soon as I stepped outside my cheeks and chin stung with the cold and when I breathed in, the air burned my nostrils. I covered my face with my mittens to warm them as I headed toward Taylor Creek where I was going to run on the multi-path trail. Even in the middle of the city of Toronto, when I wander into the ravines, there is beauty everywhere. When I run down here I feel like I’m home—I love being surrounded by trees, feeling enveloped in a large hug from nature and all its beauty. It’s calm and peaceful with none of the stress of dodging traffic or hearing jarring sounds of construction and honking horns. Trails have a way of closing off the rest of the world and all of its chaos. Every day I can run in the trails is a gift.

 

The trail in the winter has a more subtle kind of beauty than the other three season and you have to pause long enough to notice. In the spring there is the beauty of all the plants awakening and budding new life; the summer season is full of bright colors and everything around is flourishing and; the autumn blazes with gold, red, orange and yellow leaves falling from the trees. In the winter there is stillness, sleepiness and it’s a very quiet and peaceful beauty.

 

I started my 30 km journey on Taylor Creek Trail.  A few squirrels darted out to forage for food and birds called out to me from the trees. There were a few other runners and walkers on the trail, but it wasn’t crowded. Most were friendly and returned my greeting. I started slowly and paid close attention to my form and foot strike as I didn’t want to have the same issues I had last week where I had so much pain I was in agony for the last 10 km.

 

Soon I came to the Forks of the Don and took the Lower Don Trail to travel south toward Lakeshore Blvd. There were even fewer people about and sometimes I felt like I had the whole trail to myself. Unfortunately because of the cold, the second time I went to take a sip of my water, the bite valve and straw was completely frozen, preventing me from taking a drink.  Luckily I remembered a trick that I read from ultra-runner Mimi Anderson in her book Beyond Impossible when she ran in the Arctic ultramarathon. She blew back through the straw to push all the fluid back in the bottle so it wouldn’t freeze and clog the straw. I tried it and it worked beautifully for most of the run, although it did leave me breathless. Near the end of the run I mustn’t have done a good job of clearing out the straw and valve because when I went to take a drink the next time it was frozen. Now with 2 straws clogged, I had to stop and undo the flask and drink from the bottle. It was a bit of a pain to stop, but at least I could still drink.

 

I continued along the trail until I reached Lakeshore Blvd at the 15 kilometre mark. I was feeling pretty good for the most part and was enjoying the quiet. I turned around and retraced my steps all the way back to the Forks of the Don. From there I crossed the concrete bowstring bridge to the Charles Sauriol Conservation and followed the trail north through E.T. Seton Park. People were out playing disc golf even in this cold weather. I guess with so many other outdoor activities cancelled, people were looking for any activity to keep themselves entertained. I was getting quite sore again and came to the realization that it might be time to get a new pair of shoes. I’ve run over 600 kilometres on these pair and it’s rare that I can make it past that. When I got home I ordered two new pairs of shoes: one is the Brooks Adrenaline, the same brand that I’m currently wearing and Asics Gel Kayano, a brand I used to run in when I first started running. They have a lot of support and cushioning which might be what I need for the longer runs.

 

I was achy, crampy and sore, but in much better shape than the week prior. I was glad to be home, but also happy that my run was more successful than the previous week in terms of pain.

 

On Monday and Tuesday I ran in the trail once again, getting in my 9 km each day before the snow fell later Tuesday morning. It would have been a beautiful run with all the snow falling, but I had to help Cilla with her school work.

 

On Wednesday I ran on local streets, fighting my way through with snow-covered sidewalks. Some people had shovelled, while others hadn’t, making it a very slow slog.

 

On Thursday I decided to run on treadmill as I just didn’t have the energy to deal with potentially awful terrain. So I put on a really campy episode of Xena and got 10 km in.

 

On Friday I ran outside in -17 c temperatures, but I wasn’t cold as I wore the appropriate amount of layers and I wore my thicker running tights. I only got 8 km in though as I didn’t take into account the extra time it would take to put on said layers.