Choosing the left fork on the other side of the stream, I begin a two-mile-plus climb via switchbacks through a densely wooded mini-valley on the mountain side, broken up by a couple short, level straightaways.
Close to five miles in, it's fair to say I'm warmed up for the return to civilization as I emerge from the woods. I hit a good rhythm on the rolling, winding trot down an abandoned ridge road with spectacular views of the city of Oaxaca and it's three surrounding mountain valleys. I'm feeling good today, so I can squeeze up the pace over the last couple miles through the cobble stone streets of San Felipe del Agua, a neighborhood just north of Oaxaca Centro.
Drawing by Steve Lafler
Favorite running loops might have bucolic or even poetic names. Or they might simply be named for the runner that laid them out.
Derderian's Loop was a favorite romp through the Western Massachusetts woods in my college days, running for UMass and training in the "Pioneer Valley", part of the Connecticut River watershed. The ten-mile-plus loop revealed it's charms with an explosion of fall color in October, a thick blanket of snow in the winter and a second explosion, this one of mud, in March. It was named for one of my predecessors on the UMass distance squad, one Tom Derderian, who went on to record a 2:19 performance in the 1975 running of the Boston Marathon.
More often, running loops are descriptors of the attributes of the course itself. Again at UMass, we had Lower Ridge, Middle Ridge, and Upper Ridge--the egress and exit to all three loops was the same; you could pick an 8, 11 or 13 mile version. I will mention, the 13 mile Upper Ridge course was rarely run the same way twice; it might just as well turn into a 16 mile run, or indeed you might find yourself up on the ridge, 9 miles in, running out of trail. Blair Witch, meet the UMass cross country squad!
This brings us back to the loop I've run twice in the past three days, "The Meatgrinder", a stretch of running/biking/hiking trail on the south slope of the mountain range just north of the Oaxaca city center, above the San Felipe Del Agua neighborhood.
The Meatgrinder isn't a loop in itself, so much as a secondary trail that hooks up with other established running routes, as per the description at the opening of this piece. I was introduced to this loop last June by local ex-pat marathoners Steve and Richard, very fit guys who relish the chance to test their fitness in the rugged hills around Oaxaca. Both of these gentlemen have recorded marathons of under three hours.
Suffice to say, if you can keep a reasonable rhythm running up "The Meatgrinder" which tops out near the 6000 foot mark, you are in pretty darn good shape!
Steve Lafler
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