• An experimental route •
[1½ MIN READ]
Thaddeus has been running with the group for a bunch of months now and has gotten to know our habits. He thought it worth while to shake them up a little by suggesting a new running route. And we were willing to go with the shaking up for last week’s run.
The Growlers Group Run crew have had one particular go-to route since fall 2019, the Jenkintown Sunset 5K race route (both forward and in reverse). During summers (since 2019), those who’ve joined us have occasionally done Variations of Alverthorpe Park. Beginning in summer 2022, we inaugurated the Murder Hill/Submarine Route. That’s 3 reliable routes. Before 2019, from the time I first started with the group in 2012, we did what’s now called The Legacy Winter Route, almost exclusively.
In summer 2023, Jenkintown Adam (J’Adam) introduced us to a route that he developed called The Backyard Route. Since then, it’s become the basis for a 2nd-half run that we’ll do when we opt to start at Bill’s Best Brewery and touch in at JRC (our otherwise normal starting point).
The Fountain Run starts off the same as The Backyard Route because both send us straight through Jenkintown going west southwest. Once we pass the SEPTA Regional Rail station at the western edge of the borough, we continue into Wyncote to reach Curtis Arboretum, passing the attractive and inviting Robinson Park water fountain, and ending at the arboretum’s own fountain near the southern extent of the property.
The big positives of TFR are a traverse of the very lovely and peaceful Bent Road, the relaxing arboretum property, and those 2 fountains. The negatives include inadequate time in the arboretum, a busy Church Road crossing, and mosquitos.
About those mosquitos. They love Sylvia. She’s delicious. Apparently, they only love her, because no one else got stabbed. What we don’t know is if they would have gone for any of the rest of us if she hadn’t been in our midst. The Fountain Route seems worth doing again, and more, for its positives—unless you’re Sylvia—and maybe even if you are Sylvia.
-CtCloser (Calvinthe), “Negative split or positive splat” #dothedue
FINE PRINT ¶Likeness used with permission. ¶Text and photos (unless otherwise stated): Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Cross-posted: (1) Facebook JRC Growlers Group Run (2025’06’11’W Run Message), (2) GGR email list, (3) Cerebruns by CtCloser. ¶This website posting: Cerebrun with added caption.
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