I recently listened to this episode of the Florida Trail Runners podcast. The guest was Brenda Baader-Lips, who completed The Trident: Ridge to Nowhere– a 40 mile race which takes place here in Florida in July… and the best part is, the surface is almost all sugar sand (ack!!!). Brenda said that she prepared for the race by running on the trails in Yamato Scrub Natural Area in Boca Raton.
Hey! I know that place! According to Florida Hikes, “A 217-acre natural area atop the Atlantic Coastal Ridge in Boca Raton, Yamato Scrub protects the largest chunk of native scrub habitat found this far south in Florida.” My kids and I went for a hike there years ago, and it’s about a twenty minute drive from my house. People are running on this trail? I must check it out!
I had the opportunity to go on Wednesday, although unfortunately a little later than I would have liked. I dropped my daughter off at school and headed over. By the time I got there and was ready to run, it was almost 10 am… not ideal for a hot Florida day. But looking on the bright side, I had plenty of time to explore the area.
As I was studying the map at the trail head, an enthusiastic older gentleman came up and offered to “help.” His best piece of advice was that part of the trail was closed for construction (or maintenance? It wasn’t really clear) but other than that he kept telling me what I would be experiencing. “It’s a hidden gem!” he exclaimed repeatedly. Okay, okay! Let me go see this hidden gem for myself!
As promised, a significant part of the trail was sugar sand. Did you know that’s very hard to run on? Ha ha… just kidding. Everyone knows that!
The outer loop was sugar sand, and there were inner trails that were packed dirt- which SOUNDS easier, but these trails were treacherous. There were a lot of exposed roots, and inevitably at one point I went down. No injuries, but I got up covered in dirt. Because I was so sweaty, the dirt clung to me for the rest of the run.
I encountered two other runners out there. One was a man who warned me that part of the trail was closed (yes, I know!) Later another man and I passed each other on one of the sandy sections (he was coming the other way) and he said “This trail sucks!” In spite of the difficulties, I couldn’t agree that it “sucked” so I merely said “Yeah, it’s hard!” But as he ran in the other direction, I had to take a picture… let’s just look at what he was wearing.
It was 90 degrees, and the trail was in the direct sun about 90% of the time. I can’t even fathom what he might have been thinking, dressed like that. I wanted to help him out. “Hey Mister! The trail doesn’t suck. It’s your wardrobe choices that need adjustment!”
Ultimately, it didn’t matter to me that part of the trail was closed, because I got thoroughly lost on the parts that I ran. The heat and the sand had me exhausted and ready to stop after five miles… but I didn’t know where I was. So I ended up walking one more mile until I used a combination of a little skill and a LOT of luck to stumble upon the entrance to the trail.
I was hot, tired and incredibly dirty… but I loved it. I will be back! I’m intrigued by this area and network of trails, and I would like to run it more until I can do it without getting lost. And I would love to do it when it’s 60 degrees instead of 90, but at this time of year I’ll take what I can get!
I’m linking up with My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Run Laugh Eat Pie, Runs with Pugs, and Zenaida for Fit Five Friday. Thanks, ladies!
Do you have any “hidden gems” in your area?
20 Responses
I had no idea that there were trails in Florida. I hope I have time to explore some in Feb.
Haven’t figured out logistics. I have to fly home after the race on Sunday so not sure if I should fly into West Palm or FLL and where to rent a car and if I should get a hotel for the night before the race…
February would be a beautiful time to explore these trails! It does sound like your time will be tight though. When are you arriving? We’ll have to talk about logistics soon.
This reminds me of the guy in one of your recent races wearing BLUE JEANS! That still makes me laugh. Even on an ordinary run, but in Florida?!
So, so many hidden gems in terms of trails and beautiful places off the beaten track here in NS. To be fair, I rarely run on new trails. I stick to familiar places close to home and then tend to do most of my exploration hiking (or driving to the destination).
Great work on such a hot day and for leaning into the discomfort of the tough terrain and getting covered in dirt. Somehow, I suspect, that made it all the more enjoyable!
Yes, I do seem to encounter people dressed in bizarre ways! I think your entire area is one hidden gem after another. All your photos are gorgeous, even if it’s just of the kids walking to school.
And, yes… I guess I do like the sense of adventure. If I ended the run all clean and tidy I would be a little disappointed!
What was that guy thinking! That is such warm apparel! My neighbor and I ran this morning at 5:30. It was in the low 70s. I was wearing shorts and a tank top, she had pants and a LS shirt on! She didn’t check the weather and thought it had cooled off so was miserable for our run, especially since it was kind of humid.
That trail sounds so cool but the sand part would be sooo hard! Running in sand is so tough. I haven’t done that in a long time, but I did run on the beach in the Dominican Republican way back in 2006 when I was visiting a friend in the Peace Corp and my calves have never been so sore! I was sore for days!!!
So our area of Minneapolis isn’t quite a hidden gem as the lakes are very well known, but it is still such a gem for me. It’s such a gorgeous place to run. Plus there is a nice path along the creek, too, and this summer we discovered a park of the creek that doesn’t have any walking paths so feels kind of “hidden.” We never thought to go over there but it’s a very cool, very quiet area. I think that is where we will take our family photos in a couple of weeks! There is a fall tree that Paul calls his balance beam so we’ll have to get some candids of him on that.
I think that area is your hidden gem! It does sound really nice. I’ve only been to Minneapolis once and it was a long time ago- but I remember it being beautiful. And yes… low 70s and humid is not the time for long sleeves!
Hmmm…I don’t know if there are hidden gems around me! I’m sure there are. There are a lot of natural spaces and trails where I live, but I wouldn’t say they are hidden. Anyway, yours looks fun, if incredibly difficult. Sand, yikes.
Yes, I think your area probably has a lot of “unhidden” gems. The area I was running in really is hidden- i was telling my husband about it and he had never heard of it.
Sometimes I take my dog to the rarely used middle school track and let her run around off-leash (yes, there are explicit signs saying no dogs and yes, I do absolutely ignore those signs). Today I took her over there and some guy was wearing jeans while running around the track. I do understand that not everyone can afford the latest in running apparel, but wouldn’t some type of short be better than long jeans? What is even going on with that?
You are so stoic about falling and getting sand all over you. If I had fallen, the recap of the run would be something overdramatic like “I almost died.” I should probably be more like you!
Ha, I’m laughing at this. I just accept falling as part of trail running- as long as I don’t injure myself. Then I would probably have a more dramatic recap.
OOOH, next time I’m in that area, I am going to check out this trail!!! Looks so amazing. And yeah, that guy’s clothing choice was wrong. I see people dressed like that here in the summer too. I just don’t understand.
Whenever I see someone dressed like that, it makes ME hot. If you’re ever in this area, I’ll show you the trail!
You can keep the sugar sand. That is the WORST surface for running. It’s so mushy and gets EVERYWHERE. You will love that trail much better in winter for sure.
Yes, the trail will be amazing in the winter!
“I was hot, tired and dirty… and loved it”… haha! That is awesome, Jenny. You might have found a new passion 🙂
I’ve never heard of sugar sand. Is it like regular sand? “I was hot, tired and dirty… and loved it”-that comment made me laugh! If I felt like that I wouldn’t return. Haha!
Sugan sand is white and fine- kind of like what you’d find on the beaches on the west coast of Florida. Definitely hard to run on!
Nice! and hilarious about what that guy was wearing in 90 degrees. Yesterday I was overdressed and knew that the suckage I was experiencing was my own fault, not the training itself! ha!
If you didn’t fall and have dirt and sand stuck to you on a trail, did you even really run a trail? 😉
Ha ha, that’s the way I feel- you’re supposed to finish a trail run covered in dirt!