I am not an “early morning runner.” I can barely get up the first time my 6:15 am alarm goes off to get ready for work.

I am also not an “evening runner.” Once I get home my eyes zero in on food, shower and the couch. I am so done for.

I have also realized over the months that on weeknights I can barely be a “westside Lethbridge runner.” By the time I drive home from work on the northside, I again just want to eat, shower and collapse.

So even though my eyes usually hurt after a day of teaching, and I want to just curl into fetal position and sleep, I have found that the best time for me to successfully pound out on the pavement is right after school. Sometimes I run with my track & field kids….sometimes I run solo.

I often run through the northside neighbourhoods, but sometimes I head down to the river bottom trails. That’s what I did today—and I don’t regret it one bit. I started in the river bottom right off of Bridge Drive and took the trail towards the nature centre and the bridge. It was here that I mixed things up.

I headed up those metal stairs so I was now close to eye level with the high level bridge. The wind was hitting me hard but the sun was making the wind not matter. It was gorgeous up there!

I decided to run down the shale path towards Scenic Drive. I headed south on Scenic until I approached the Galt Museum. I had a bit longer to go before my turnaround, so I found another shale path—one I had never followed before. I kept running parallel to the bridge on a path the stretched farther and farther out…until I reached a beautiful point.

I hadn’t even know that this staircase existed. If I had had the time, I would have descended into the river bottom here. Instead, I took some time to just take in this gorgeous day.

Someone can have a busy day. A shitty day. A grumpy day. A tough day. A disappointing day. A stressful day. But, somehow, a good run can make all that “stuff” disappear. Running is good for the soul.