Trail running

Trail running has become an important part of my life. It combines two passions of mine - hiking and running. So, I frequently go running on trails and participate in races across the country. When I recently moved back to Orange County, I chose my apartment by proximity to one of the state parks where I can train on 65 miles of trails with an elevation from 500 to 1,700 feet.
















Trail running differs from regular running in many aspects. One of them is that one is surrounded by beautiful (almost) untouched nature. Normally, there are not too many two legged species (human beings) around which makes this a very peaceful experience and a nice contrast to the daily city life. On the other hand, one has always to be aware that there are other species out there who share the same nature with us - some with no legs, others with 4, 6 or even 8 legs ... .
As an experienced hiker, I know that I constantly need to watch where I place my next step to avoid stepping on one of them and to make noise when I run through areas with high brush, so that I don't have an unintentional sudden encounter with one of them.
Despite the high population and density of development in California, many wild animals can still be found in this state. During my many hikes and runs, I was lucky enough to see snakes (including rattle snakes), bears, turtles, coyotes, foxes and deer - to just name a few.
Being from Germany and not having grown up with these kinds of animals, it can sometimes be a little scary, but I also value each encounter as a new experience. Today, during another beautiful run on one of my regular trails in the Chino Hills State Park, we spotted something which I haven't seen before (other than in a zoo). We not only saw one, but two pretty large tarantulas!

More pictures available in the web album or as a slide show.

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