Yes, there are several nice places to run, although we are entering the Martian phase of our summer.

The town lake paths are nice to run. There are several loops you can run.

Run-Tex, our local running boutique, posts trail maps at:

http://www.runtex.com/townlake.htm

wmh

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iambigkahunatony.com

Check out the Town Lake Map PDF from above link. They're unobstructed (i.e. no vehicle crossings) 3, 4, 4.8, 6.9, and 10 mile loops around the lake on nice, wide trails.

There are water fountains along the trail, and on Saturday AMs usually Gatorade trucks (sponsored by RunTex - very cool) near the "A" and "Auditorium Shores" (near C) stops. The best places to park/start are at Austin High School (there's parking under that mass of highways (running/walking bridges are under the highways, so no need to worry) OR near Runtex (near C) on South 1st & Riverside.

If you need to extend your run past 10 miles, run the 10 mile loop and as you head back North (towards A) jump up to Lake Austin Blvd and run out to the "docks"; it goes about 1.5 miles out (past a chain of eateries) to a small park (water stop & bathroom). If you need more than 13, ask & I'll send you additional instructions.

Barton Creek Trail Map is all 'trail' running.

Yep...run in the AM.... much cooler.

John
Austin

Ditto what the two guys before said. Town lake is really nice with some good city, and other, scenery.

There are several greenbelts that have much more natural scenery that are really nice runs. Barton Creek Greenbelt is really nice with everything from rocky sections, to smooth dirt sections. It's best to run that one in the morning before the weekend crowds come out. It's right downtown and the bonus is that you can take a dip in Barton Springs afterwards to cool off.

Maps for both Town Lake and Barton Creek are posted to the Run-Tex website.

There are a couple of others that are much more rugged--Bull Creek and Emma Long, both on the West/Northwest side of town near the Arboretum area. Neither of those are mapped out as well, so it's possible to get a little turned around. Enjoy it. This weekend or which?

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Brandon Marsh - Website | @BrandonMarshTX | RokaSports | 1stEndurance | ATC Bikeshop |

I'm headed to Austin too, but for an entire week, 7/15-7/21. I found a write up on Austin on Runner's World that has some decent info on the city, and basically suggests, like everyone else, that you head to Run-Tex. http://www.runnersworld.com/...,1-51-57-645,00.html

Unfortunately, my trip is falling during my last week of training before I start tapering for for my first Olympic distance race. I've rented bikes from Bike Source before, and know they have some group rides I can join, but is there anywhere decent to get an open water swim in? Also, any local tri-clubs that have planned workouts that would accept an out of town guest? Thanks!

I also recommend the Town Lake trails, although they are mostly flat. I would suggest starting at Barton Springs and following your early morning run with a swim in the springs to cool down. I saw a group playing water polo somewhere in Town Lake, so I suppose you could swim there, but beware of floating bloated armadillos (I saw a few while canoeing).

I advise against swimming in Town Lake; depending on who you ask will get different answers regarding the "legal" issue with swimming in Town Lake.

There are quite a few 50M pools in the city; however, if you're down at the trail area, head to Barton Springs; it's a 68 degree spring-feed pool that has no lanes, yet runs slightly more than 200M in length. You can go to Lake Travis (Mansfield Damm Park) for lake open-water swimming.

For training in Austin, there's a Sat AM ride from Austin Tricyclist; they have a couple of rides from 20 to 55 milesish.

http://www.austintricyclist.com/

Check out RunTex: http://www.runtex.com/ they host a variety of run workouts (usually on Tues/Thur PM) you could drop in on (send them an email or call)

Finally, dig around: http://www.austintriathletes.org/

It's the Austin Triathletes club website.

When I lived there there were group rides on Saturday mornings from Austin Tri Cyclist (right by Town Lake). They did a both a 30 and a 50 miler, and people of all abilities were always welcome. You'd have newbies, and people like James Bonney, Jamie Cleveland, Andrea Fisher, etc. all riding together, then back to the shop for breakfast burritos and coffee post ride (on the shop). There was also a more up-tempo ride for mostly more experienced folks one day during the week. Check them out at http://www.austintricyclist.com/. Also, as someone else has posted above, you can swim at Barton Springs. It's a great place to open water swim, especially if you don't know anyone to swim with. There are dressing rooms, lights at night, and even life guards..

One thing to note about running around Town Lake and swimming at Barton Springs -- they are both pretty crowded. So, try to do them early. Jogging around Town Lake is not really crowded until the weekends actually, and even then its not really a problem -- but if you had rather see less people, go early. Also, during the summer, if you run outdoors at anytime other than before 10:00am or after 7:00pm here, you're nuts. <gasp>

There is a nice place to get some real open water swimming in Lake Travis. A park called Hippie Hollow has a swim area bouyed off (no boats allowed). From one end to the other and back is about .9 miles. Oh, I should mention that clothing is optional at Hippie Hollow. :=) There is a $2.50 park entrance fee.

G'luck.

For open water other than Barton, Jimmy from the Hills Fitness Center used to run (I haven't lived in Austin for a year or so) a regular group swim up at Hippie Hollow, on Lake Travis. You meet at the Oasis parking lot and car pool to the Hollow to keep down parking expenses.

Great place to swim, people do anywhere from .5 to 2 miles, and the group size is nice to scare off the sometimes over friendly naked peeps that hang out at the Hollow (though the braver can go alone). I want to say it's Monday nights at 6, but I could be on crack. (we got lots of that here in manhattan, keeps us from missing texas's wide open spaces). You could call over to the Hills Fitness Center for details.

Wow! Thanks everyone for all the ideas and websites. Nice to know too that I can get my open water swim in, even if I forget my swimsuit! :-o Sounds like "missing" a week of training in Denver may not be a problem at all.