Wherever I travel I am always on the look out for great running routes. I figure that in some instances it may be the first/last time that I will ever get to run in that place. We had some time to kill on Monday morning before our flight home from Pensacola, Florida after IMFL. I looked at an area map and I figured that it might be worth the short drive down to Fort Pickens State Park on the barrier island just off-shore from Pensacola. I had heard that this area was pounded by hurricane Ivan last year.
We saw a great deal of destruction as a result of Ivan, and strangely many people back building places( houses, condos hotels) in excatly the same place that had seen them wiped off the map a year earlier! This struck me as a bit odd.
Anyway, the run on the beach at Fort Pickens park did not disapoint. It was outstanding. At one time there had been a road that went out to the western tip of the what is essentially a giant sand spit. However, this road had been completely ripped up and destroyed by Ivan. One K beyond the parking lot, I was all on my own and had the beach completely to myself, save a large flock of Pelicans. It was low tide and the sand was that perfectly packed consistancy for running. I ran out for 25 min then turned aound and headed back. I was told by a Lifegaurd when I got back to my starting point that the entire sand spit that is Fort Pickens park had been pushed back inland 50 - 100 meters! There were actual bits and peieces( ashphalt, concrete, hydro towers etc . .) of the old road strewn all over the place along where the road should have been. The force of mother nature is impressive when you see it up close like this.
Fleck