50 Trail Runs in Southern California

A recent resident of Venice, California, I looked out to the Santa Monica mountains from my second story window and wondered where the running trails were. I've bounced around LA over the past few years, running in Griffith Park, Fryman Canyon, Porter Ranch, among other routes, but these new mountains drew me to them. How to find my way? I ran one morning at Will Rogers Park and asked someone about the trails that lured me away from the traffic and the people. The runner said: "Get Stan Swartz' book!" Thus armed, I searched a book store and found it quickly. It was exactly what I was searching for, similar in style to the wonderful book I had purchased years earlier which depicted all the trail running possibilities within New York City.Now, eight weeks after placing third in my ritualistic 10K at Descanso Gardens, I leaf through the book almost every morning, wondering which route I will take on the weekend, building up my confidence with each page turn.What I find fascinating is that the descriptions of the routes, the distances, and benchmarks, the terrain, ALL MATCH THE REALITY. I know I am on the right trail; I know when I am half way through; I know when to turn left or right; the topographical maps give me an idea of the ups and downs. Now that I have completed several of the runs alone among this spectacular landscape, I inhale the spiritual aspect of running imbued by George Sheehan and combine it with the practical information provided by this book.I look forward to trying out as many of the runs as I can, venturing out even to the longest ones at 13 miles. When I can, I will join the other runners on Sunday mornings. The three authors have given me a great gift: the ability to explore historical terrain with the eyes of a contemporary "critter"...a trail runner who feels at one with the wondrous varieties of Nature described so completely by those who have gone before me. Thank you.

This book has excellent information for the novice or seasoned trail runner. With it's topography of the trails, the newest runner can pick a trail that is not too difficult. Beautiful photographs.