Across this great nation, many cities can boast legendary running trails: the famous Lakeshore Trail in downtown Chicago. The Town Lake trails in Austin, Texas. The hundreds of miles of coastline along the coast of California.
Last week I had the opportunity to travel east, where I discovered that my list of this year's top "40" running excursions would not be complete without a journey back to where it all began for our nation – Washington, D.C.
With all of its majestic monuments, our nation’s capital offers the best scenic runs for Americans from 1 to 92. Hands down (or, feet down…) my favourite running path has got to be along the National Mall. It is, in my opinion, the most beautiful piece of real estate in the World. All told, the National Mall stretches 1.9 miles. The perfect distance for a run.
It’s also a perfect place to reflect on history.
The National Mall is anchored on one end by the Lincoln Memorial, honoring one of the greatest Presidents of all time who freed slaves and changed the world. At the other end is the United States Capitol, where the very laws that hold our nation together are crafted daily. Both landmarks are aptly overseen by the Washington Monument, a 555-foot tall marble obelisk honoring our nation's first President, George Washington.
Although the building of the National Mall took nearly 100 years from conception to completion, it is truly timeless and as relevant today as ever. It is often the site for some of this nation's most controversial events.
In 1963, the National Mall was the site for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom during which Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It was also the site for the Vietnam War Moratorium Rally in 1969 – the largest event ever held on the National Mall (an event which was re-created digitally for the movie “Forrest Gump.”) It is where Pope John Paul II presided over one of the world’s largest Mass services in 1979, despite an appellate court protest by atheists that the service be stopped. And in 2008, it was the first time the National Mall was left open during an Inauguration (much to mixed reviews and much-needed repairs which followed).
While politics often swirl furiously about in this city – whose Party is better, whose pick for President was better, and perhaps among global visitors, whose country is more superior – there is no denying the answer after you visit the National Mall. If you are lucky enough to be one of the 24 million visitors to the National Mall each year then you, too, will see with your own eyes why Washington, D.C. remains the greatest run in the free world.
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