Runs Gone Wrong #3

Carnegie (November 1996)

This was early on in my running career, right after the state championships my freshman year of high school. We didn't do particularly well, though we at least made the state meet that year, but I myself was terrible. My first season of cross country alternated between excruciating shin splits and bizarre injuries, like a twisted knee. I managed to get some consistency toward the end of October, and after the state meet, I was pretty pumped about continuing the scant progress I had made.

I woke up on a cold morning and decided to go out exploring while running. That was my first mistake.

My second mistake was heading west into Scott Township and Carnegie, neighborhoods I knew only in the context of passing through to get somewhere else, the secondary streets of which I was totally unfamiliar, except for Carouthers Street, where I took trumpet lessons.
To be quite honest, I'm not sure where I went or how I got lost. All that I know is that I was somewhere between I-79, I-376 and Greentree Road. I also know it was really cold. Looking back now, I don't think I would have been able to spend as much time in such a pretty limited area without getting bored, but I wasn't running as fast back then.

My sense of direction has always been pretty good, but my fatigue and hunger probably conspired to keep me from finding my way back.

I remember coming across 79 and having absolutely no idea where I was, and I somehow ended up under a highway.

I managed to find my way to the bottom of Greentree Road and then climbed a long hill to get back to Cochran Road. I probably ended up running 13 miles or so. This is my best guess as to where I might have gone.