What the flat map doesn't show is the 3 hills: the killer hill is the short sharp climb up the back of the Stanford Academic Preserve to the radio telescope known as Big Dish hereabouts (it starts at approximately mile 1.5 and goes past mile 2). If you click the 'hybrid' button on the map, you get an idea of some the hills from the aerial photo (seen here).

Just past mile 2 there's a dip followed by a less steep, but steady uphill grade for a bit less than a mile, then you go all the way down to the bottom of the hill on the Junipero Serra side, before hitting one last steep, short butt-burner of a hill just after mile 4. After that it's flat all the way home if I take the path via Lagunita.

For extra credit, you can turn left instead of right at mile 4.5 and go back up to the top - it's the real killer way to do this loop. Linda was sidelined with a sprain, so I ran it alone for 3 weeks. This has been the first week she's been back, and it was very welcome - seems easier to run with company. BTW you can support Gmap Pedometer here with a donation to the American Cancer Society Chicago Marathon fund - Linda and I offered $25 for the use of Paul and Sue's cool app...
Comments 11:10:15 AM    

Chris Gulker's view from Silicon Valley - in words and pictures