Up for some fun running in Tampa, Florida? A convenient place I'd recommend is Flatwoods Wilderness Preserve, which is part of the Hillsborough County, FL park system. By my estimation the park is about 6,150 acres in area - PLENTY of space to romp around.
I thoroughly enjoy Flatwoods among my many choices for a few reasons:
1) It's only 3.22 miles on a safe running route from my house
2) It has 11 miles of the smoothest black top for bikes & pedestrians only and makes for very safe & fun bike riding
3) It has countless miles of single track trail complete with wildlife, lakes, rivers and the like to enjoy for a run!
Bonus: There are several locations in the park with fresh, cold water to rehydrate in this Florida HEAT
Unfortunately for you mountain runners, Flatwoods is not a misnomer - it's definitely FLAT! After running for several months last winter in and around Flatwoods I had climbed fewer vertical feet that ONE trip to the Squamish Scrambler as I made it a little way past Red Heather Cabin. Flat, indeed.
But flat can still be fun . For one thing, my average pace per mile has fallen significantly since moving to Florida because I don't have the hills to contend with. My friends back home in Missouri accused me of "getting fast", but the reality is, it's easier to go faster when it's flat. I'm not really any faster back in Missouri when I hit the challenging trails there than I was before I moved away. Alas, flat is fast and that can be fun.
One of my favourite trails to run in Flatwoods is "Panther". It's titled as such because it's a route that carries you to Panther Lake, which is a smallish lake in the northwest corner of the preserve. LOTS of wildlife make their homes around the lake, including: frogs, gators, wild pigs, snakes, etc. Here's a brief video in which you can hear a little of the liveliness of the place for yourself:
Panther, along with many other areas of the park, afford a runner with PLENTY of single track running miles. If you're unacustomed to the tropical foliage, as I was when I initially moved to Tampa, it's a unique experience to run among palm trees & other warm weather greenery. Here's a clip from the winding single track along the route to Panther Lake:
Don't let the flat lull you to sleep, it's ROOTY in some sections, and very twisty to boot:
Cruising the flat, fast single-track can really be a blast! The heavily shaded sections of trail make for a nice respite from the intense Florida sun. Due to the dense trees and vegitation, best to just get that pace up and create your own breeze .
I never did figure out what kind of bird or critter was making the sound in the following video, but it was so loud & interesting that I thought I should capture it:
LIKE to BIKE??? Me too! I'm new to cycling, but Flatwoods provides a very safe & fun (no motorized vehicles allowed) path to ride, complete with 4 ice water stations in case you get thirsty in these HOT temperatures...
Panther trail is labled as "Very Difficult", not so much for the runners, but for the mountain bikers. It's flat, but can be extremely root riddled:
. For one thing, my average pace per mile has fallen significantly since moving to Florida because I don't have the hills to contend with. My friends back home in Missouri accused me of "getting fast", but the reality is, it's easier to go faster when it's flat. I'm not really any faster back in Missouri when I hit the challenging trails there than I was before I moved away. Alas, flat is fast and that can be fun.
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