Running in Beckley

After I emerge from my Beckley, West (by God) Virginia Holiday-Inn, I run past the Microtel by Wyndham, the Sheetz service station, the McDonalds fine dining. In view of the Burger King, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans, and Wendys. Across from the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, and the Courtyard Inn by Marriott. Then on by the Howard Johnsons by Wyndham, the La Quinta Inn by Wyndham, the Days Inn by Wyndham, the Super 8 by Wyndham, the Ramada by Wyndham, the Baymont by Wyndham, the Travelodge by Wyndham, and the AmericInn by Wyndham. I should note that there's also an Outback Steakhouse and a Ruby Tuesday nearby. All this to just get to the expressway interchange. 

Now I have to get across the pedestrian-unfriendly entrances and exits to I77/I64. This is no easy (or safe) task. After I go by some more familiar-type establishments, I get tired, turn around, and go through it all over again.

Highway Hell: I've been here before, many times, and in many places. Why am I doing this to myself, you ask? We're here in Beckley in order to visit the New River Gorge National Park, our county's newest. Here's a description of our hiking adventures.

My second day of running in Beckley is different. It's quiet. It's safe from traffic. It's almost serene. It's most of what I look for in a place to run. I'm running loops around nearby Tamarack, the Best of West Virginia. It's a tourist destination featuring local arts and crafts. And there's only one itsy-bitsy problem this time: when I try to breathe (something I do when I run) I get nostrils and lungs full of diesel odor.

The fumes are coming from the nearby expressway but mostly the adjacent truck travel plaza. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of big rigs are sitting there, idling away, polluting the air as well as my lungs. It occurs to me that any good this running is doing for my body is being undone by these diesel fumes.

Next time in Beckley, I'll need to find someplace else to run.