Hocking River Study

First and foremost, I understood the guidelines for this assignment in that we were to choose a place and then write about the feelings that come to mind. I have been running along the Hocking River since my freshman year. Silly or not, I have very sentimental feelings towards this route. Army ROTC loves to wake up at the wee hours of the morning (0530) in order to conduct something called physical training. One place that has always stood out to me is the route we take when we conduct our long agility run. We start out at Pruitt Stadium with the lights of the football stadium blaring down on our tired, groggy faces. From there we form up in groups and run to the long bike path along the Hocking River. Since we all know running without music can be dreadful, I tried to come up with another way to run so I wouldn't constantly think about how tired I was or how bad I wanted to quit. What I found useful was to actually take in the atmosphere around me and to soak up the wonderful scenery set before me.

When I received this assignment, I figured I would get up early one morning and take a nice jog all the way down this lighted path to success. As I began my run, I noticed how quiet the world was. No automobile noises, no foot traffic, and nothing else to do except to look around the world we live in as I run and think about the nature that surrounds us every single day. The fact that most people go throughout the day thinking about all the tasks set before them and all the busywork that has been set before them for the day, I feel like it really takes some solitude to get inside your own mind and appreciate what we really have. As I continued to run down the lighted path, I admired the slow moving river flowing along side of me. I wondered about the river and how it has sustained living organisms for who knows how long. As I continued running and thinking, I encountered other joggers and bikers along the path which were all friendly people starting their day out just the way I do. I wondered whether they thought about the atmosphere around them or if they all had an agenda and were thinking about tasks that they needed to complete throughout the day. Most people don't like running but I do. I actually enjoy running in Athens while taking in the beautiful landscape that constantly changes every single day. The feeling one gets when connecting nature and human interaction has to be one of the best feelings one can acknowledge.