Post for 8/11/09
I hit the trail runner’s jackpot today! Another session of exploration along the coast yielded the best loop yet. If the Tour du Golf heads northeast away from the Village of St. Briac, then the trail through the nature preserve of La Garde Guerin runs in exactly the opposite direction, towards the town of St. Lunaire.
Watch out for the nettles.
This is one of the most satisfying train runs I’ve had since Annadale back in July. Mostly single-track, this path is almost exactly 2.5 miles from start to finish; making for a very convenient 5 mile loop. The scenery is astonishing, in part because the trail makes a steep ascent along a bluff that looks out over the Channel. The ascent is steep and it’s just long enough to get a nice burn going in the quads. Long enough to put a dent in your pace, but not quite long enough to break your spirit. Just at the top of the climb, there’s an old gun emplacement of some kind. I didn’t see any signage explaining the history of the place.
Maybe it's a strategic defensive position against the invasion of sun-burned English tourists. I'll have to ask a local.
An astonishing view at the top leads the way over the ridge to a steady, but not precipitous, drop on the other side, which brings you down to a wide beach full of unsuspecting bathers. There’s a wide paved causeway between the beach and the road which is home to a little seaside bar, what appear to be trampolines-for-hire and (most incongruously) a circus at the far side. Don’t ask me what it’s doing there, because I have absolutely no idea. I have to admit, I felt a little gauche bursting through all these well-tanned vacationers with their enormous sun glasses and chilled bottles of Heineken, but I was pleased to see that I wasn’t the only runner. The Fellowship of the Sweaty is truly international.
On the way back, I tried dropping down to the beach to run on the firm sand. This surface is much easier on the joints, but the amount of effort it takes to slog through the dry sand makes it more trouble than it’s worth. Next time, I’ll stay on the pavement.
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