Last December I decided to shift from road running to trail running because I like exploring outdoors and wanted more adventure. Trail running means hills. I started with the flattest trails I could find in Arastradero Open Space Preserve. Even these shallow grades made me gasp despite my relative fitness on the flats. But the astounding wondrous beauty that I saw inspired me to aspire to run every trail on the Peninsula and in the Bay Area.

Last Saturday, on a run through Pulgas Open Space, Jay, organizer of the Peninsula Trail Running Meetup, asked me what I had run. Here’s a list of the ones I’ve run in so far along with links to some of the blog entries inspired by those places:

• Rhus Ridge – Los Altos
• Skyline Ridge Trail – along Highway 35
• Wunderlich Park – Woodside
• Shoreline Park – Bay Trail & Stevens Creek Trail
• Calero Reservoir Park – San Jose
• Contra Loma Park – Antioch – Drag’nfly Half Marathon
• Briones Regional Park – Orinda/Martinez – Bear Creek Half Marathon
• Arastradero Open Space Preserve – Palo Alto
• Las Trampas Wilderness – San Ramon – Rocky Ridge Half Marathon
• Los Trancos Open Space Preserve – Santa Cruz Mountains – Palo Alto
• Monte Bello Open Space Preserve – Palo Alto
• Pulgas Open Space – San Mateo County – Edgewood Road
• Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve – Los Altos
• Lake Chabot – Castro Valley – Bad Bass Half Marathon
• Joseph D. Grant Park – Mt. Hamilton – Trail Hog Half Marathon
• Jasper Ridge – Woodside
• El Corte Madera – Redwood City – Skyline Highway

And I can’t wait to run some more!