A beautiful late spring morning for a 20-miler along the Hudson River, and here are some of the sights and sounds….

I’ve run along the river before, including circling the entire island, and obviously it’s a different experience than running in the mountains, which just means there are different things to observe, for example, along this route there are plenty of architectural surprises:

Helicopters flying overhead (now one’s landing in the heliport just a few yards away, kicking up a cloud of dust) and vessels large and small:  an aircraft carrier, cruise ships, yachts, ferries, kayaks, and a psychedelic tug boat with red and white tiger stripes:

Heading south, there are walkers, runners, cyclists everywhere, and many dogs, too.  A friend running in the opposite direction shouts “hi!” and we stop and chat for a couple of seconds.  The Freedom Tower looms overhead:

With or without shoes, I mostly look down when running, to avoid tripping on debris.  Somewhere near Chelsea Pier I spotted this mouse cowering along a wall.  These small creatures don’t typically hang out in plain sight in the middle of the morning (I hope it’s feeling OK):

A large and sleek yacht, moored at Battery Park, which was looking especially glassy and high-tech this morning.  An impressive modern urbanscape:

Jersey City across the river, and still growing:

Rounding a corner and passing behind Battery City, someone notices my feet and comments, “fantastic, sir.”  Meanwhile to the south, the Statue of Liberty:

Sounds of waves slapping against the piers, a pair of Canadian Geese flying past, endless traffic on the nearby parkway.  But most impressive of all are the fantastic flowers in gardens and parks everywhere along the way, and possibly early June is the best time of year for these sights and smells:

Rough gritty pavement, smooth asphalt, cement sidewalk sometimes smooth and sometimes prickly with small pebbles, dark gray hexagonical pavers, smooth flat stones, some wooden slats, a stretch of bricks. . . Someone shouts, “be careful!”  No worries.

Almost home, when someone asks how far I’ve run.  “19.6 miles” I reply.

“Great job, kid!”

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I noticed that Running the Long Path has gotten a couple more reviews on Amazon and hope you have a chance to check it out.  (Click on the image for more info)