Running tourist advice on California

Make sure you stop for a run in Auburn, CA. Where in the UK are you from? And do I know you?

OK - the last one may be difficult to answer.

Some brit wrote:

(a) where are the best places to buy shoes and other gear? Preferably, piled high and discounted, no problem at all about wearing last season's colours.

(b) please recommend some iconic runs..

(c) what are the top local microbrews with which to rehydrate these days?

Thanks,

(a) Nike Outlet. San Leandro, CA

(b) French Trail at Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, CA

(c) Faction Brewery. Alameda, CA

Some brit wrote:

Brit here, about to spend ten days in California in October. Big road trip taking in LA, Sacramento, San Francisco, down the coast and back to LA, and maybe San Diego and back. I have just three questions:

(a) where are the best places to buy shoes and other gear? Preferably, piled high and discounted, no problem at all about wearing last season's colours.

(b) please recommend some iconic runs..

(c) what are the top local microbrews with which to rehydrate these days?

Thanks,

Might as well get up to Tahoe. Not that far from Sacramento. In October trails should still be clear of snow. If you are really gluttin for a arse whooping, run the first couple miles of the western state 100 miler. Straight up the slopes of Squaw Valley. Assuming you are not used to altitude, so be careful. Can have a beer at the lodge up top and take the gondola down. Auburn, CA has some nice trails too, yes. In Sacramento run on "American River Bike Trail". As for brews, it's a slight detour but Russian River Brewing is considered by many to be the world's best. Lots of other good ones in the area... Track 7, Lagunitas, Bear Republic and too many others to list. They all have beers that you'll never find back home cold and on tap.

Online shopping is king these days. Beats pretty much all the brick and mortar shops except for Running Warehouse in San Luis Obispo. Speaking of which, you should do a run at the nearby montana de oro state park.

other tip..

Eat lots of mexican food at real taquerias.

If you are into craft beer, San Diego is considered a mecca so you should definitely go there (stone, ballast point, etc)

Have fun this is a great trip with lots to see throughout. You will barely scratch surface in 10 days.

Thanks, all! It's going to be fun.

I'm definitely going through San Luis Obispo, so Running Warehouse is a must. Online is king here too, but I like to check shoes fit if it's the first time in a new model.

Russian River, eh? - so wine country == beer country? Wife and I will both be very happy.

Some brit wrote:

(a) where are the best places to buy shoes and other gear? Preferably, piled high and discounted, no problem at all about wearing last season's colours.

(b) please recommend some iconic runs..

(c) what are the top local microbrews with which to rehydrate these days?

Thanks,

a- any Sports Authority- high volume and close-out prices.

b- some of my favorites are the trails in the San Gabriel Mtns.

Go to meetup.com search for running groups and join a running group for one of their runs.

Here's an "iconic" run:

http://www.redwoodhikes.com/BigBasin/S-to-S.html

http://www.pctrailruns.com/event.aspx?dtid=9991

Blah Blah Blah wrote:

Go to meetup.com search for running groups and join a running group for one of their runs.

Here's an "iconic" run:

http://www.redwoodhikes.com/BigBasin/S-to-S.htmlhttp://www.pctrailruns.com/event.aspx?dtid=9991

Another iconic run in Northern Ca. is the Dipsea Trail, site of the oldest trail race in the US.

Some brit wrote:

Brit here, about to spend ten days in California in October. Big road trip taking in LA, Sacramento, San Francisco, down the coast and back to LA, and maybe San Diego and back. I have just three questions:

(a) where are the best places to buy shoes and other gear? Preferably, piled high and discounted, no problem at all about wearing last season's colours.

(b) please recommend some iconic runs..

(c) what are the top local microbrews with which to rehydrate these days?

Thanks,

Why bother going to Sacremento? Trying to score some meth? That'll kill a few days you could spend somewhere nice. They don't call it Excremento for no reason...

anyway...

(A) you definitely want to go to Sports Basement

(B) It all depends what you like. French trail was a good tip but it is challenging. If you want to hit a rhythm, this is not a good choice. Crystal Springs trails are flat and scenic.

(C) There's tons.

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Why bother going to Sacremento? Trying to score some meth? That'll kill a few days you could spend somewhere nice. They don't call it Excremento for no reason...

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Sacramento is actually a cool, burgeoning city. Great weather around this time of year. The most diverse and integrated city in the country.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-most-diverse-cities-are-often-the-most-segregated/

(As you can imagine, every cuisine is well-represented at reasonable cost. Many places use locally sourced ingredients, which grown readily in these parts.)

World-class coffee scene:

http://matadornetwork.com/life/11-worlds-best-cities-coffee-lovers/

Great brewing scene:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/track-7-brewing-co-sacramento

Beautiful, walkable, quirky midtown. Vibe is equivalent to Portland Oregon (just better weather in Sac). More trees per capita than any city in the world.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5027514

Interesting "wild west" history:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/california-state-railroad-museum-sacramento

The State Capitol building itself is also very impressive

It's sort of funny how the Bay Area snob writes of Sacramento then suggests going shopping at a generic big box store (Sports Basement). Take everything you read on letsrun with a grain of salt.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2007/04/09/daily30.html

Great running scene too.

I take it all back. Go to Sacramento for a cup of coffee and a beer and to look at a state capitol building. Worth the trip, for sure.

And Sports Basement - what was I thinking? You're right, that place sucks.

Leaving the Bay Area was the best thing I ever did. It is definitely a better tourist destination than Sacramento, but Sacramento is also the gateway to great runs in Auburn and Lake Tahoe.

If you are heading down the coast, run at the forest of Nisene Marks state park near Santa Cruz. From there it's a beautiful drive down the pacific coast highway to San Luis Obispo (one that will take a good chunk of the day, so a morning run then the drive would be the way to go).

Santa Cruz is nice but watch out for mountain lions.

I second Redwood park, running warehouse... Maybe golden gate park and ocean beach, sports basement is not far from there, you could do golden gate park, golden gate bridge and sports basement altogether. North of there across the bridge is mount Tam, nice area to run/check out.

I second Faction Brewery because I like Alameda, but I don't like their beer. Check out Rock Wall winery while there too, the food there (scolaris) is awesome. You could run in Alameda too, go to Bay Farm (harbor bay), great views of San Francisco, You could take the ferry to San Francisco from there and run along the piers and fisherman's wharf all the way to golden gate bridge. You could also check out the strawberry Canyon track club website and do a workout with the guys in berkeley, usually Mondays and thursdays.

What's so special about Sports Basement? And you do realize there is a Sports Basement about to open in the heart of Downtown Sac? Maybe they see something here that you don't?

Also, funny how the SF snobs refer to Sacramento as excremento when it is in fact *their* city that has human fecal matter smeared all over the sidewalks.

The most iconic runs are on the 300 mile beach from San Luis Obispo to the Mexican Border. Think of how many Olympic and IAAF Outdoor medalists have made those runs ;-)

coachb wrote:

If you are heading down the coast, run at the forest of Nisene Marks state park near Santa Cruz. From there it's a beautiful drive down the pacific coast highway to San Luis Obispo (one that will take a good chunk of the day, so a morning run then the drive would be the way to go).

+1 to a run in Nisene Marks. Not to be missed. San Luis Obispo from there is very doable in 1 day, but don't stop to take *too* many pictures (you will want to).

Some brit wrote:

Thanks, all! It's going to be fun.

I'm definitely going through San Luis Obispo, so Running Warehouse is a must. Online is king here too, but I like to check shoes fit if it's the first time in a new model.

Russian River, eh? - so wine country == beer country? Wife and I will both be very happy.

SLO, eh?

I'd skip Pismo and do Santa Barbara. Run the bike path from el capitan state beach. Plenty of places to stop along 101 south from san francusco for brewed beer.

Stop at Industrial Eats in Buellton. It's excellent. Los Agaves in Santa Barbara is very, very good cali-mex. La super rica up the street is More well known, than well regarded.

Run the current end of the l.a. marathon along San Vicente to Ocean. You will have seen the bluffs in a bunch of shows/movies. You'll get the full flavor, homeless to entertainment industry folks early or late in the day.

"Mexican food" is kind of a misnomer in southern California.

916_love wrote:

coachb wrote:

If you are heading down the coast, run at the forest of Nisene Marks state park near Santa Cruz. From there it's a beautiful drive down the pacific coast highway to San Luis Obispo (one that will take a good chunk of the day, so a morning run then the drive would be the way to go).

+1 to a run in Nisene Marks. Not to be missed. San Luis Obispo from there is very doable in 1 day, but don't stop to take *too* many pictures (you will want to).

-1 to a run in Nisene Marks. If you are in the area, Big Basin is to be preferred.

Big Bear, Mamoth, Mojave Desert, Santa Monica, Dana Point, Carlsbad, Palsiades, hundreds more spectacular places to run.