Springfield, MO and transition to country living.

springfield is ripe for the picking from a media standpoint...lots of girls...there are something like 8 colleges or universities within 60 miles of there. the downtown nightlife has improved dramatically. if you run, there's the nature center as well as wilson's creek national battlefield. i go to drury, but the track at missouri state is pretty nice. i'm almost positive that they have an indoor track as well. plus, it's also the home of the bachelor, brad pitt, and cashew chicken. actually, that doesn't really apply here.

I like Springfield MO. It has The Golden Corral pig out palace. I found a high curb near in town where there is a KFC and Tatto Parlor and changed the oil and filter on the street for Toyota. But they have the same race of Ozark aboriginals that live in Arkansas. Dumb knuckleheads who live in trailers and mud dugouts. They bathe only when it rains.

Missouri State has a two lane banked 180 meter track, so not really an indoor track.

Check out

www.omrr.org

for info on running in the area. I lived there for 23 years.

More specifically answering your question of what to expect. First, expect to be shocked at how cheap housing is compared to big city life. You can rent or buy a very nice house without being in debt the rest of your life. Springfield downtown has started to make a comeback and there is actually a decent number of things to do there now. The weather does suck right now for a runner and it is ver humid in the summers, but that a huge reason why it is so much cheaper to live here.

Here is more about Springfield running that I copied directly from the Missouri State Lady Bears Cross Country page.

www.bearstrack.net

Running Trails: Missouri State's distance runners enjoy a wide variety of options for trail running. The Springfield, Mo. area and its Ozark Mountain surroundings feature numerous parks that provide many beautiful miles of running.

Phelps Grove Park: Phelps Grove is a beautiful tree covered park just ¼-mile from the MSU campus. The park contains a well groomed 1000-meter grass loop allowing Missouri State’s distance runners to complete interval training on soft, cross country specific terrain without having to go far from campus.

Springfield Nature Center: The Springfield Nature Center offers miles of wood chip and chat covered paths through rolling terrain. The nature center is a usual stop for the Lady Bears for distance running. The nature center also connects to greenway trails that run throughout the city.

Ritter Springs Park / Sac River Park: Ritter Springs and the adjacent Sac River Park combined for over 10-miles of trail running through the rolling hills of Springfield’s north side. The park features grass and dirt paths through wooded areas and open fields. These two parks are normal spots for distance runs, hill workouts and fartlek workouts.

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield: “The Battlefield” was once the site of the first major civil war battle west of the Mississippi, now it is the usual home for the Lady Bear’s weekend long runs. The Battlefield offers more than 15 miles of trail running through open fields and wooded paths

Lake Springfield Park: Lake Springfield provides the Lady Bears a challenging training site through its open fields that overlook the lake. Missouri State’s runners commonly use the park for hill workouts and fartlek runs. The park also features a 5,000-meter cross country course and a connecting greenway trail.

Frisco Highline Trail: The Frisco trail is a “rail to trail” project that extends from Springfield to Bolivar, Mo. providing 35-miles of smooth crushed limestone running path great for steady tempo running.

8 colleges sounds pretty good. Hope the girls appreciate the virtues of a man of taste and experience (plus I'm an Ozarker too). If they're into frat boys only I'll be doomed.

As for the celebrity angle: I'm coming from Hollywood. I've never understood celebrity or being part of its manufacture. After all, you can't eat it and the only person making the bank is the person being worshipped.

If you can't pick up a hot woman at Table Rock Lake you won't be able to pick one up anywhere. Go for it.

Just tell any missouri girl there that you just came from Hollywood... that's all the advice needed to get em on your D!

Can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but okay, seriously, what works? I'm in my 30s already. A little worried the dating market is going to suck. Actually, Table Rock brings up a good question: where do people go to hook up? Whe I was in New York it was the Hamptons. Here in Los Angeles it's Santa Monica or the beaches. Just curious. Thanks guys ! PS the trail offerings look pretty good. Kind of like the idea of running dirt roads again!

NeedToProveAPoint wrote:

Just tell any missouri girl there that you just came from Hollywood... that's all the advice needed to get em on your D!

no, seriously, talk about how you lived in all these different places. The girls here in the midwest seem to take a big liking towards the men who come in from all these big ass cities!

Nobody has mentioned this yet but consider that running in a smaller city means you will be inhaling less pollution during your runs.

(This is truer if Springfield doesn't have a bunch of petrochemical refineries)

one other thing, and I say this knowing nada about you and your family situation but I'd caution against regressing into old habits/who you used to be before you gained all of these life experiences from living in different places. It's easy to do this without realizing it when you move to your home state/town.

Good Luck buddy!

i wouldn't use the bathrooms at phelps grove. that's a good way to lose your manhood. all the fellers in their cars will love watching you in your little running shorts. the nature center is pretty, but only 2 miles long (unless you know the secret shortcut to another 3 mile add on). springfield lake park blows. period. never heard of ritter springs, but i doubt it's very close to the city. wilson's creek kicks ass. miles and miles of desolate trails with a rumored pack of wild goats. keep your eyes out for arrowheads on the back trails after it rains. i doubt frisco highline is a prize, unless you want an out and back, surrounded by hillbillies. like someone said, the "indoor track" at sms is a banked 180m. you can run fast when you figure it out. by the way, there is no men's xc or track team at sms. the university cut it a couple years back. the weather is fine. it's not your nancy boy stanford weather, and it will toughen you up. lastly, if you're in your 30's, have lived in DC, LA, chicago, etc as you say you have, and you're still asking advice on how to pick up women (especially from these shut ins on letsrun), then you're screwed, dude. you'll be a mainstay at the pink cadillac. over and out.

When I lived in Springfield, the street running was good. Nice wide streets mixed with cozy small ones. Also being able to get out into the countryside and run through the farm country. The farm roads were great. I lived there before all the trails.

Dude, the metropolitan area has close to half a million people. That's not country living - that's a big city.

i was reminded today that there are 7 mexican villas in springfield as well. yes, that's right: SEVEN. that's a reason to move right there. icing on the cake? lambert's "throwed" rolls in sikestown. giddy up.

Not worried at all about technique. More about the mid 30s vs 20s gap nonsense. Don't mind dating younger women at all. Not at all but it's nice to find a smart lady with a little more life experience if you know what I meant. The running sounds good. The cold not so good. Can't wait for the trails and dirt roads!

gotcha. you'll find some guys to run with around there too. some of the old smsu runners still live and hammer there.

I was an RA at Missouri State back in the day. Loved every minute of it. Of course I would like to know who spilled the large bucket of corn, water and other crap on the floor on the 7th floor. That bucket went straight into a room of these St. Louis guys. Also enjoyed running at Wilson's Creek. I do know there is a lot of Bear alumni that do still train and hammer the streets of Springfield as my boy, Chris Spell, has stated. Spell, you still long jumping?

You can get 2.5, almost 3, on trail at the nature center if you know the loops and add ons well. It connects to the greenway and if you cross the "Iron Bridge" you can get some more trail (rough) through the abandoned haunted girl scout camp (as legend calls it).

Ritter Springs is 2 miles north of I-44. It connects to Sac River. The two combined make for 8+ miles of trails. It's on the way to fantastic caverns just pass the carpet store with the Moose head on the side of the building. Willard HS used to race there but they have a new course north of Willard at a soccer complex.

The Frisco is a perfect place for tempo runs. The Springfield section just got paved but you can drive to the north end of Willard (home of Jason Pyrah) by the Junction Cafe and get on soft surface again for 25 miles.

Busiek State Park is another good spot about 20 mins south of the city on Hwy 65. Lots of good trails there. Kickapoo HS runs there some as does MSU. North of the city about 20 miles is the Pleasant Hope Conservation Center. Lots of trails there. Not great but another option. There is also a 2.5 mile point to point trail at Fellows Lake plus some fields to run through.

So obviously there are plenty of trails / soft surface between the Nature Center, Wilson's Creek Battlefield, Frisco, Sac River, Ritter Springs, Busiek, Pleasant Hope, Phelps, Springfield Lake, Fellows Lake and MSU's cross country course. I'm told there is a new trail near the Branson Aiport that goes for 8 miles. Dogwood Canyon 60 mins away has a 50K trail race so lots of trails there.

We don't lock the gates at the outdoor track at MSU but the indoor track is not open to the public.

It's not a bad small city for running. Kickapoo High School is pretty competitive, Drury men are getting pretty good for DII and our MSU women traditionally do well also. Not much going on for competitive post collegiates but the running club (omrr.org) is active and provides a good opportunity for socializing with other runners.

this guy knows what he's talking about. He has something to do with the SMS women's program, I think. I quit paying attention when the university got rid of the men's longtime coach. was a real travesty with alot of people pretty pissed off. they turned off all the support of the alum I know from the program. Marik- I'm still killing it. 26 feet is just around the corner...tell Babs, Billups, and Rico I said hi.