kick ass training in Santa Cruz, CA

You forgot to mention the numerous downsides of shithole Santa Cruz, including but not limited to:

Naked hippie-folk strolling into the supermarket while you're shopping, requesting that you spare a couple bucks so they can buy some weed/beer.

The fact that should you decide to have kids and get them educated in that town, that they'll probably due to no fault of your own grow up to be complete f*ck ups strung out on a controlled substance and aspire no further than a 10th grade education.

Near impossible traffic conditions to simply drive over the hill to a decent-paying job.

If you can handle such situations as the norm, then Santa Cruz may be a good place for you.

dude, Santa Cruz is one of California's best kept secrets! i've been surfing there for years, since i was 9 years old, that place is a lot of fun, and the hippie thing isn't really all that bad. I mean, i'm one of the most conservative people you'd ever meet, and I have met some great friends that live/ have lived in SC. There are other places around there that are great for training too: scotts valley, aptos, pajaro, etc. traveling an hour north on the 880 can take you into some other great trails in the south bay and east bay. or going south into salinas and other areas can offer good training.

the tracks in that area are in need of repair. the city college is dirt (last time i was there was april 2003) and it was pretty crappy. nice grass fields surrounding it though for warm-up/ cool downs. I've never been to UCSC, so i'm not sure what their track condition is like (if they have one).

plus, it has the boardwalk and even better one of the coolest car shows in California, Woodies on the Wharf!!!

http://www.santacruzwoodies.com/

UCSC doesn't have a conventional 400m track. They have an 800m loop that has sharp turns and little inclines. The surface is an all weather surface which just got resurfaced in November. And behind the school there are miles and miles of trails, which eventually lead you to Henery Cowell and Wilder Ranch!

The "hippie thing" is not bad, it just like any other liberal town! And I'm almost positive that no hippie's walk around town naked - just the woods! ;)

The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park is great to run in the summer. It doesn't matter how hot it is outside. It is shady and nice in there.

UCSC is not a liberal college anymore, it no longer makes the Party School list. And as for the traffic it only takes 50 mins to go from Stanford to UCSC or 35 min from San Jose to Santa Cruz and the traffic is not that bad. As for drugs ect no different than most towns of similar size and there are few glue sniffers unlike the midwest and east coast.

And the campus was also in the 10 or so for "Most Beautiful Campus".

Take it easy Mickster, I'm not telling runners to try and start a family & clothe the masses in SC, just saying you could cover all parts of a excellent year round training program there. But I do agree that that we should tell all naked hippies... "Jerry's dead, Phish Sucks, Get a job"

Wait...Jerry's dead? News to me. ;)

bump

The training is Santa Cruz is awesome! Nisene Marks, UCSC's campus, Wilder Ranch, West Cliff, any of the beaches, Henery Cowell...Santa Cruz offers the hills one needs to be sucessful in cross country...and it is just beautiful and relaxing to run in SC. I'm surprised more runners don't visit Santa Cruz for a run! I don't know why anyone would really complain about the town (and the people that live in it)...I mean, watching a guy carry a pink umbrella down Pacific may be weird, but it is also quite amusing! And there are no naked hippies walking around town...but I do agree, you will find them in the woods!

one of my favorite things to do in the summer at Santa Cruz is go surfing at Pleasure Point at low tide in the morning, and follow it up with a run to Cowell's and back. By the time the run is over at 11am, the fog is lifted and it's just a great feeling. sometimes i'll do the reverse: cowells to 38th ave and back which is pretty cool, cuz you can go around the train tracks and stuff.

also, nearby Capitola is great place for a date! Zelda's and La Pirata are some good restaurants. p.s. here's a tip for a date: walk up the street away from the beach and walk along the train tracks for a few minutes. you will get to an area that overlooks the town and the ocean--one of the coolest views in the area! your girlfriend will be stoked you took her to that romantic spot...my girlfrien was.

p.s. good surfing at capitola too, if you can catch it on the right tide and swell. I've surfed there overhead, and barrelling on Thanksgiving in '97--one of the best days of my surfing life!