Harpeth River Greenway, a Full Review

 Wow, has it been almost six months since I last blogged?  My inactivity can be explained mainly by my newfound sedentary lifestyle.  Since my retirement last December, my life has revolved around sleeping late and watching way too much television (did you know there is an entire channel devoted to game shows?  And it's in HD), driving my wife around to her various appointments, watching my great-nieces and nephews, and copious amounts of Windows Solitare.

I had done some sporadic running, starting with Zwift on the treadmill, then evolving to running outdoors when the weather turned warmer in the spring.  I quickly and embarrassingly found out that my treadmill speed was measured WAY too fast, thus providing me with an overrated fitness level.  After realizing that I could not run 2½ miles without walking and could not do it in under 40 minutes, I finally knew exactly where I stood.  After three months of inconsistent training, I find myself 1) able to do 4k in under 34 minutes 2) do it without taking walk breaks, and, in general, 3) too scared of failing to try anything else.

Foolishly, I signed up for the Peachtree Road Race, a 10k in midtown Atlanta, on July 4th.  Since it boasts of being the largest 10k race in the world, I am optimistic that I can run/walk the distance while simply blending into the crowd.  It is more of an event than a race, so while I have a definite time range goal, I am not overly concerned if I do not meet it.

I decided to try a trial 10k run six days from the race.  My wife and I are currently in Nashville, TN, in the process of moving my daughter and son-in-law to Atlanta.  The Harpeth River Greenway is the closest trail to home base, so I chose to give that a go.  Here is a full report.

The trail covers about 5¾ miles; however, a few offshoots on the main track seem to add to the mileage.  I started at a small parking lot near the bridge on Old Harding Pike, where they had a detailed trail map.  I took a warmup going westbound on the trail; it circled a medium-sized pond that a couple of anglers took advantage of.  Nothing on the ½ mile run seemed noteworthy.

The main run starts at the eastbound parking lot, with a nice view of the Harpeth River.  You then run parallel between the river and a golf course for about a kilometer.  A net separates the trail from the golf course, presumably to protect trail goers from errant golf balls.  I would guess this is a common occurrence by the number of golf balls near the net and the profanity-laced tirade thrown by one of the golfers.  You then cross a bridge over the Harpeth River to the next part of the journey.

Harpeth River from the Bridge

The trail continues for another 2½ miles with a large field on one side and a wooded area that leads to the river (which you won't be able to see for a while).  This was, without any question, the least shaded area on the trail.  I also saw a deer at the one-mile mark; he was staring at me for quite a long time.  Looking closely at the left of this picture, you can see him jumping away.

Deer at about eleven o'clock!

The end of this section also features quite a few wooden bridges that pass over hilly terrain.  You will also find several homes abutting the north side of the path.  The upside here is plenty of shade; there is even a makeshift picnic area close to the end of this section.

At about the three-mile mark, the path splits.  There are no signs (from this direction) but going left seems to take you to a trailhead, a group of little league fields, and a subdivision.  I chose to take a right and continued about ⅔ of a mile, then turned around and started to head back.  There was nothing too fascinating about this part of the trail; it seemed a little more secluded, and you will go under an overpass for another Harpeth River bridge.  For some reason, the path appears to circle outward from the river at this point.

Overpass, note grafitti near the truss

The turnaround featured nothing that I did not notice on the way up.  There are a few benches along the path if you need a short break.  I took advantage of this opportunity a couple of times due to ever-increasing back pain.  I also had to walk the last 1½ miles due to grossly underestimating my hydration level.  I finished the 10k run/walk at about 1:47:00, a little disappointing, but I suppose I could say I was trying to be overly observant.

The Harpeth River Trail is a paved trail that travels parallel to the Harpeth River and the Little Harpeth River.  Except for a few spots near the golf course and Harpeth Knoll Road, it is pretty secluded.  The entire surface is paved asphalt, except for a tiny section at the start of the trail that is concrete.  The course is very flat, with prominent mile markers every ¼ mile.  The trail seemed to attract a wide variety of users; I saw kids on bike rides, dog walkers, another runner (she kicked my butt), and a wheelchair racer.  I give this trial five stars and my full recommendation.