As I was running through Ephrata, PA in Lancaster County this morning, I was thinking about all of the different places around the United States and to a lesser extent the world that I’ve run.  I wasn’t thinking about how any of these places have stood out but rather about how much more of a personal experience one can get for a town or region on foot versus in a vehicle.  We’re in Pennsylvania this weekend for a close friend’s wedding and some other friends are here to attend the wedding as well.  We arrived a day early to to spend some time touring the Amish farmland and visiting various attractions in the area by car with them.  It was nice to spend time with our friends and to drive around beautiful Lancaster County.

This morning I spoke to the Inn Keeper at the Historic Smithton Inn where we are staying about a good 4-5 mile running route around town.  She was very knowledgeable and provided directions for a scenic tour of Ephrata.  The thing that became clear to me this morning, and I probably have noticed this before as well, is that seeing a place on foot provides a much better feel for an area than traveling by vehicle.  On foot, I am moving slowly enough to see the details of homes, yards, businesses, vegetation, schools and every part of the region I’m in.  I can even greet people I encounter on the street and get at least a brief view of their attitudes (very friendly here in PA, by the way).  When traveling by vehicle, most of this is a blur and the view we get is much more generalized and high level.

While it is certainly true that we can cover much more ground in a moving car than on foot, the depth of immersion in the local culture is much greater while running.  That’s my short and sweet thought for the day!