Let me introduce myself first. My name is Robert Snyder, and I’ve been a dedicated marathon runner now for the past eight years. I run a lot when I’m not busy with my stucco service business.

What I love about living in the great city of Minneapolis is the large amount of green space the city has available and the vast number of trails and paths that the city has provided in these green spaces. It’s been a wonderful experience to be able to train and run along the Minnehaha trails, up and down the Mississippi River, across the Midtown Greenway, and the wonderful Chain of Lakes trails.

I firmly believe the Twin Cities Marathon has acquired its “The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America” slogan because of the beautiful and amazing greenways of the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board.

It’s been an exciting experience to be able to run and train on the Marathon course, especially since it’s practically in my backyard. The frequency of water fountains and water pumps along the paths also is advantageous in that I don’t need to carry water with me as I run around the city.

Lake Nokomis is the closest lake to where I live and I seem to find myself running there three or four times per week. Very quiet and serene, except for the occasional airplane, I find Nokomis to be very relaxing.

I run in groups occasionally and I know many find enjoyment when running in a group atmosphere, but for me I find real happiness in the solo aspect of running. As a stucco repair contractor in Chandler, it is most often convenient to go solo after a long day on the job.

With just me and the path ahead, I can immerse myself in my thoughts and solve problems that have been plaguing me through the day. While running my typically two laps around Lake Nokomis, I can sometimes be in deep thought and not realize that my two laps are complete. A lot of this I attribute to the fact that there is just less foot traffic on the path around Nokomis.

The popular Chain of Lakes (Cedar, Lake of the Isles, Calhoun, Harriet) can sometimes be so crowded that I find myself having to stay focused on the path ahead to ensure that I don’t bump into other people. Focusing so hard on the path ahead leaves me with no time to go into deep thought, which is why I cherish Nokomis so much.

The scenery is also a big plus at Nokomis. One of the things that I have been fond of at Lake Nokomis is that there is green space to the right and left of Lake Nokomis Parkway. Only on a small section between Cedar Avenue and 54th Street are there houses on Lake Nokomis Parkway but, when running on the walking path through this area, Nokomis Knoll pond and an open field sits between the path and Lake Nokomis Parkway. This openness around Nokomis is truly a gem and makes running around the lake an even more pleasant experience.

The addition of the Art Walk in 2011 around Lake Nokomis appeared to bring some more pizzazz around the lake.

Prior to the addition of the Art Walk, the only other thing to look at around the lake was the antiquated Vita course exercise apparatus strategically placed at different locations around the lake. More than half of the signs for the exercise equipment are either faded away or missing so you can never be certain what specific exercise was supposed to be performed.

While I typically do my easy runs around Lake Nokomis, I also like to challenge myself with some Tempo runs around the lake. Doing speed runs around Lake Nokomis can get interesting and be a challenge due to the busy Cedar Avenue running right through the western part of the lake.

At 2.7 miles on the walking path around the entire lake, accomplishing this run nonstop at a tempo can be difficult with the two stop lights on Cedar Avenue. This is why on Tempo run days, I have to resort to taking the “short-cut” route by following the path along the Cedar Avenue Bridge and cutting the lake to only 2.5 miles per lap.

I hate having to cut out the western section of the lake, which is actually part of the Hale Page Diamond Lake neighborhood mainly because it is my neighborhood and I take pride in being able to run through portions of my own neighborhood.

Sometimes when I run through the western section of the lake in the HPDL area, I like to look up at the landing planes descending over Nokomis and wave. The City of Minneapolis’ dedication to have the paths cleared of snow and ice in the winter has allowed me to enjoy running and training year-round. I enjoy being able to step out my front door, make my way over to the running paths, and be able to run practically throughout the entire city.

During the winter months, the biggest risk I take is just making it over to the paths. I have to stumble up and down un-shoveled sidewalks, and avoid slipping and falling, but I know once I reach the running paths, I know I will be delighted with a plowed, salted, and sanded path suitable for running. I can once again enjoy the run on the paths until it’s time to go home and I once again have to stumble and avoid falling on the sidewalks to reach home.

As we approach the spring months, my training will once again pick-up as I start the training process for the Twin Cities Marathon. Having run the marathon now for eight consecutive years, there is a familiarity about the entire training process that I will repeat and that familiarity will once again include Lake Nokomis.

If you see me running around Lake Nokomis as I normally do each year, wave me a big hello. If I don’t initially respond to you, let it be known that I am probably deep in thought and will try to acknowledge you if I see you again around the lake. Take care, be fit, and live well.