midwest and midsouth trail suggestions

hello everybody, im a new member and this is my first post. i have just started running. i have tried several times in the past but always failed to keep it up. running around the subdivision just gets old. i have come up with a plan to make my goal more fun and need some suggestions. i have decided to switch it up a bit and travel to interesting places to run. last weekend i went to a state park and ran a trail. much better than the asphalt grid. i want to make this a regular thing and run different trails. i would like to travel to a state or national park (or something similar) once a month on a weekend. my requirements are that the spot has campgrounds with showers, and i would prefer that the trails connect to the campground. it would also be great if the trails took me to a fishing spot. i have a collapsible fishing pole that fits in the hydration pack back pocket and i am itching to use it. i have been searching the web and found a few possibilities, but the public lands websites provide little information. my search area is eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, southern Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas, western Tennessee, western Kentucky, and northern Mississippi. does anybody know of some good trails that meet my criteria?

i have considered some weekend trips to run in new cities but camping is much cheaper than hotels since i already have all the gear. but if you know of a great town with great places to run please mention it.

since i have just started running i would lean towards trails that are "easy", meaning more flat and less technical. but i do want some distance, not a half mile trail i would have to circle several times to get a good run. and maybe in areas with good cell coverage in case i have a heart attack and need to call 911.

i know its a tall order but feel free to offer some alternative ideas. im just sick of running the same circle all the time and looking for an excuse to travel to some spots i have never been.

thanks!

NP: I sympathize...after graduating law school in DC about 4 years ago, I sacrificed significant career and income opportunities to settle in a rural area of Appalachia close to both National and State parks for the express purpose of mountain trail running. I was fortunate, however, in that I had no familial obligations; I might require psychiatric hospitalization if I couldn't retreat with my dog and The Grateful Dead into relatively remote wilderness 4 or 5 times during the week. :O

I've run a few trail races at Land Between The Lakes in west-central KY, but that's likely too far away. Good Luck! /Kate

Thanks for the reply Kate. Land between the lakes is within range and I have been there three times. There is a great campground on the north end. It's a little hilly for a beginner though. I tend to overdo it when I start a new exercise endevor. I don't feel the effects until a few days after and I need a week or two to recover. This has been detrimental because it is harder for me to start again after a break than to maintain a routine I have already started. I overdid it at LBL and had to take a break. Downhill kills me. I didn't realize it until I went running a few days later. The outside of my knees were killing me. I did some research and I think I need to stick to flat routes until I have better conditioned my legs. I might need to throw in some weight training to prepare for the hilly trails. Do you know of any flat trails in Land between the lakes?

Gosh no, np, just the route used for the March trail races, which I'd guess you're likely already using...I don't have many business or running contacts that far west outside of Louisville, but let me ask around.

Incidentally, I understand precisely what you mean. Though it bores me to tears, every 5-7 runs I mix in a flat rail trail (i.e., old converted RxR bed) that meanders along the park boundary in order to give my ATs a break....it's the uphills that kill them - esp. those vertical stretches up the main range where to the outside world it looks like I'm walking, very slowly, but inside I'm running away :))) /K

P.S.: Biking and swimming - especially grabbing a kickboard and cranking out a few hundred yards of flutter - might also help build your legs for elevation gain/loss...the latter has worked miracles for me!

super ca !!

Here in northern Illinois there are many trails to run or hike, a wonderful lake and camping at Rock Cut State Park near Rockford and Loves Park. For many years it has been home to the Hobo Trail Series and other area races. Many trail runners and bike enthusiasts on the weekends and the local Coyote trail group makes RCSP their unofficial home. Enjoy!