Sidewalks

I hate them.  Most of the time, they are way more trouble than running in the street.  They are frequently uneven, with bumps, and dips, and are way more unkept than the streets they run along.  I have to constantly run onto the street or onto someones yard to avoid mailboxes, telephone poles, trash barrels, over-hanging branches, recycling bins, or cars that people think they can just park across the entire sidewalk.  I enjoy kicking tires of said cars as I run by (I'm very mean, I know).  Beyond all of this, the worst part about sidewalks, in my opinion, is the slopes down and up where the sidewalks meet the driveways.  They are not too steep, but over the course of a long run, all those step-ups and step-downs really take a toll on my legs.  I prefer to run my miles on the street (if I am not running on a trail somewhere) along the side of the sidewalks, unless the sidewalks are very wide and are noticeably "good."

So as a warning, if you park your car across a sidewalk or driveway along my running route, forcing a handicapped person to go into the street to go around your car, I WILL kick your tires.  So there!