An impromptu trip to my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario came together quickly last weekend. A visit with my mother was long overdue. While in the city, I took the opportunity to explore some of my old favourite running routes in the east end. There are some good ones.
My first outing was to Gage Park, a 75-acre urban oasis a few kilometres east of downtown. The city purchased the land for the park from Robert Russell Gage in 1917. The landscape architects Howard and Lorrie Grubb designed the park from 1919 to 1927. It features a picturesque 2-kilometre paved pathway loop, a historic greenhouse, gardens, fountains and many monumental trees.
I had racked up countless laps of the park as a novice runner. That was nearly fifty years ago. A couple of easy laps transported me right back to those days. There was something reassuring about seeing all the landmarks just as I remembered them. Where did all the years go?
I made sure to check on my three favourite trees, a grouping of massive plane trees along the northern edge of the park. They were just as impressive as ever. Plane trees are large, deciduous trees that are native to North America, eastern Europe, and Asia. They are characterized by scaling bark, which I think looks fantastic in a black and white photograph. See if you agree.
I swung by the fountain which sits in the centre of the park. Surprisingly, it was operating. I can’t say I’ve seen that very often. A young couple was using the fountain as a backdrop for their wedding pictures. They didn’t seem to mind a sweaty runner stopping to snap a few pictures of his own.
The next morning, I made my way to the Rosedale neighbourhood. As with Gage Park, I have many happy memories of running through and around the King’s Forest Golf Club as a high school cross-country runner. It was our training headquarters, and we knew every inch of the trails. Redhill Creek meanders through the golf course, and it made for a pleasant photo stop.
On my way home, I made sure to run along Kimberly Drive, as I knew the foliage on the Niagara Escarpment (aka “the Mountain” to those of us from Hamilton) would be in peak fall colours. I wasn’t disappointed.
A bonus (non-running) photo from my time in Hamilton presented itself as I made my way to the GO Transit station for my trip back to Pearson airport. As a lifelong fan of my hometown team, the Tiger-Cats, I couldn’t help but stop and admire this mural of the great Angelo Mosca. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1987. Mosca’s hard-hitting style of play suited Hamilton. He died in 2021.
My Second Running Life 