Scenario One: The sun peeps through the autumn canopy, brightening the shadowy forest, lightening the dusky air; a crisp wind nips at my nose, chilling my face to warm rosy complexion. My legs feel numb from jogging the forest trail; the sound of snapping sticks beneath my feet eased the sensation, each beat of the snap tells me that the end is only a few steps away.

I looked around the forest and wished I were in my warm dorm room, sipping a hot chocolate, cuddling my crocheted pink blanket with a movie in the background.

As the serene dream vanishes, I trip over a hidden root. ” Jesus Christ!” I scream as my face hit the leafy ground. The trail was unsympathetic towards me, as the jogger, especially with the day winding down. I stood up. Keep going; keep going.

Hidden within the 340 acres Guilford owns, is a 2.2-mile trail that students may use to take a peaceful jog and enjoy the beautiful scenery or a rigorous run through the treacherous terrain. It depends upon your liking.

Beware hidden tree roots, sticks, stumps, rocks, and/or any other materials of the sort. Bring a cell phone in case any rude interactions occur, and always make sure to have band-aids and ointment

Scenario Two: The sound of honking cars, screeching tires, screaming children, and vroom vrooming ignitions surrounds me as I jog down West Market heading to a set of lights so that I can just turn around and head back to school.

The smell of gasoline depresses my nose hairs as I pass the three gas stations. Thoughts of Kiser and Hildebrandt consume my mentality and I forget that I am jogging down the street.

I feel only the pain of hitting the hard cement in my knees and the stiffness within my calf muscles. A honking horn from a car filled with four teenagers drives past and waves awkwardly out the window.

Safety is the most important part of jogging around school. Cars are intense, huge pieces of metal that if slammed into your body, could potentially kill you so please beware the automobiles. Unlike at Guilford, Greensboro is a huge city filled with thousands of people you don’t know. Bring a cell phone, an I-pod to distract yourself from the sounds, and make sure you tell someone that you are going street jogging.

Scenario Three: Four times around equals a mile, eight times around, two miles. The repetitive scenery of bleachers that don’t match, the scoreboard with the little Quaker man standing strong, the visitor’s side that look as old as the field, the baseball field, and around again you go.

The feeling of repetitiveness weakens my enthusiasm to continue jogging. I stop because I simply cannot take another thirty minutes to finish the workout. It was almost as much fun as jogging on a machine or watching paint dry in Founders Hall.

If you decide to take the track route, I suggest that you bring a friend, music, and jog with something that upsets you embedded in your mind as to take precedence in your thoughts because then the boring scenery will not force you to call it quits.

And so, jogging is a possibility while at Guilford and depending upon your preference, there are many routes you can take. Take your pick? Remember to be safe and cautious at all times.

Here a few final tips before you set out to jog:

 Wear appropriate attire- no jeans no sandals, etc. These could lead to uncomfortable injuries like chafing and stubbed toes.
 Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day, especially if you jog everyday. Don’t dehydrate yourself. It would be quite unpleasant to throw up.
 Jog during the day; avoid nighttime jogs because it is harder to see you as the jogger. However, if you do jog at night, wear light colors and if you can, reflectors.
 Tell someone where you are going and the route in which you will be running so that if two hours pass and your not back, they can look for you, that is unless you like to run marathons.
 Have fun, be safe, and protect yourself.