Chapel Hill trails provide students a place off campus for running

It's almost inevitable to see someone on a run when walking to class or grabbing a coffee on Franklin Street, but campus isn't the only place to log miles — Chapel Hill has a plethora of trails to offer. 

Perhaps a reason why running is so popular in Chapel Hill, especially in the spring semester, is the looming date of the Tar Heel 10 Miler and Fleet Feet 4 Mile run. This year, the annual races take place on April 19, and training is in full force throughout campus.

Paige Brennan, a sophomore at UNC, ran the Tar Heel 10 last year and is doing the 4-mile race this year. She is also a member of the UNC Marathon Team, who she ran the Historic Hillsborough Half Marathon with last semester as well.

Brennan said she appreciates the endurance aspect of being able to run long distances and enjoys listening to music on her long runs.

“It's one of my favorite types of exercise because I like being outside,” she said. “So sometimes I don't really love running on the treadmill or working out at the gym, so running is a good outdoor activity.”

In her training, Brennan tends to stick to the trails off of campus, like Bolin Creek Trail or one that runs along the train tracks heading into Carrboro. She said going on the trails allows for more distance because of the constant stoppage that comes from running on campus due to stop lights littering Franklin Street or constant crowds of people during the day.

Avoiding campus for runs is also a common activity for Stanley Wilson, a junior at UNC who is training for the Double Down Challenge — where participants run both the Tar Heel 10 and 4-mile race — this year and has ran a number of long races, including the Tobacco Road Half Marathon and the Rock 'n' Roll Nashville marathon.

Wilson tends to stay off campus when running for similar reasons as Brennan: constant obstacles and people everywhere.

“The amount of times I would run through campus and one of my friends would text me like, ‘Oh, I just saw you, you look like you're dying on your run.’ I was like ‘Okay, great,’” he said. “So I would usually just run on the outskirts of campus.”

Wilson said the energy and motivation he feels from completing a run is what has kept him doing it since fourth grade. He said it's nice to not think about anything for a while when he's on a run, escaping the stress of day-to-day life.

Wilson also appreciates how running can help him to learn more about the place where he’s living.

“Moving to Chapel Hill for college and then discovering different trails here or routes, that's always super fun for me,” he said.

Maggie Mead, a sophomore at UNC who's also on the UNC Marathon Team, loves finding something new to see when she's running through the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area, too.

Growing up in Wilmington, Mead said she finds Chapel Hill much more walkable than her hometown, and being able to just go for a run anywhere in the area is something she really enjoys.

Like Brennan, Mead said she likes the Bolin Creek Trail and a greenway from the Old Well into Carrboro.

“I think it's really nice that the town has trails like that for people to run on,” she said.

Mead joined the marathon team her first semester at UNC and has found that running is a great way to meet people at school, keeping her outside and on the trails.

Whether it’s to train for a race, find new scenery or just spend time outside, Chapel Hill has no shortage of trails for people to spend their time on.

Editor's Note: Maggie Mead is a writer on the Opinion desk.

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