[Review] Concordia Theological Seminary

I promised a full review of running trails at Concordia Theological Seminary in my earlier post about scouting the best route to get from the seminary or Shoaff Park all the way downtown (and back).  I'm not going to spend a bunch of time on each review section here, because I can't honestly recommend the Seminary for any runner, given the nearby options at Fort Wayne parks (Shoaff Park is almost right next door) or trails on the Rivergreenway.

I used to run at the Seminary way back in High School and that was a time when I ran, at most, probably 4 miles.  This was about 15 years ago, and the Seminary's campus had a wooded trail around 1-1.5 miles in its Northwest corner and then you could get another mile or two just running around the grassy perimeter of the campus. I also used to catch an 'unofficial' trail on the East edge of the campus, along the St. Joe river that extended at least a mile north of the Concordia property.

I was surprised about a couple of things on my run.  First, the wooded trail through the Northwest corner of campus was completely overgrown and basically 'unrunnable'

The other surprise was both good and bad.  I hadn't realized before I showed up here that the Pufferbelly Trail is slated for expansion through Concordia Seminary on its way North all the way up to Salomon Farms  (my run review is here)!  What's more is that this expansion already appears to be underway:

Gone is the old stretch along the Eastern edge of campus and here is the beginning of the Pufferbelly expansion.  This, too, is basically 'unrunnable' because this is construction grade gravel and the path is really uneven.  The rocks are really big and you might roll an ankle if you're not careful.  Luckily, I could still run in the grass alongside this and also connect to the 'unofficial' trail that goes North along the river.  Sadly, the Pufferbelly expansion along this route means the loss of yet another unpaved running trail.

Without this stretch on campus (temporarily) and the awful condition of the wooded trails on campus, I had to stick to the grassy perimeter of the campus.  Not really a viable option for future running until Pufferbelly is complete.

Cost (5/5)

It's free!

Facilities (2.5/5)

It's been nearly 20 years since I spent most of my weekends playing soccer here, but there was a restroom in the gym that's right next to all the open grass/athletic fields.  You can check to see if the doors are unlocked, I suppose.  Anyway, there was plenty of parking available and I didn't have any kind of special campus pass for parking or anything.  There's also a pretty big kids' playground that looks newly installed right outside the gym.

Distance (3/10)

• Short Runs (<4 miles) 6/10
• Medium Runs (4-10 miles) 2/10
• Long Runs (10+ miles) 1/10

I feel like this score is kind of generous, given all the reasons noted at the beginning of this review.  If it weren't for connections to trails off campus, it would be hard to get in a run of more than 2-3 miles here without getting really bored.

Surface (6.5/10)

Most of the usable surface is grass.  If you want to brave the wooded trails on campus, there's some dirt trail there (but watch out for the poison ivy growing all over the place)

Terrain (4.5/10)

It's pretty flat here.  There are 1-2 rolling hills in one spot.  Nothing for hill repeats and no extended climbs.  

Scenery (2.5/10)

Not a whole lot here.  The campus is fine for what it is - nicely maintained and grassy campus with some trees throughout.  There's one nice pond that you'll see if you run around the grassy perimeter.

Cover (1.5/5)

I feel like this is being generous as well.  There's really not much cover from the elements here, especially since the trails are overgrown.

Traffic (9/10)

I guess this is where the Seminary shines.  I didn't see another person running or walking the entire time I was here.  I saw a maintenance worker and maybe a car or two driving on campus.  That's it.

Markers (1.5/3)

There are no markers.  I'm defaulting to 1.5/3 when this isn't applicable.

Family (2/5)

Nothing much here for family except for the playground near the gym.  It's possible you might find yourself here with your family for a youth sporting event, though I don't know if other parks have taken over as destinations for those kinds of things.

Connections (2.5/3)

You can connect to the St. Joseph pathway, running from Shoaff to Headwaters (& beyond) if you go out the back exit of campus (onto St. Joe Center Road and then head east to catch a ramp/footpath that goes under the bridge by the river).

Safety (4/5)

I felt completely safe here, and I think there is campus security patrolling.  I actually didn't see any, so I might be just assuming that's the case.

Extras (1.5)

Meh.  You can't take a jogging stoller on grass, but you could take your kids to the playground and take turns running while your partner/spouse watches the kids.

Concordia Theological Seminary Run Review Score:

57% Not recommended. There are several better options close by for runs of any length.

[Review] Parkview North Campus

This route features a system of paved trails (just sidewalks, really) that run through and around the Parkview Regional Medical Center campus.  Aside from some very small hills, the trail system offers no challenging segments to speak of.  Due to its proximity to the interstate, relatively heavy street traffic and its location inside a corporate campus, it is difficult to get settled into a comfortable running groove.  Complete lack of cover from the elements make for heavy winds and oppressive heat (in the summer).  The outstanding family playground, pavilion, pond, and shorter walking trails make this a great option for exercise with your family (or while your family plays).  This trail is perfectly fine for runs of 3-4 miles or less, but I can't recommend it for anything longer or for serious workouts or tempo runs.

Cost (5/5)

Everything here is free.  The Family Park website says it's open from dawn until dusk.

Facilities (4/5)

The Family Park has a nice pavilion with bathrooms, picnic tables, and plenty of parking spaces.  There are some weird traffic patterns in and around the campus that can make it difficult to get in/out of the park.

Distance (4/10)

At the time of this review, there are five marked trails ranging in distance from 0.5 miles up to 3.4 miles.  As the campus is still under development, there have been some recent additions (perhaps a mile in length) to the trail system along the western side of the campus.  I went out for a 7 mile run, so I had to run over some stretches of the trails a few times and started to get a little bored.  In the future, I'll probably stick to runs of no more than 3-4 miles on this route.   This might change in the future as more trails are built or connections are made to the larger Fort Wayne trails system.

Surface (3.5/10)

The entire trail system is blacktop or cement, a little bit wider than your typical suburban neighborhood sidewalk.  There is one small stretch (maybe 1/4 mile) where you have to run on the shoulder of Diebold road.  The gold standard for me is finely crushed gravel trails or dirt trails, so a cement trail will never score very high on my reviews.  The trails are, however clean and free from debris.

Terrain (5/10)

There is very little variance in the terrain here.  I ran almost 7 miles and Strava says my elevation gain (vertical feet I climbed while running) was just 71 feet. Aside from a few very small hills and some very low-incline stretches the whole system is just sidewalks winding around the campus full of medical buildings and corporate offices.  There isn't a single place on the trail that would work well for a workout of hill repeats (though there is a decent man-made hill in the meadow next to the playground).  I also couldn't recommend this trail network for a tempo run or repeats of any distance beyond 200 or 300 meters because it crosses roads and parking lot entrances quite frequently (probably 20-25 times during my run today).

Scenery (2/5)

Not much to speak of here.  There are always a few medical buildings within eyesight and even more power lines.  Ugh.  One of the newly paved stretches along the west side of the campus places you within 15 yards of the interstate, which was both ugly and also so noisy that I couldn't hear my podcast.

Power lines. Everywhere.

Maybe too close to the interstate?

Despite the views that seem straight out of the movie "Office Space," the Family Park with its nearby pond, giant man-made hill, and bridge are nice.  There are some nice gazebos and sitting areas as well.

Cover (1/5)

As you can see from the pictures, the campus has very few mature trees to stop the wind from whipping through and to offer shade on hot summer days.  I made the mistake of running here during the early afternoon on a hot and windy day.  The heat, crazy wind, and complete lack of shade made this run less and less enjoyable as the run went along. 

Traffic (6/10)

Traffic on the trails was minimal.  There were a few lunchtime walkers and a couple other joggers.  It gets more crowded later in the afternoon and evening when families come to visit the Family Park.  I think the signage prohibits biking on the trails, but I see kids riding bikes around the park & pond area quite a bit (no big deal).

Street traffic is a little bit of a nuisance if you don't like your longer runs to get interrupted.  I counted probably 20-25 times crossing over streets or parking lot entrances on this run, and I had to completely stop for traffic at least 4 times.  This was a common thing on the trail:

The trail crosses over a bunch of roads and parking lot entrances.  I had to stop running a few times for traffic.

Markers (2/3)

There is a trail map with a legend for 5 trail distances at the entrance to the family park.  These trails are pretty clearly marked throughout the system.  However, there are some newer stretches of the trail that aren't part of this map and have no trail markers.  Perhaps these new paths aren't meant to be part of the trail system, or maybe they'll be added to the map when they're complete.

Additionally, there is one stretch running along Diebold where the sidewalk simply ends and it puts you out onto the shoulder of the street.  There's even one point where the shoulder abruptly disappears.  This, along with all of the street crossings might disqualify the longest path (orange) for those of you with jogging strollers.

Family (5/5)

Despite what this trail lacks in other areas, it is fantastic for those of you who need to get a workout with children in tow.  My wife and I sometimes bring our kids to the park and take turns running while the other stays back at the playground or takes the kids to the hill or pond.  The sidewalks are great if you have a jogging stroller or kids on bikes/scooters and want a quick 2-3 mile run.  This is one of the better playgrounds in the area, with equipment appropriate for children at all stages of development.  My kids love this place. 

Connections (2/3)

The trails here have already built a number of connections to external trails or sidewalk systems.  On the south end of the campus, this just means a connection to Dupont road - which I would probably never venture onto for a run.  The north end of the campus along Union Chapel Road ultimately connects to nearby neighborhoods like Autumn Ridge or Pine Valley to the West, and has a ready-made connection to whatever develops to the East.

If you are beginning a long run from a nearby neighborhood, you'll have to cross over the interstate, which includes one of those crazy roundabout on ramps.  You have to cross over four on ramps altogether each time you cross the interstate - not ideal.  I decided to give it a try and almost caused an accident when a motorist stopped to let me pass.  I have heard rumors that there will be a pedestrian tunnel or bridge built somewhere to make crossing I-69 safer.

You can connect to this trail from nearby neighborhoods, but you have to deal with this a few times.

Safety (4/5)

I can't think of any areas on this system that present a personal safety concern.  Since the hospital is always open, there are always people around and you'll see hospital security guards driving or roaming around from time to time.  There are no areas of the trail that take you to secluded areas or out of sight.

The only safety concerns have to do with the number of street crossings the trail takes you over (as I have described in other areas of the review).

Extras (4/5)

In addition to the fantastic family playground, the park also has an adult fitness equipment area with some permanent outdoor weatherproof exercise equipment.  The campus is in a good, central location for anybody that lives on the northwest side of town.

Parkview North Campus Run Review Score:

59%  Not so great for the serious runner.