If you go easy, a two or three hour trail run should be fine. (by go easy, I mean slow!)

I appreciate your advice! I got lost looking for the trail I wanted to run today and ended up on a strenuous hike at Mt. Mitchell, which is supposed to be the highest point east of the Mississippi. After all the getting lost, I only ended up doing about 4 miles. It was so steep I had to walk an awful lot, especially on the way down. It was 60 degrees when I left the cabin, but up there it was low forties. I was underdresssed and very underprepared for the many ice patches on the trail (totally busted once). I don't think I've ever been on a run where I found the uphill to be significantly easier! So anyway, I only ended up doing about 4 miles of run/walk, but I feel good and I'm glad I got out. It was also fun passing the hikers and hearing them say, "dude, she's making us look bad" Yesterday, when I was running around the cabin, I ran into a mama bear and her baby! So, all in all, it's shaped up to be an interesting weekend for running, even if it's not quite what I had planned.

I probably got about 100 yards away. I was almost back to the cabin and turning the corner to go down a hill, and I saw the little one shuffling around on the side of the road. I hung out there for a bit watching...I wanted to make sure my eyes weren't mistaking me and it really was a bear. He either didn't see me or didn't much care. Since he wasn't going anywhere, I decided to turn around and go back down the road the way I came to see if a lady I saw who was just arriving was still outside. (Maybe she would drive me back?) She wasn't there, but I thought, "surely the bear isn't still there." So I tried again, and when I turned the same corner I thought, "man, that bear's a lot bigger than I remembered." Then I saw baby bear a few yards away from her. So, no, not gonna happen. Mama bear was a little more concerned about my presence. She at least turned my way and acknowledged my presence. I finally decided to turn around and go further up the mountain and just get back to the cabin through the backyard. Which took almost an hour. When I got back to the cabin, a bunch of the girls had arrived and they said, "We saw a bear! We were so worried about you!" Not enough to go out looking for me though I just wish I'd brought my camera. Don't get a photo op like that all the time.

Wow, You were lucky with those bears... What an experience though... I am sometimes a little too nervous to run on trails like that by myself, although I do run trails occasionally. Thankfully I haven't come across any bears though... How did the marathon go? Lu