Notes
Reconnaissance day in Budapest! It is cold and rainy and John and Zephyr and I set out to find Margaret Island which is a small - 5K around - island in the middle of the Danube that we hear has a trail around it's outside edge. It is also pretty near to where we are staying.
We jogged down the hill, taking care to note the turns so we could find our way back and thankfully we made it to the river with not too many twists and turns. People don't speak a lot of English here and we are not in a hotel so getting lost would be BAD.
When we reached the river we could easily spy Margaret Island about a mile in the distance. Easy! We ran to the bridge and then took the "exit" for the island. As we dropped down I saw a nice stadium with a track and mentioned how great it would be if the entire path around the island was made of that same track material, like tiny erasure heads.
We decided to split up and go differing directions and as I slipped over to the edge of the island to locate the trail what do I see but a perfect track of tiny, pink erasures heading straight into the distance! I guffawed out loud as hoping for this seemed about the least likely thing ever and yet.. I was so happy to encounter this small bit of runner nirvana I Instantly found a spring in my step I picked up the pace and ran 9:30s or so on my way around the island. I continued beyond the end so I could run into John again and head back with him. Such a perfect running route. I expect I will do it exclusively while we are here and am already looking forward to getting out there again tomorrow.