Hey, this is Cate Westenhover, Flo Intern. I’m helping out with editorial content for Summer 2011. I run track and cross country at Baylor, but I’m staying at home in Austin for the summer.

I grew up in Austin, Texas, and going to college at Baylor 100 miles away taught me to appreciate the city even more. From the culture to the food to the great running – there’s nowhere I’d rather spend my summer. It’s also pretty cool that Flotrack is headquartered in downtown Austin, because that’s how I got to intern here!

It gets really really hot, and this year’s highs are already above average. So what’s a serious athlete to do? Any runs between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. are off limits, unless you have a death wish. You can run in the morning or the evening, and pick a good place to run.

These are the best spots year-round, but I’ll tell you why they’re especially good in the summer.

First off, the Town Lake hike and bike trail is ten miles of crushed granite right in the middle of downtown. It’s a loop course around the lake, and with the bridges that span it you can shorten the run to a 3, 5 or 7 mile loop. Copious shade, mile markers and three water stations make this run manageable on a logistical level. 

There’s also the psychological effects of seeing hundreds of other people out there. You’re not suffering the heat alone. It’s motivating seeing everyone else getting a workout and enjoying the morning or evening. Everyone runs here: elites and Olympians, the local college and high school teams, triathletes, casual runners, fast dads with baby joggers and couples on workout dates. Yes, it can get crowded, but a smooth 7:00 mile pace makes you one of the fastest people out there and you feel like a stud.

The Barton Creek Greenbelt next to Town Lake is popular for runners looking for some trail flavor.

It keeps you on your toes, alright. But it makes you forget you’re in the city. Running here makes me feel the essence of running: just me, the trail and the footsteps that forge our connection. Also here, expect to see some dogs, people climbing the cliff walls that border the trail, and lots of Vibram Five Fingers. 

If Town Lake is Austin’s go-to running route, the adjacent Zilker Park’s Great Lawn is the city’s beautiful backyard. It’s not technically a trail, but a giant field of smooth grass with a great skyline view.

Visitors probably know it as the host site for Austin City Limits, but when it’s not covered in music stages it makes a pretty sweet 2k loop, and a good place for barefoot strides. It’s also frequented by beach volleyball players, adult rec soccer leagues, kite flyers and various boot campers, yogis and anyone else who wants to work out under the open sky.

If I’m not at Town Lake or the Greenbelt, you’d probably find me on a couple of random gravel trails near my house in North Austin. They’re short, but they get the job done. And that’s the thing, they’re all over the city. There’s always somewhere to run.

And finally, any run can be improved with a dip into Barton Springs Pool at Zilker Park. The natural pool is spring-fed, so the water averages a temperate 68 degrees year-round.

These places wouldn’t be so special if it weren’t for the fitness community that populates them. Austin is full of people who appreciate and understand the athletic pursuits. They make the subtle differences. The local running stores supply the ice-cold water at the Town Lake water stations. The city’s whole laid-back atmosphere makes it ok to walk in almost anywhere in your workout clothes. Our bike infrastructure is good and getting better. We’ve got a ton of local running stores and running programs and teams.

And the pervasive fit culture makes cross training a whole lot of fun. I love riding my bike with the other cycling enthusiasts. Yoga studios are all over. Triathletes have their own training groups, often with free workouts and shop rides every week. You can rent a kayak or a standup paddle board and coast right through downtown on the river.

Yeah, we’re kind of weird in Austin – Town Lake is no exception. People gather at dusk to see the bats fly out from underneath the Congress Avenue bridge (that Congress Avenue); you might see the infamous Leslie biking in his thong or smell the smoke wafting over from the annual Reggae Fest.

So it’s hot and it’s weird. But it’s also the place where magical runs can happen. It’s the training mecca of Texas. And it’s never snowy (take that, Colorado Springs!), so you can train seriously outside all year long. 

Austin is more than home to me. It’s my playground, and I’m still exploring and finding new stuff. This is where I became a runner. It all started here… and it keeps happening.

Austin, quite simply, is the place to be.