You are running through a rainforest. Armed with nothing but your will, your entire cotton shirt is drenched in perspiration as if you've just been caught in a monsoon. Your features are distorted with anguish as you trip over roots, each stride bringing a new green, leafy barrier to throw yourself through. And just when you think your legs will fold under the pressure, you see a light shining through the tree, and ALAS you are on... Lexington Road.

"A little dramatic?" You might ask. Well, not for anyone who has braved the trails of Seneca Park in the dead of summer. If you venture to the overgrown paths of this route, you may truly find yourself in a rainforest with nothing to show but skinned knees and a bruised ego. So how can you avoid such travesties as a runner? That's where I want to help you. As a member of the Furman University cross country team and an avid runner, I like to consider myself a member of the class I have fondly termed the "Louisville Running Nuts." These are the people you can find running at 6 am to beat the heat, or tackling that treacherous hill on a thick July afternoon. Frankly, these are the crazy people who cannot live without running during the summer months.

So if a gym session just won't cut it for you, this column may offer new running routes, advice, and the simple knowledge that you aren't the only nut out there. Stay tuned as I offer weekly accounts of the trials and tribulations of my summer training. You may even pick up some tips on how to spice up your own training routine while you're at it.

"My feeling is that any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy."

-- John Bryant