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I have been traveling back and forth to San Diego lately, and I wanted to keep up my weekly running routine of 20–30 miles. Saturday is my long run day, and were I still at home in the Bay Area, I would typically go on a 13+ mile run along the San Tomas Aquinos Trail to Levi’s Stadium and Highway 237. Unfortunately, parts of that route are currently blocked due to the Super Bowl LX.

I ran cross-country in high school, and I did my first (and to date only official) half marathon in 9th grade (the San Dieguito Half Marathon). During that time, I never ventured too far from the streets or the trails behind my school, which have now been paved over and fully developed by UCSD.

I have always wanted to run to the ocean, but decades ago, I would not have known how to get there without being a Thomas Guide expert. Today, with the help of Apple Maps, I discovered a 6 mile walking route from my family home to La Jolla Shores.

1. Take the canyon trail underneath and alongside Highway 52 to Rose Canyon, which parallels Highway 5.
2. Cross over the trolley and railroad tracks around Gilman Drive and La Jolla Colony Drive.
3. Run up a large dirt trail next to an electrical substation on the other side of 5. This took me to the hills of La Jolla, across from Mt. Soledad. The famous cross is still there.
4. Navigate through some city streets until hitting Esterel Drive and Azure Coast Drive. Those streets feed into Ardath Road and Torrey Pines Road. There were so many cars in stop-and-go traffic.
5. Run down the hill while passing all the cars to the gas station and Hotel La Jolla (formerly the Summerhouse Inn) on the corner of La Jolla Shores Drive.

I stopped by the site where my parents once owned a restaurant for 31 years. It’s still a restaurant, but one now geared toward the tourist and beach community.

Next, I ran along the boardwalk and the Pacific Ocean. There were a lot of people enjoying the beach and ocean. The Torrey Pines Golf Course was hosting the Farmers Insurance Open PGA event, so the Goodyear Blimp was present capturing aerial shots of the beautiful weather and scenery.

Past the boardwalk, I made way up the hill on La Jolla Shores Drive. It felt like it went on forever, so I took it nice and slow until I reached the edge of the UCSD campus. I ran toward La Jolla Village Square and saw that the old movie theater had turned into a Nordstrom Rack. Of course, that probably happened decades ago, and I never noticed! I remember watching so many movies there and at the theater at UTC.

Despite all the new buildings in and around the Golden Triangle, I knew exactly where I was now and where I was going. I got onto Nobel, passed the Mormon Temple, and made a straight shot to Genesee.

Down the hill and up the hill past UC High to the four gas stations at Governor snd Genesee. After over 1100 feet of climbing, my calves were starting to cramp, but I had completed the run! Total distance was 13.56 miles. Running time was over 1:50, and my total time with stops to take photos and drink water was about 2:30.

It was good to cross an item off my running bucket list. And now that I am familiar with the route, I can — and will — do it again!