Whether you’re a seasoned racer or just looking for a way to stay in shape, Lubbock offers some great places to practice. Here are some of my favorite places:
Urbanovsky Park: Urbanovsky Park is located next to the Texas Tech University United Supermarkets Arena and the Texas Tech University Student Recreation Center. The park is flat and pretty open,with a few trees but not much shade, so dress appropriately. You can follow the trails, or venture off-trail across the fields, or explore the nearby university campus.
Tech Terrace Park: This small park is about the size of three or four city blocks. A short jog around the circumference of it takes you about half a mile. There’s a little more shade here, especially if you stick to the streets around the park, but it’s still very open, so again, wear sunscreen and maybe a baseball cap. On nice days you’ll see a lot of bikers on the streets around the park.
Wagner Park: One block south of Tech Terrace Park is Wagner Park. It’s small, only a couple of city blocks big, so even a novice runner can make a couple of laps around it easily. There’s a playground, so it’s pretty busy on nice days, and in the spring you can get a glimpse of a neighborhood baseball game.
Higinbotham Park: This is one of my favorite places for a quick evening run. There’s a big lake in the middle, and a winding trail that runs more or less the circumference of the park, but keeps a little bit back from the street. On hot days, the water from the pond makes this park seem a little cooler, although it can get a bit buggy in the summer.
Shadow Hills Golf Course: Being a golf course, this is a large area, with lots of trails to run and plenty of interesting water and geological features put there for the golfers. It’s also a bit greener in the summer compared to some of the other places on this list, although that’s mostly grass and shrubbery not trees–again, sunscreen is your friend here. I like to head towards the center-west side of the course, where there are some small ponds and even a fountain.
Mackenzie State Park: This is a little out of the way for most people, but if you’re planning a long weekend run, Mackenzie State Park is well worth the trip. It’s big, with tons of different trails, and some hills for a bit of a challenge. There are also prairie dogs, a small golf course, a small amusement park, and some gorgeous ground floral.
