Running in Cleveland: a photo essay (Part I: The East Side)

During my 14-mile run this past Friday, I thought I'd try something different and maybe get a fun post out of it, so I took along my camera phone and documented some of the things I saw as I ran around the City of Cleveland. I ended up taking 45 photos, which is too much for a single post, so I've divided this into two sections. The first part is from the first 7-mile loop I ran, which took me out to Cleveland's East Side;
Part II will take you to the West Side for the second half of the run. Enjoy!

The first photo here is taken from E 12th Street, the same spot from which I'm typing this article. Thought I'd get one out the window from up here in the penthouse (note: I don't live in a penthouse) so you can see the city stretch out east as I get ready to roll.


Would you bet against this man finishing a long run? I didn't think so.


The exit of the buliding. No turning back now! Are you annoyed yet by the incredibly low resolution of my camera phone? You will be! It's amazing how it makes everything look about 10 times farther away than it is. Maybe I should get a real camera.


Playhouse Square, which recently renamed itself PlayhouseSquare. I'm not making that up - they simply dropped the space between the two words, as if that's like a thing to do. Improbably, this is the nation's second-largest performing arts center, behind only New York City. Granted, the Hanna isn't in this shot, but even if it was, you'd think, really, this is it? Nice places to see a show though.


The Bert and Iris Wolstein Center, where Cleveland State plays their basketball games. I once saw the Beastie Boys here; A Tribe Called Quest opened for them, but Q-Tip was absent, which is like seeing the Rolling Stones, except Mick Jagger wasn't there.


And, we've made it one mile! Thirteen to go. This was a ridiculously nice day for mid-March, by the way, sunny and a bit above 50. I think I may have even perspired at some point.


And now two miles! Somewhere around this point, it dawned on me that photos of street signs might not be the most fascinating thing in the world for blog readers. Didn't really stop me from taking them.


An anti-texting-while-driving ad, courtesy of Safe Auto and featuring former OSU and Milwaukee star Michael Redd. Aren't you a little curious how much Safe Auto shelled out for this? Not enough to use the rights to "NBA" or "Milwaukee Bucks," that's for sure. worth pointing out that Redd is out for the year with injury.


I know, I know, another street sign, but this one is key because, not only does it mark the three-mile point, but it's the farthest point east that I reached during this run.


Hot Sauce Williams. In case you're wondering if I've wandered into the ghetto, I'm happy to report that: yes. I'm a little surprised that no one yelled anything disparaging at me as I ran through this area, but then again maybe I was just too distracted by dodging broken glass to notice.


Vaguely disappointing that these checkered flags do not represent the finish line for me. Wait, what kind of thinking is that?! I've got more running to do! On the bright side, I did get ZZ Top's "La Grange" in my head after seeing this sign.


I wish I had a better photographer for this trip. The sign says that no firearms or weapons are allowed on these premises, something that I have clearly and blatantly violated by bringing along my guns.


4 miles. I know, I know, enough with the street signs. It's different when you're out there alone, though - you want people to know that you've racked up another mile, and these ridiculous photos were the only way I had of doing so. We're headed back into the sun and wind now. It's amazing how the sun slows you down just by its sheer imposing presence.


League Park, former home of the Cleveland Indians. Can you believe that Major League Baseball was played at one time in this little backlot? Amazing. Not pictured: a place behind me called the Fatima Center that I once volunteered at. Once.


Any idea why these clothes might be laying on the ground in front of this abandoned building? Me neither. Not pictured: the crime scene that I had to run around a few blocks ago. I would have taken a photo of it, but I didn't want the cops getting weird and confiscating my phone, even though they were probably too busy stringing up DO NOT CROSS tape to notice me. It's a shame GMaps Pedometer doesn't mark crime scenes when planning routes - I mean, what's the point if you're not going to tell me these details?


Luther Avenue marks five miles for me. We already have an MLK - is this named for Martin Luther? Another Luther? Lex? Wait, I just realized that I was at the intersection of Lexington and Luthor. Ha, Lex Luthor.


There's no way I can do this sign justice. It's on some random street corner on Superior, and is for a dry cleaner called Avon. Their tagline is "join the stars," which I can't understand at all. What stars? The picture is of some wildly grinning fellow with a beard and what looks like a graduation cap, waving a couple of items, perhaps dry cleaning-related. It's comically nonsensical.

I wanted to take a photo of E 25th's street sign, both to annoy readers and to make a joke about it being Gerald Levert Lane. I was going to say that my goal in life was to achieve whatever level of fame Gerald Levert rose to so I can get some random street named after me, but it turns out that only a certain portion of E 25th is Gerald Levert Lane. This makes me think that maybe my goal is reachable.

Also, a postal truck almost hit me at this point. What a moron. Never looked, just plowed right into the crosswalk, slammed on the brakes, then got out to make his deliveries. Awesome place to stop, dude. I expressed my displeasure. If the Postal Service does make some cutbacks, I hope he goes first.



And...we've finished 7 miles. Halfway home! I had to stop upstairs because I forgot to put a water bottle in my mailbox downstairs. I took this photo of my couch because, man, would that have been fun to sit in. I might not have gotten back up, though, so I passed it up.



Click here for Part II