My Daily Running in Kyiv

As I prepare to return to Ukraine in ten days or so, one subject of my meditations has been how to approach my daily running. Over the past eighteen months I have rarely missed a day of running, in all weather, and typically put in between forty and sixty miles per week. During my 2007 visit I frequently commented on the dangerous traffic conditions in Kyiv and the lack of safe above ground pedestrian walkways. (See, for example, my posts entitled "Where Will the Children Play," "Travails of a Pedestrian," "Passing By Gridlock on a Snowy Evening," and "Travels with Yuri.") So, the news that the new Kyiv apartment is located in Triokhsviatytelska Street directly across the street from the Volodymyrska Hirka Park is some of the best news I have heard. I cannot think of a better (and safer) place to run than on the network of walkways and paths in the Park, stretching from the statue of the Baptizer and up behind St. Michael's of the Golden Domes overlooking the Dnipro. The weather (even in snow) need not bother me, as I am accustomed to running in rain and snow, and the plowing crews appeared to be especially diligent in clearing the park during my many visits in 2007, including during and after two large snowstorms. I plan to take changeable and easily washable running clothes and one pair of running shoes with me. My plan is to run in the early mornings Wednesdays through Sunday. Mondays and Tuesdays will be problematic, as I will be commuting to and from Kharkiv on those days.