4.5.15: Two weeks prior to running the Boston Marathon we visited my family for Easter weekend, taking in the sites along the Rocky River in the Cleveland Metroparks. This park system encircles the city of Cleveland, preserving several of the area’s river valleys and other natural features. The Metroparks system also happens to be the start of my running career, where I explored the multi-use trails and bridle trails that are prominent features throughout.

For this week’s 12-miler, we started near Wallace Lake in Berea. This lake, along with a couple of others nearby, was the site of a former stone quarry. From here, we traveled north along the East Branch of the Rocky River, traversing the Rocky River Reservation. This area features waterfalls and sleep cliffs, becoming more prevalent as the river winds north. At Cedar Point Road in North Olmsted, the West and East Branches converge. Several of these photos were taken in the vicinity of this confluence.