Equine Surprises in Gerritsen Beach

Wednesday 10/25, Run #72: Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach

Distance: 10.22 miles
Time: 1:20
Pace: 7:50
Temp: 46
Dewpoint: 32
Weather: sunny & windy

click on image for interactive map

Unique Miles Today: 7.07
Total Unique Miles: 568.00
Percent of Brooklyn Run: 32.60

For the complete route, click here

Notes: Another neighborhood down. This time it's Gerritsen Beach, the tiny peninsula of narrow streets stuck on the southeast corner of Sheepshead Bay (the neighborhood, not the body of water). The highlight of the run, I suppose, was coming across a couple of horses in a fenced-in area at the end of Devon Avenue. I'd encountered horses once before, at a stable near Prospect Park. That kind of made sense to me -- I'm sure there are plenty of folks willing to pony up (sorry, couldn't resist) a few bucks to buy some riding lessons for their kids or simply to saunter through the park. I'm not so sure about the horses I saw today, however, since the neighborhood is almost completely surrounded by water. Still, it's always fun to encounter the unexpected. Otherwise, I won't expend a lot of energy complaining about the complexity of the route (though it was plenty complicated) or the number of non-unique miles (over three), but instead let the warm glow of satisfaction resulting from the completion of yet another neighborhood suffuse my tired body. Or maybe I'm coming down with something.

No, really, I'm fine. Actually, I haven't had so much as a cold in almost two years. Maybe it's all the physical activity (strengthens the immune system, you know) or the healthy diet (well, except for all the chocolate bars), though I'm sure the frequent and thorough hand-washing (my devotion to which falls somewhere between that of a surgeon and Lady Macbeth) has something to do with it, too. I mean, you can practically see the germs festering on the poles on the subway. Of course, I've probably jinxed myself now, and I won't be surprised if I wake up in a day or two with pneumonia...

But I digress. Where was I? Yes, Gerritsen Beach is now filed under "completed," and I'm quite happy about it. Not because it's a horrible place or anything (though the neighborhood has been in the news a few times over the past several months, and unfortunately, not for good things), but mostly because it's a long way from the subway and has a lot of dead end streets, which really rack up those non-unique miles. (Not to mention that I get some of my strangest looks as I head down streets which clearly end just ahead of me.) I'm getting kind of itchy, actually, to see some new places and neighborhoods, but I figure that'll be happening soon enough. Anyway, I'll probably take two days off (my ankles have joined my heels in providing ongoing physical reassurance that I am, indeed, running all of Brooklyn), and then hopefully finish up Brighton Beach, Coney Island, and Sea Gate over the weekend.

This morning's photos:


A store on Gerritsen Avenue


Looking north across the canal that separates the two halves of Gerritsen Beach


Clock tower on the public library, Gerritsen Avenue


Part of St. James Church, also on Gerritsen Ave


The aforementioned horses, on Devon Street