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Route: Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail (OH)

Submitted by Jeremy Roth on Wed, 11/03/2021 - 03:47pm
Location
Ohio, US
Distance
90.08 mi
Vertical Gain
1,346 m
Description

The Ohio & Erie Canal is iconic to the culture surrounding northeast Ohio. Starting/ending in Cleveland, looping through Peninsula, running along the Cuyahoga River, passing through Akron, running along the Tuscarawas River, and ending/starting near Massillon, it gives bikers, hikers, and runners to opportunity to explore the culture and history of the region. There are several foot races hosted on the towpath but now it's time to see who can run the whole thing the fastest!

GPS Track
The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail Traverse (N to S).gpx279.43 KB

FKTs

Comments

Timcrow
Sun, 08/20/2023 - 04:05pm

On Friday August 18, 2023 at 8:11 am I started from Canal Basin Park in the Cleveland Metroparks to attempt a self-supported FKT on the 90.08 mile Canal & Erie Towpath. I was traveling with a Nathan Vapor Air 7L vest with no bladder. I carried minimal items: Energizer lamp and spare batteries, 1 thermal heat blanket, 2 12 ounce Gatorade bottles, Squirrels Nut Butter, 1 rain poncho, about 3000 calories of bars, gloves, buff, reflector vest, iPhone, and charging cords for phone and watch. Due to the dryness of the trails, and minimal elevation gain, I was able to run in a pair of Hoka Clifton 9s with no worry of a shoe change. I was wearing the Coros Apex, and did not switch to ultra mode. My plan was to use the calories in my vest with no stops for nutrition (note: there is sufficient water on the course from parks at this time of year, especially in Cuyahoga and Summit counties). The weather was a low 62 degrees in the morning, and warmed to a semi-sunny 78-79 degrees during the day, and dropped to low 50s that night. The course is fairly well marked with a couple challenging sections in the Stark Metroparks section of Massillon, Navarre, and then Bolivar. This course could be done as an unsupported FKT, but I elected to eat ice cream at Szlays which is on the course, so the FKT is self-supported. The course is registered as an FKT course from North to South, which has a gradual elevation ascent. I had no issues with traveling solo, and enjoyed the beauty of the course. The Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath is estimated at 90.08 miles. I finished with a total of 92.19 miles. I finished the course at the RT 800 terminus on Saturday August 19, 2023 with total time of 22:11:56.