Outside the Liberty Tunnels, just beyond the cloverleaf and traffic lights, Saw Mill Run Road starts snaking South. Barely a hundred yards from the last entry road is a small section of streets, Woodruff Street and Lewis Street. I had puzzled for some time as to how to run there, say from Mt. Washington, but there’s no good way to get there, so for run #00457, I just drove and parked near the Steamfitters’ Union building.
Surprisingly enough, there are several houses down there along Saw Mill Run (the creek), including this impressive white one. Along Lewis Street, modest houses line the small road.
There are a couple of small businesses along the highway there, which is a quick turn-off for cars zipping down Saw Mill Run Blvd. I zipped through this run as well, for all of its .44 miles.
This next run, RATS Run #00458, was also a short run in a hard-to-reach place. So, one Thursday evening, I zoomed down Washington Blvd. Normally when I go this way, it is to go over the Highland Park Bridge to 28 or to zip around to Upper Lawrenceville. This time, however, I stayed straight, crossed the tracks and found a small public parking lot along Lock Way West. There were a couple of cars parked there, which I found discomforting. Nonetheless, I hopped out and ran down toward Lock 2 on the Allegheny. The Highland Park Bridge stood out against the fading daylight.
Now I passed the car and went to the other end of Lock Way. It was really getting dark. There are a couple of residences along here, which seems strange to me. But, as I should know by now, people live in all the nooks and crannies Pittsburgh has to offer.
The other section of Lock Way meandered along a railroad track and ended up at the Brilliant Boat Club and some Alcosan buildings. With that, I trotted back to the now deserted parking lot after a whopping 1.41 miles. Not exactly marathon training.
