Originally Posted by
pinniped
Two questions: (1) is there a good running trail that takes you up to Victoria Peak? Or did you just run regular streets to get up there? I've only ridden that funicular to get up there and didn't pay attention to how you'd do it otherwise. (2) Did you ever go out and run or hike Lantau? We took the cable car out to the big Buddha one day and saw some hikers below us. Looked like you could just spend a day out there getting lost on trails in that park.
(1) I use city streets until the trail, which starts at Old Peak Rd and Tregunter Path. At the tram, run up Mount Austin Road to the peak. Bring some money -- there is a vendor at the top that sells cooled Gatorade/water et al.
(2) Not been to Lantau. My trips to HK are interim stops on the way to/from India, so I don't have much time.
Actually, these days WN is probably my most-preferred carrier to get to SoCal. AS is the only other one I'd consider. So Catalina is definitely not a silly suggestion and is an awesome place to spend the day! (Fliers on any airline will, of course, need the ferry.
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Catalina is hard to get to but *thoroughly* worth the effort, especially for a runner. There is a great 10-mile loop starting in Avalon that I think I can recreate.
There is some family running history that includes Catalina: I went to UCI, as Stanford and Cal were too close to home. My parents live in the bay area. They stopped at Catalina on the way to Irvine on the same weekend as the Catalina Marathon. Watching the runners literally crawl across the finish line weirdly motivated my dad to become a runner. I was uncomfortable having a parent in better shape than me, so I took up running.
Continuing on the SoCal angle, you could do a pretty long unimpeded run on the boardwalk (plus a few residential streets) from at least Huntington down to Newport and Balboa. I've both run it and taken the whole family on a leisurely bike ride. There are probably ways to go even further north and south of those points, but you could make yourself a 20-miler round trip just in this area.
The boardwalk at Newport is an interesting suggestion. I did that *many* times and it would be easy to get to from SNA. The boardwalk starts at 36th and ends at E Street. At E, I'd cut in and go all the way to the Wedge. I lived in the '
war zone' in Newport for many years - Seashore from 32nd to about 52nd. I liked to run Back Bay also. Is that still open? You could do Back Bay literally from SNA. (Note to OP: we'll clarify/map these runs after we decide whether or not they are reasonable.)
Giffith Park in LA would be good (via Burbank). Maybe Golden Gate Park in SF also?