Clayton Patch Editor Seeking Trail Advice

The life of a work-many-hours Patch editor is not conducive to preparing home-cooked, healthful meals. Plus, I'm not a great cook. When I say "I'm not great," what I really mean is I rarely do it. 

About a month ago, my meal plan very often looked like this:

1. Breakfast: A bacon and egg sandwich from .
2. Lunch: A stromboli from Canesa's inside . 
3. Dinner:  A medium pepperoni pizza from .

OK, not a perfectly balanced diet, but extremely satisfying. Though, I knew if I wasn't careful I might start looking like director Kevin Smith and I like Southwest Airlines.

So I cut back a little, sometimes skipping one of my regular meals or choosing bagels over bacon. But, have you had the stromboli from Canesa's? I'm not about to give that up.

Unwilling to go on a real diet, I knew I needed to step it up in the exercise department.

Before Clayton Patch launched in December, I strolled around town and discovered a serene trail by , the George Cardinet Trail. Birds chirp, squirrels play, the creek trickles and greenery is everywhere.

It's the ideal running trail for me.

Not because of the Bambi-like setting, but because it's flat. Really flat. And it's not that long. To take the trail from Lydia Park to the and back is probably about a mile and a half. A good distance before I feel like fainting.

But now I think it's time for me to explore some of the other trails around Clayton, maybe run a little farther. That's where you, Clayton Patch readers, come in. Still new to town, I've yet to explore the city's 27-mile trail system, so I am looking for suggestions about where to stretch my legs next.

The route doesn't have to be flat — I  could probably use the challenge of a hill or two. So tell me about your favorite trail in the comments section, and I'll give it a shot and let you know how it goes.