By SGT Venable Leon
So there you are looking in the mirror wanting to improve your health and physical fitness. There is one simple exercise that can help, with free places to workout right nearby the Stuttgart military bases, and all you need are some good sneakers.
There are optimal, safe running trails right in our area. Outside of Patch Barracks main gate, on the right beside the children’s playground, there is a running trail that leads past a beer garden, and if you keep running you will see a lake at the bottom of the trail. The trail is about two miles long with a mixture of uphill and downhill running.
There is another running trail, when you leave Patch Barracks main gate, keep straight and turn right. Once you get to the end of the street, turn left. Keep running straight past the BMW shop and into the woods. There you will find a running trial that goes up hill for about two miles.
When asking fellow service members about where they enjoy running, 1st Sgt. Amador Aguillen of U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart Headquarters and Headquarters Company, said his favorite route to run is outside of Robinson Barracks.
If you want to run 5.2 mile from Robinson Barracks and back, start at the Teepee children’s park inside of Robinson Barracks. That path takes you to the main road inside RB that leads you out to the front gate. Take the first left to run along the roadway, until you see a four way stop with traffic lights. Make a left.
Follow the fence line around the base, until you see the traffic circle right next to the Robert Bosch Clinic. Take the right at the traffic circle heading towards the Audi dealership. Turn around at the Audi dealership, head back around into the traffic circle. Then, go straight until you run past a German restaurant, and the Robinson Tower. Continue running uphill, and you will approach a four way. Take a left, then go left again, and you will arrive back at the Robinson Barracks front gate.
According to T.J. Hamilton Sherpley, educator and director of Patch Wellness Center, running will improve your mental strength and lower your stress. Patch Wellness Center offers free VO2 assessments that will measure your fitness level.
To stay motivated, sign up for a race or fun run event on or off post. Having a goal to train toward can help keep you moving. Many races benefit charities or causes, too. Running for something that’s bigger than you is a great way to maintain the motivation to keep training, and can make your races even more meaningful and fulfilling.
Ask someone to join you on your runs. Involving the family or friends to run with you is another positive way to stay on track. After all, the saying goes, ‘The Family that plays together, stays together.’