Best Place to Train For a Marathon

Seasoned marathoners know that a weekly ultralong run is essential for survival on race day. Rather than mapping out a confused route along traffic-choked city streets, runners can keep it simple and serene by training in the Mill Creek Streamway Park in eastern Johnson County. Its seventeen miles of asphalt path wind through leafy woods and past quiet subdivisions, from south of 119th Street in Olathe north all the way to Nelson Island in the Kansas River. The many hills get that lactic acid pumping through the legs. Happily, nine access points along the route allow you to scout ahead by car to stash water bottles and Clif bars for sustenance.