SEATTLE – Down the street. Around the neighborhood. Even on the scenic bluffs near Camp Casey on Whidbey Island.
 
Pick a place, and the Seattle Pacific Falcons put in plenty of roadwork this summer in preparation for Saturday's start to the cross country season.
 
But not every mile was logged in nearby locations. A few Falcons went farther afield to get in their daily runs, the scenery ranging from forests and coastlines in British Columbia to towering, iconic Big Ben in London.
 
With that in mind, we asked those athletes to share their stories. But instead of the traditional "What I did this summer," the topic was tweaked to "Where I ran this summer."
 
Here's what they had to say:

 

Junior Mary Charleson:  England
I went to London to study abroad. I stayed in Roehampton, which is outside central London in the countryside. I ran at Richmond Park just a mile from campus. It is the largest royal park in London, home to dirt trails, equestrian trails, historic monuments, and many deer. I called it runner's paradise.
 
One day, I ran 12 miles in the park and didn't make it halfway around. It is three times the size of Central Park. I saw herds of 30 deer as I was doing my workouts, long runs and training runs at Richmond Park. There were incredible vistas of the rest of London as well. I felt lucky that I was able to run in such a lush, natural environment just 30 minutes away from central London.  
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Junior Hailey Kettel:  Mexico
My family and I traveled to small island called Isla Mujeres outside Cancun, Mexico for a fun getaway and to celebrate my grandparents' 50th anniversary. It was an amazing trip with unforgettable memories.

 

However, running was quite difficult and something that I did not look forward too. Not only was it above 90 degrees every day, the humidity was almost unbearable for not being acclimated to the conditions. Basking in the sun with a refreshing ocean right in front of you was paradise, but running was not so pleasant.

It took no more than a minute into the run that I would be profusely sweating and feeling the heat on my skin. Even by 6:00 a.m., it was hot enough to make it uncomfortable. I had talked to Chris (Reed, SPU's assistant coach) in advance and already knew this would be a "maintenance" week in terms of gaining fitness. By this time in the summer, you cannot afford to take even a couple days off.
 
I knew it would be difficult, and most days, I would rather sleep in the air conditioned room then get up and run. But I knew the consequences if I chose to be lazy.
 
While it was challenging to run, the views along the coast of the island were phenomenal. I loved to run by houses with bright colors and beautiful views of the water. To make my parents feel better, they drove alongside me in the golf carts we rented. Not only was it good motivation, but if the heat got to be too much for me, they would drive me a couple hundred yards to cool me off with the breeze. It was a treat and a nice break for me.
 
The best part was getting to swim in the ocean or the pool after finishing my run – such a great reward and also refreshing. I would feel relieved to be finished with my run and then I got to enjoy the rest of the day in the sun.

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Freshman Kate Lilly:  England
I went to Cornwall, England to visit with my relatives this June, followed up by a few days in Amsterdam. Cornwall is the westernmost bit of England, all countryside villages next to the ocean. The local castle was my turnaround point for all my runs in the village, so that was pretty cool.
 
As for Amsterdam, I got to stay in a houseboat on the canal and spend every waking second at either an art museum or trying not to get run over by a slew of Dutch people on bikes.


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Senior Sarah Macdonald:  Canada
I was able to run on Saltspring Island in British Columbia. I have been going up to our family cabin every year since I was born. It is such a refreshing trip to take away from the blazing summer heat of Tucson, Arizona.
 
It is nice to run at sea level and run trails just a stone's throw from the ocean. The island is very small so for my 12-mile run I basically make it around half the island! The streets are hilly and there isn't a single stoplight on the island so my training partners are mainly deer and raccoon.
 
I see at least five deer on every run (which might not be a big deal for the Northwesterners, but it is quite the change of scenery from the coyotes and javelinas of Arizona).

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Freshman Sedona McNerney:  Mexico
My first trip of the summer was to a small ranch down in San Vicente, Mexico (Baja California) called Rancho Santa Marta. It serves as an orphanage, private school, and special needs school to the surrounding areas.

I would wake up at 5:30 to get my run in every morning before morning devotion and breakfast. This meant I got to catch a killer sunrise every morning, and it made waking up so early totally worth it. I ran along a dirt road on the property that is used to access the burn piles and the fields of crops.
 
There were occasional rolling hills, but nothing crazy, and I was basically at sea level. So this experience would fall under the category of "just a trail in the middle of nowhere" (or so I would say).

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Assistant coach Audra Smith:  Germany, Italy, France
 

When my husband and I went to Europe, one of the things on my list was to try to run wherever we visited.
 
In Germany, we ran around Lake Alpsee while the sun rose above the majestic Neuschwanstein Castle. In Italy, we ran on the cobblestone streets of Siena. And when we were in Chamonix, France, we decided to run down Mont Blanc. It was amazing seeing the village below and the giant glacier above.
 
I will never forget it and hope to be able to go back. Running in Europe is a must!

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Assistant sports information director Mark Moschetti:  Colorado
 

Although I got lots of running in this summer, this didn't count as a run. But SPU cross country colors did make it to the top of Manitou Incline just outside of Colorado Springs, Colo – and that counts as a workout way tougher than most runs.
 
The Incline is the remnants of an old cog railway that was closed in 1990 after a rock slide washed out the tracks. They took the rails out, but left the railroad ties – approximately 2,740 of them, according to Incline information.

The altitude at the base is 6,530 feet; the altitude at the top is 8,550 feet. That's 2,020 feet of elevation gain in 88 hundredths of a mile. The grade averages 45 percent, but is as steep as 68 percent in some places.
 
Made it to the top in 68 minutes – a two-minute PR from my initial climb in 2013. The unofficial record is 16 minutes, 42 seconds; the verifiable records are 17:45 for men and 20:07 for women. And while those folks no doubt went nonstop, most everyone else (myself included) takes several brief breathers on the way up.