Best Place to Get Fit

  1. Outdoors
  2. Eugene YMCA 2055 Patterson Street. 541-686-9622. EugeneYMCA.org.
  3. Downtown Athletic Club 999 Willamette Street. 541-484-5410. DowntownAC.com

For a city that calls itself Track Town, USA, it’d better have a plethora of running trails. In fact, there are more than 42 miles of shared-use running paths in the Eugene-Springfield area, so we won’t complain about scarcity. Rather than sweating it out on a treadmill that has a TV with talking heads tirelessly deconstructing what that new Tweet from President Donald Trump means, as they neglect the actual stuff that he and the Republican Party do to dismantle the country, go outside. Go bike Springfield’s paved trails. Go hike outside of Eugene. Go run Pre’s Trail. Go walk with the Eugene-Springfield Mossback Volkssports Club. Going outdoors does come with some caveats, though. Whether you’re on a day or a night jaunt, watch out for distracted drivers. And the outdoors isn’t available year-round, and you can thank climate change for that. So go spend some time outdoors — it won’t be here forever.  — Henry Houston