Bosque

And the Duke City was always her favorite, and for one reason and one reason only.

And that is because this time of the year, running a marathon in Albuquerque and along the Bosque, it's absolutely breathtaking in terms of how beautiful it is.

It really is.

And, you know, a few years back, you mentioned that we were in the top 25 marathon.

[laughs]

This is the allure of what people call the bosque, the Spanish word for forest, but in Albuquerque, what refers to the cottonwood groves that line the Rio Grande.

The Bosque feels a bit like a secret garden that everybody in the city has a key to.

Since it runs on both sides of the river's banks, it's long and skinny.

There's no official entrance.

Over the years I've spent visiting Albuquerque, I've made plans with so many people to meet at the Bosque, only to get texted a random GPS point for a parking lot or dead-end street.

Once you're there, it feels wild and untamed.

At any turn of the trail, you're just as likely to run into a person on horseback as a group of sandhill cranes taking off across the river.