Like thousands of others, I succumbed to eclipse fever last week.

I caught it from my daughter Lottie who planned to fly from Hilo, Hawaii to Chattanooga, Tenn. to witness the extraordinary event.

With only a vague plan to pick Lottie up at the Chattanooga Airport and a few extra days built into the journey, Dave and I packed the essentials, beer cooler and running shoes into the Subaru and headed south. We merged into the river of “Eclipse or Bust” traffic bound for the totality zone.

We wheeled into a Beckley, W. Va. motel early that evening, tired, hungry and thirsty, but mostly stiff-legged from the drive. Rather than search out a running route in the dwindling daylight, we jogged across the parking lot and onto the winding drive of an adjacent cemetery.

Cemeteries can provide quiet, traffic-free running or walking paths if you respect the hallowed space and abide by the rules of each burial ground. We ran quietly among the long shadows of tombstones, pausing to read some of the inscriptions or look at photos of the deceased mounted on the memorials and tiptoed past the angel garden of children.

On our cemetery runs, we are always on the lookout for misplaced or fallen American flags. We righted a few and placed a torn and faded Old Glory on a veterans’ memorial.

The paved cemetery path led to a dusty service road surrounding a containment pond. A few locals sat on the bank, fishing lines catching the last rays of sun. Bullfrogs and peepers filled the air with an increasing level of sound. We made our way back to the motel as dusk settled, satisfied with our 5k jaunt.

Our next day was devoted to driving and visiting with family in Knoxville, Tenn., so we promised ourselves a run somewhere along our route to Chattanooga on the following day.

As we inched through traffic, I searched for parks and greenways, finally settling on Enterprise South Nature Park, five minutes from both I-75, Chattanooga Airport and our motel.

Enterprise South Nature Park encompasses 2,800 wooded acres previously used by Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant to manufacture and store TNT. Empty underground storage magazines still dot the landscape and while running amongst 90 bunkers doesn’t sound natural or scenic, they are barely noticeable under the mixed hardwoods and brushy undergrowth along the trails.

The entire park is wooded and offered much appreciated shade from the 88 degree Tennessee sun. We stopped at the park office for suggestions and a map, then chose a gently rolling trail with a fragrant and springy cedar chipped surface.

The park map, also accessible online, details color-coded roads, bike and mountain bike trails and pedestrian-only unpaved trails along with trail difficulty ratings from one through five. The park’s nearly ten miles of pedestrian trails offered a variety of scenery and skill level.

We decided to loop past Hidden Lake, an idyllic picnic spot, and to investigate Boulder Point Trail, a climb ending at a small boulder field and rocky outcropping.

In our five-mile circuit, we passed several runners, some more than once, and stopped to talk with a local mountain bike outfitter who rents bikes in Enterprise South and other regional parks on weekends. We finished with a cooldown jog through the cedar and regretted that we wouldn’t have time to visit more of the many parks in the region.

Hopefully we can make this journey again before the next eclipse.

Upcoming events

Saturday, 9 a.m.: French Creek ½ Marathon and 5k, Meadville. Run mostly on paved trail along French Creek. 814-336-2196 or kristoph.ymca@zoominternet.net

Saturday, 6 p.m.: Elderton 5k, Elderton. Held in conjunction with Fireman’s Festival. 724-354-3779 or rfrailey@windstream.com

Sunday, 8 a.m.: Bull Dam Trail Run, North East. Choice of 5k, 10k or half marathon starting at Howard Eaton Reservoir. 814-323-0241 or bulldamtrailrun.net

Monday 7 a.m.: Buhl Day Half Marathon & 5k, Hermitage. Run from Buhl Farm Park. 5k starts at 9 A.M. 724-981-3700 or info@buhlrun.org

Sept. 9, 8 a.m.: Saxonburg Festival of the Arts 5k, Saxonburg. Final race in Saxonburg Distance Series. 724-355-5059 or shoes@runpa.cm

Sept. 9, 9 a.m.: Fueled by Fire 5k Race/Walk, Mars. Starts at Adams Township Community Park, benefits Adams Area and Callery Fire Departments. 724-316-1173 or hgeyer@adamstwp.org

Sept. 10, 8:30 a.m.: Green Cathedral Half Marathon, 5k and Kids Fun Run, Youngstown, OH. Run through Mill Creek MetroPark. Kids run starts at 8 A.M., 5k at 8:45 A.M. carolv@millcreekmetroparks.org

Sept. 10, 9 a.m.: FAAP Fall Classic 10k and 5k Trail Runs, North Park. Bamboo medals, post-race food and Philippino Dance Troupe performance. Faap5krace.yolasite.com

Sept. 10, 4:30 p.m.: Hoodlebug 5k Run and Fun Walk, Homer City. 724-541-0013 or fulmer_cd@yahoo.com

Sept. 10, 5 p.m.: Run to Remember 5k, West Kittanning. Also kids race at 5:45 P.M. 724-919-9396 or harleigh316@gmail.com

Sept. 16, 8 a.m.: Premium Outlets 5k, Grove City. Run at Grove City Outlets benefits Simon Youth Foundation. First in Wolf Creek Track Club Fall 5k Series. Wolfcreektrackclub.com

Sept. 16, 8:30 a.m.: Rockin the Knob Trail Challenge 30k and 5 Mile, Claysburg. Run at Blue Knob Four Seasons Resort. 5 mile event starts at 9:30 A.M. www.alleghenytrailrunners.com/rockin-the-knob

Sept. 16, 8:30 a.m.: Peanut Butter Festival 5k, New Bethlehem. 814-221-1322 or justinmoorept324@gmail.com

Sept. 16, 9 a.m.: Bethesda Mud Run 5k, Meadville. 814-724-7510 or tougherthanyourmudder.com

Sept. 16, noon: Junior Great Race, Pittsburgh. Family Fun Run, Tot Trot and Diaper Dash for kids age 0 through 12. Also mascots, crafts, face painting, inflatables and more. rungreatrace.com/junior_great_race.html

Sept. 17, 8 a.m.: Boston Harvest 5k, 10k and Half Marathon, Boston. Run on Yough River Trail. 10k starts at 9 A.M., 5k at 9:15 a.m. 412-760-5302 or teambrunazzi@gmail.com

Sept. 24, 8 a.m.: Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race 5k, Pittsburgh. Starts in Oakland, ends downtown. Also 10k starting at 9:30 A.M. Rungreatrace.com

Sept. 24, 9 a.m.: Butler Lions Club Scoot and Toot 5k, Butler. Held in conjunction with Blind Association’s Chili Festival. 724-287-4059 or jbindernagel@theblindassociation.org

Sept. 24, 9 a.m.: Pizza Joe’s Run Big for a Little 10k and 2 Mile Fun Run, New Castle. Kids race at 8:40 A.M. 724-658-1716

Oct. 21, 9 a.m.: Buffalo Creek Half Marathon, Cabot. Downhill, point-to-point course on Butler-Freeport Trail ends in Freeport. runsignup.com/Race/PA/SARVER/BuffaloCreekHalfMarathon

Race results

St. Barnabas 5k, Aug. 5 (finishers under 32:00): Nick Edinger, 1st Overall M, 15:14; Laura Harnish, 1st Overall W, 17:41; Tessa Franchi, 3rd Overall W, 19:03; Joel Schaeffer, 1st Masters M, 19:38; Melissa Schaeffer, 1st Masters W, 20:45; John Armstrong, 1st Grand Masters M, 21:00; Catherine Hrach, 3rd Masters W, 22:04; Sharyl Relic, 1st Grand Masters W, 22:59; Jennifer Fennell, 2nd Grand Masters W, 23:39; Suzette Cappola, 3rd Masters W, 23:40; Simon DeAngelo, 3rd 20-24 M, 17:29; Quinton Johnson, 3rd 15-19 M, 17:42; Eric Thompson, 3rd 35-39 M, 18:03; Rylee Kopchak, 1st 15-19 W, 19:07; David France, 1st 45-49 M, 20:09; Delaney McCarthy, 2nd 15-19 W, 20:52; Sage Vavro, 1st 10-14 W, 21:02; Alayna Edinger, 2nd 20-24 W, 21:03; Tresa Coon, 3rd 15-19 W, 21:33; Dean Rippee, 2nd 60-64 M, 21:36; Bill Schmidt, 3rd 60-64 M, 21:45; Rob Hunt, 2nd 45-49 M, 22:02; Asher Harrington, 2nd 10-14 M, 22:02; Mac Allen, 3rd 10-14 M, 22:02; Eric Domitrovic, 1st 40-44 M, 22:20; Evonne Patterson, 2nd 35-39 W, 22:40; Dean Longwell, 3rd 45-49 M, 22:50; Stella Fannie, 1st 10-14 W, 24:03; Taletha Fulk, 3rd 10-14 W, 24:31; Kim Ebbert, 1st 45-49 W, 24:32; 24:32; Janel Kasowski, 1st 40-44 W, 24:53; Angelina Yanez, 1st 55-59 W, 25:02; Nancy Beltz, 2nd 55-59 W, 25:15; Katherine Colton, 2nd 40-44 W, 25:25; Lydia Dennis, 2nd 20-24 W, 25:27; Kathleen Bosiljevac, 3rd 55-59 W, 27:50; Patricia Neubert, 1st 60-64 W, 26:51; Terry Ann Fuller, 2nd 60-64 W, 26:59; Natalie Franko, 2nd 50-54 W, 27:14; Barbara Lane, 1st 70-74 W, 28:33; Nelson Noto, 1st 80+ M, 29:40; David Gaylord, 3rd 75-79 M, 31:53; Lukas Johansson, 17:45; Michael Dolgos, 17:52; Skyler Vavro, 18:53; Chad Pakozdi, 19:53; John Zervos, 19:56; Anthony Hartwick, 19:57; David Swisher, 20:12; Adam Zalenski, 20:18; Luke Crum, 20:18; Andrew Schafale, 21:20; Bryan Kurp, 21:22; Grant Lloyd, 21:33; A J. May, 21:52; Alan Boburczak, 22:04; Max Kasowski, 22:10; Jacob Schaeffer, 22:53; Matthew Deacon, 23:16; Jake Fischer, 23:26; Caroline Swan, 23:29; Brian Pirro, 23:30; Christian Walker, 23:31; Rebecca Mobley, 23:34; Keith Gallagher, 23:36; Collin Petty, 23:39; Kilian Perkins, 23:40; Lauren Allen, 23:42; Judy Johnson, 23:43; Megan Gallagher, 23:44; Brian Croop, 23:45; Clayton Speakman, 23:45; Richard Wolf, 23:51; Holly Matsko, 23:53; Lucy Lewis, 24:02; Jim Willochell, 24:10; Joseph Kulbacki, 24:17; Austin Lloyd, 24:18; Mary Ella McCarthy, 24:32; Scott Golla, 24:34; Toby Perkins, 24:41; Sterling Fulk, 24:44; Michael McNamara, 24:46; Grace Johnson, 24:49; Roman Clay, 24:52; Devin Golla, 25:13; Jenna Sutton, 25:16; Darcy Bowman, 25:18; Tim Molnar, 25:25; Kaden Ebbert, 25:27; Ashton Polak, 25:33; Kyle Donnelly, 25:38; Jon Hassler, 25:41; Alex Fuller, 25:49; Christina McNamara, 25:51; Gianna Lazzaro, 25:53; Shawn Allen, 25:55; Jack Fennell, 26:03; Spencer Hackworth, 26:18; Doug Titchen, 26:24; John Hackworth, 26:26; Jeff Jokl, 26:35; Steve Hawbaker, 26:38; David Bonvento, 26:39; Gary Hayden, 26:44; Vincent Dennis, 26:45; Bob Pakozdi, 26:48; Anna Staresinic, 26:58; Madison Gumto, 27:03; David Guo, 27:06; Zachary Marzan, 27:06; Lara Hudek, 27:08; Kendall Loos, 27:14; Carly Dolgos, 27:14; Silvio G. Andreassi, 27:15; Silvio J. Andreassi, 27:17; Brian Donnelly, 27:22; Kara Fennell, 27:23; Christopher Carroll, 27:29; John Voigt, 27:32; Jeffrey Elm, 27:37; Sonya Silvaggio, 27:39; Joanne Petty, 27:42; Don Balla, 27:47; Heather Slater, 27:48; Kaylee Ebbert, 27:59; Jason Spudic, 28:10; Joseph Franchi, 28:21; Tara Staresinic, 28:31; Lori Lewis, 28:33; Madison Scullion, 28:37; Nicolette Spudic, 28:38; Nicholas Crum, 28:39; Julie Phillips, 28:43; David Lang, 28:46; Everett Harrington, 28:49; Edward Hudek, 28:55; Sherry Lane-McKillop, 29:02; Regan Thompson, 29:11; Robert Sands, 29:15; Dani Gumto, 29:20; Chuck Holet, 29:25; Ryan Helsel, 29:34; James DeMore, 29:36; Malia Costa, 29:37; Robert Whittington, 29:40; Jim Bisti, 29:42; David Lockerman, 29:54; Cameron Perkins, 29:55; Shannon Orr, 30:06; Art Black, 30:10; Marie Johnson, 30:15; Maura Dye, 30:18; Susie Affalter, 30:27; Justin White, 30:32; Greg Nelis, 30:36; Erin Schaeffer, 30:54; Zach White, 30:57; John Grenci, 31:05; Kayla Willochell, 31:12; Cecilia Ottenweller, 31:13; Grace Longwell, 31:15; Milla Harrington, 31:20; Denee White, 31:22; Kristen Bowie, 31:23; Eric Schindler, 31:39; Glenn Brennen, 31:49; Tammy Schuey, 31:52; Elise Orban, 31:54; Cyndi Craft, 31:55; Megan Medjimorec, 31:59; Matt Buchwald, 32:00

Send comments and suggestions: Patricia Neubert. Phone 724-352-4395. Email lotzak@consolidated.net

Pat Neubert is a running columnist for the Butler Eagle