Rank: Easy

One of the most popular running trails in Atlanta is the Silver Comet trail. The Silver Comet Trail is over 61 miles long, and starts near Mavell Road in Smyrna, Georgia. It ends at the Georgia/Alabama state line, near Cedartown and Esom. At the Georgia/Alabama state line, the Silver Comet connects to an additional 33-mile long trail in Alabama called the Chief Ladiga Trail.

The Silver Comet Trail was built over an abandoned rail line in northwest Georgia and is named after the Silver Comet passenger train. It was introduced by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1947. During the height of rail travel, the trains consisted of sleek passenger, sleeper, dining, and observation cars. People could connect to other rail lines; therefore, they were able to travel to to big cities in the north, and tour areas in Florida. As the rail industry declined in the late 80s, the Georgia DOT bought the rail line and in 1998, began consturction on the Silver Comet trail as part of Georgia’s “rails-to-trails” project.

Silver Comet - First 11.5 Miles

On a nice Saturday, you will see hundreds of people out here, running, walking, biking and blading. The trail is clearly marked and as flat as a pancake. The map above is of the first 11.5 miles of the trail. You can go as long as you like. As I run this trail, I like to imagine what it was like in the 40s and 50s to travel on the train and view the beautiful scenery. It’s nice to see the undeveloped parts around the city. Every time I turn around to go back, I wish that I could keep going. One day, I will run the full trail and somehow carry gear to sleep or stay in nearby hotels – if I plan the trip correctly…

The only minor drawback to this trail is the fact that the asphalt is sloped to handle run-off. I know this sounds “nit-picky”, but because you are running on the right side, your left leg is always higher than your right. There are some parts of the trail that slope in one direction or the other, but I always end up with joint and shin pains on this trail when I run any amount of distance.

Below you will find just a few of the “official” trail maps for the Silver Comet trail:

This only covers the Cobb County section of the trail: Silver Comet Trail – Cobb County

Official Georgia Silver Comet Trail Map

If you have run this trail, I would love to hear your experiences. Drop me a line…

A L Burruss / Life College Trail Map

Rank: Difficult

Are you ready for some hills?!?! Well it’s about time I posted a “Difficult” run and this one will get your legs burning. There are plenty of trails in both the A L Burruss and the Life College locations and a nice trail to link them. The A L Burruss section is relatively flat with some small hills. Once you cross over to Life College though, you will hit some gnarly hills – I swear one of these was more than a 45 degree incline – brutal!

I started in the A L Burruss parking lot and it made a nice loop throughout both sections, but I have since heard that the area is a “cruising” spot and I only saw one other car that was running and nobody got out while I streched. This being said – in the future, I will be parking on the Life campus and running through A L Burruss section. I will feel much more comfortable with my car there.

There are many branches to the trail and there are a couple areas to note:

• On Life Campus, one of the trails will take you to their great track – this is a rubberized track that is open to the public (at least it seemed to be when I was there).
• When running from A L Burruss to Life College, once you get to the campus, the trail seems to stop. Just run around the field and you will see the trail pick up after a road/parking lot. Just look for it, you’ll find it.
• There is a section of old houses and an old mill off one of the trails – each house has a plaque describing the original location and function of each building. Stop and check them out.
• You will see several exercise stations throughout the Life College trails if you’re interested in circuit training.
• Make sure to run all of the side trails at the A L Burruss section – these are narrow, single person trails that are very scenic and a nice diversion from the main run. I saw some groundskeepers driving their truck on the main run and was glad to escape back into the woods.

I would definately run here again, however – I would only save this for a strength training day due to the massive hills and the excellent circuit training section of the course.

Again, I can not find any official maps for either of these sections, but if you have one or know where to find one, please reply to this post and I’ll add them.