I'm writing this blog on Monday morning, as my class is taking a test, but we actually ran Monday afternoon at 3:00, at pretty much the hottest point in the day. The theme of the run was "wow, I'm hot." Ira actually brought two Gatorades; he carried his on the run, while I left mine in the shade at the end. The choice to run in ninety degree weather reminds me of one of those "screw in a light bulb" jokes: How many Stanford graduates does it take to pick the most inappropriate time of day to go for a run?
Our first stop was Margaret Jacks Hall, which is building 460, right in the front of the Quad. It houses a bunch of departments, including Linguistics and Symbolic Systems. I just spent quite some time trying to learn who the heck Margaret Jacks actually was. There isn't a lot of information out there, and it wasn't until page two or three of the Google results that I stumbled upon this wonderful and informative article. Fun fact: Margaret Jacks' dad lived in Monterey, and was the first to market and popularize Monterey Jack cheese. This fact alone makes the entire running adventure worth it.
Next we ran to Mariposa. It sounds like it should be one of the tree portables, but, no, it is a cute little house near Bechtel by Tresidder. We weren't sure what was there, so I looked it up. It houses the "Department of Diversity and Access" and the Ombudsman. Stanford calls this "the Office of the Ombud," probably in a worthwhile attempt to be gender neutral. Hey kids! You know when you're little and someone asks you what you want to be when you grow up? Wouldn't "ombudsman" be an awesome answer?
Our third stop was the Math Corner, building 380 at the corner of the Quad. Per usual, there is no sign that actually says "Math Corner", but we looked for it fruitlessly. My last final as an undergraduate was in the math department, but I enjoyed the freedom of Stanford's honor code and took the exam sitting on the grass in the Oval on a glorious spring day.
We then ran to the Mausoleum, where Leland Stanford and his family are buried. It felt a bit creepy to actually touch the door, but we did. There's actually a "knocker", which was even creepier, since, um, no one is going to answer. We discussed that this is probably one of the most underrated spots on campus, since it is pretty awesome looking. Ira poured some of his Gatorade in honor of Sir Mix-a-Lot, and only know am I realizing that I didn't ask him to elaborate more on that story. I hope he does so in the comments.
Back to the Quad for McClatchy, which is building 120, right across the inner courtyard from Margaret Jacks. We were really, really hot by now, and we ran through a gaggle of tourists taking pictures. This happens to us all the time when we run through the Oval/Quad area. I wonder how many pictures I've been in over the years? Several hundred, probably.
Then, it was over to the older Engineering buildings for McCullough. I think I once took a class there. If I recall, it was class where I had to hook up chips and wires in a "breadboard" to make a simple computer. It was really hard, and I remember bringing my project across campus thinking that it would be really, really bad if I got hit by a biker and dropped it and all the wires fell out. (By the way, the buildings on this run are all pretty darn close together. Nice!)
We then ran a short distance to the Mechanical Engineering Research Labs (MERL). It's just up the hill a bit. How excited do you think the mechanical engineers were when they realized that their new building's acronym spelled out a name? I'm envisioning a lot of geeky high-fives.
Finally, we had a long trek over to the medical school for the Medical School Office Building. We ran down Welch Road and we were now really, really, really hot. Ira drank the last of his Gatorade by MERL. Normally we talk a lot during our runs, but we weren't saying much now, either because we were way overheated or because by now we've totally run out of stories. This building was pretty much a nondescript office building, as the name suggests.
Next was the School of Medicine, which is broken into four buildings: Alway, Edwards, Grant, and Lane. They are all sort of connected and we found Alway right away, but then the construction was confusing. I suggested that the construction blocked us and we should run around the building, but Ira wanted to go check out if there was a sign for Edwards. He was right, thank goodness, saving us valuable time and distance. We eventually found Grant and Lane on the other side. This building still confuses us a lot.
Even hotter, we ran to Memorial Church. Ira made us run straight up the center of the Quad, since that is clearly the most appropriate and reverent and scenic way to approach the most picturesque building on the entire campus. This did, unfortunately, require us to run a long stretch in direct sunlight with no shade, and, wow, we were hot.
Then things started getting weird. Our next spot was listed on the map as Memorial Hall & Auditorium. Every Stanford student knows where "Mem Aud" is, but we weren't sure about the building named "Memorial Hall." Was it the same thing, or is it a side room off the main auditorium? We ran around the side looking for a sign, and then, after a few minutes and a peek at the map, Ira saved us by noticing that there was a plaque right at the front, which was easy to miss in the bright sun. I even took a photo. So, yes, basically Memorial Hall is the building that houses Memorial Auditorium. Whatever.
Our goal today was to get to Meyer Library, and we made it. However, Meyer is now abandoned, and is going to be knocked down soon. The final days have begun, as there is now a serious chain link fence completely surrounding the building. According to Ira, this went up on Thursday or Friday, so we were not actually able to touch the building. We did find one place where we could have probably slid under a gap in the fence, and, if it wasn't the middle of the day, we would have done so. I did take one last picture for posterity. Notice the fence encircling the entire building. Ira and I wept a bit, thinking of the last time we played the famous frisbee golf hole up that outdoor ramp. Sigh.
Distance: 6.0 miles, although we had to run alongside Wilbur Field for about fifty yards to make it to 6.0. (Total distance is now 110.3.)
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