After being at WashU for more than a minute, you will definitely hear someone talking about the ever-present St. Louis summer. This summer, aptly named the STL summer, is divisive amongst WashU students. People love it, people hate it, but, as people who spent a summer in St. Louis, we will die on the hill that the St. Louis summer is not as bad as some make it out to be.

WashU’s location — nestled between Forest Park, Clayton, University City, and St. Louis — offers a wide variety of running spots for newcomers and experienced runners. Many WashU students talk about wanting to get out of the “WashU bubble,” and running (or walking) is a great way to do so and explore the world surrounding WashU. Here are some of the best running routes for the WashU community.

Oh, the hot dog. An American staple that conjures up images of backyard barbecues on the Fourth of July, watching your favorite baseball team from the stands, and maybe even a trip to Coney Island.

After four years in St. Louis, I have maintained my coffee addiction by exploring a variety of cafes. There are the classics: all of the Kaldi’s Coffee locations, Meshuggah Cafe on the Delmar Loop, and even our very own campus spots like Cafe Bergson and Whispers Cafe and Collins Farms at Law Cafe.

It’s a tale as old as time: You pack your bag with all your required readings and head to a nearby coffee shop with good reviews online, only to find that the layout of the cafe makes it absolutely impossible to get any work done. You order an expensive latte anyway — you’re already here, might as well — but you end up chatting with a friend or getting distracted by your phone instead of having the productive day you had planned.