changed.

Sadly, not for the better.

For a good part of the last quarter of a century, like many others who got caught up in the road running boom of the late 1970s, I've tried -- often in vain -- to maintain a semblance of fitness by pounding the tarmac.

Back then the daily ritual seemed less tiresome, most likely because the body parts were in far better working order than they are now.

But for other reasons too, not least that jogging along Bermuda's roads, no matter what the location, offered a vista which few other places in the world could match.

The breathtaking views were, of course, one of the main reasons why so many overseas runners invaded our shores once the secret of International Race Weekend leaked out.

What a surprise some of those same athletes might get if they returned today! The scenery might still be spectacular -- but only if one's eyes aren't allowed to wander below waist length.

For despite the valiant efforts of volunteer groups such as Keep Bermuda Beautiful, the Island's roadsides have been allowed to degenerate into a seemingly never-ending trail of filth and trash.

It's no longer an exaggeration to compare some of our lanes, so quaintly depicted in the tourism brochures, with the inner city slums one might expect in New York, Chicago or LA.

And don't think these eyesores exist only in the `back of town'.

In almost every parish, roadside rubbish is accumulating at an alarming rate.

A regular running route I take follows Front Street out of town to East Broadway, along the Lane into Harbour Road and back onto Middle Road via either Chapel or Manse Roads. From Middle Road, it's then over Rural Hill and back into town.

Taking that course last Sunday morning, I decided -- mostly as a means of lessening the monotony -- to count the number of empty beer bottles either at the side of the road or in the hedgerows.

The exact number escapes me, but it was over three figures and would likely have been many more had the bottles not been disguised among piles of paper cups, napkins, candy wrappings, soda cans and cigarette packets that smeared these once-pristine paths.

The same exercise over a route through Pembroke and Devonshire, mostly on North Shore, provide a similar experience.

Ironically, as one passes the incinerator, either above or below, there seems to be more garbage outside than there should be in.

What's all this got to to do with sport? Not a great deal, perhaps.

But in an age when fast cars and fancy motorbikes seem to be every Bermudian's priority, it has maybe escaped most people's attention just what a filthy country Bermuda has become.

Those of us who regularly put our lives at risk running, walking and cycling among the traffic mayhem, may be the only ones who realise just how serious a problem roadside litter has become.

In my experience, it's never been worse.

The solution? Education would be a start. Without wanting to tar an entire generation, one suspects today's schoolchildren aren't as litter conscious as those before them.

And laws which were more strictly enforced might also help. When was the last time we read of a litter bug being hauled up in court? As for the runners, walkers and cyclists, we can all play our part in raising awareness ... hopefully before paradise becomes paradise lost.

ADRIAN ROBSON ENVIRONMENT ENV