​OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO TO RUN/WALK

Get-away run, down East Beach Drive to the Gulf of Mexico entrance to Galveston Bay, Galveston TX. Taken by PKSenagore, April 2016. All rights reserved.

TRAVELING THIS SUMMER? Not sure where to run to get an insider’s feel for the places you are visiting? Whether for pleasure or business, the article “Run the World: The Top 20 Running Routes in America” by MapMyRun** can help you find runner-tested routes to enjoy.

The list supports Earned Runs’ opinion that locations in which runners have a view of water are some of the best places to run. Why?  Not sure what experts would say, but a few thoughts come to mind..
 
The reflection of sky and sun on watery surfaces amplifies colors that can at the same time calm (blue) and brighten (yellow) our mood. And like a mirror in a room, it can give the illusion of an expanded space. Natural light, from the sun in the daytime and moon in the night, and even artificial light from nearby buildings and street lamps after dark, acquires movement on the water’s surface, where it sparkles, twinkles, and grabs attention.
 
Water features seem to readily draw both runners AND non-runners to their beauty; thus, the best time to avoid crowds and enjoy ponds, fountains, reflecting pools, shorelines, and river paths, is earlier in the day or later at night.
 
Not all these 20 favorite running routes follow or circumscribe water, but many have at least 50% of the route in view of water*. 

1. Memorial Park Loop, Houston TX
2. Prospect Park Loop, Brooklyn NY
3. Central Park, NYC, NY*
4. Washington Park Loop, Denver CO*
5. Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, Austin TX*
6. Green Lake Loop, Seattle WA*
7. Lake Calhoun Trail, Minneapolis MN*
8. Rose Bowl Loop, Pasadena CA
9. Lake Merritt Trail, Oakland CA*
10. Rice University Loop, Houston TX
11. Lake of the Isles, Minneapolis MN*
12. Kelly Drive, Philadelphia PA*
13. Silver Lake Reservoir, Los Angeles CA*
14. Sloan’s Lake Loop, Denver CO*
15. Waterfront Loop, Portland OR*
16. Lake Miramar, San Diego CA*
17. Lakefront Trail, Chicago CA*
18. Westside Highway Path, NYC NY*
19. Lake Quannapowitt Loop, Wakefield MA*
20. Lake Hollingsworth Trail, Lakeland FL*

 
This link to the article is now on the OH THE PLACES YOU’LL GO page. You may wish to print this article to have the list handy for travel. Keep it in a plastic storage bag in your carry-on suitcase pocket.
 
The list has significant helpful information in addition to a course map, and each item links to a page with a interactive Google map, and MapMyRun user data.
Identified for each route:

• Distance
• Average time to run
• Female: Male ratio
• Busy time of day

 
The distances are mostly between 2-4 miles, with the longest being 5.08 miles around Lake Miramar, San Diego, and the shortest a near tie between the 2.17-mile Silver Lake Reservoir and 2.18-mile Central Park routes.
 
Have you completed any of these routes as either a visitor or a resident? A potential challenge for those who move about the country regularly could be to eventually run all 20 in the course of business and pleasure travels. If MapMyRun publishes a longer or different list in the coming years (top 25 or 50), it could be a really fun long-range running or walking goal that doesn’t require a significant physical effort, like those that involve running multiple marathons.

RUN HAPPY!.
 
http://blog.mapmyrun.com/run-the-world-the-top-20-running-routes-in-america

NOTE: **Data calculated for all MapMyRun users from April 1, 2016, through March 31, 2017. Routes had to be longer than 2 miles in length.