Running routes through impressive parks in North America
I have been fortunate to travel extensively during my career and usually include running shoes in my carry-on luggage. Running as a regular exercise regime is low-cost and low-maintenance in terms of travel packing. It also can be enormously helpful in recovering from a long day of travel and time zone changes. The number of times I have literally hit the ground running upon arrival to a destination is countless.
In my retirement (or ‘relaunch’) years, I am not putting in the same amount of running mileage as I used to. Mainly this is because I have found other outlets for exercise, particularly CrossFit. But when I travel for pleasure, I still take my running shoes as I find it is a great way to explore a destination, especially if it is through a scenic park.
Running through Stanley Park in Vancouver
While I find a great waterfront route to be exhilarating, park running can be equally impactful, especially during foliage changes or during atmospheric change that heighten sensory awareness, such as damp conditions that enhance the smell of evergreens or eucalyptus. I love a great run along the waterfront in Vancouver, but an alternate to the sea wall around Stanley Park is to run wooded trails up to Prospect Point Lookout, which smells intensely of evergreen after a rain or with fog. Getting to the top at Prospect Point to view the Lions Gate Bridge and North Vancouver is a real treat. The roundtrip from downtown Vancouver to Prospect Point is approximately 5 ½ miles.
Running through Central Park in New York City
The vivid colors of the trees in New York’s Central Park in the fall make for a very enjoyable run – accompanied by several hundred other joggers at pretty much any time of day. During my hospitality career I had an annual conference in NYC, which got tedious after a while. The redeeming element was to be able to stay in Midtown and get an early run through Central Park most mornings. My run would follow East Drive up to the Reservoir, circling the gravelly Shuman Running Track and back to the hotel, for a roundtrip of about 5 miles.
Running through central Boston's public parks
Before Boston undertook the seemingly endless ‘Big Dig’, running through downtown Boston was dodgy. Now that the major arteries are underground it is a delight to traverse the city on foot. An easy run through one of the more scenic parts of the city is to start at Boston Common, traverse the adjoining Public Garden and circle the pedestrian friendly Commonwealth Avenue Mall, comprising a round trip of about 3 miles.
Running through historic Savannah
While not actually park running, a self-guided tour of Savannah in my running shoes felt like ambling through one big city park. Savannah is all about the many different squares that make up the downtown historic district. Because they are uniformly placed in a box-like grid, it is dead easy to follow a back-and-forth route to cover each, accomplishing both an historic city tour and great exercise at the same time. Because of the way traffic is funneled around each square in a one-way fashion, you are never really competing with vehicles as you crisscross the historic downtown, except when reaching a few of the major arteries like Oglethorpe Avenue and Liberty Street. It makes for a great introduction to one of Savannah’s more delightful assets, especially if ending up at the great fountain at Forsyth Park.
Running through Washington, DC's National Mall
A favorite closer to home is the four-mile loop around the National Mall and the Tidal Basin. Nothing is more impactful than circling the great monuments of the Nation’s Capital, especially when spring is in full bloom and the famous cherry trees are at their best. Some of my most memorable runs have been competitive races in Washington, DC, including the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler and the GW Parkway Classic.
You can find me on Strava and Garmin Connect as Gregg Rockett.
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