running in central park

[venice2007]

in a couple weeks I will be in NYC for my anniversary, id love to do one of my runs in Central Park! Anyone run there? how long of a run can I get? Too crowded? Safe (my h is freaking out...LOL) any tips?
thanks!

[patches31709]

The main loop they use for the NYC Half is right around 6 miles. I've never run there on my own, but wouldn't consider it unsafe, I would just pay attention to your surroundings.

[venice2007]

Oct 1, 2013 11:44:03 GMT -5 patches31709 said:

The main loop they use for the NYC Half is right around 6 miles. I've never run there on my own, but wouldn't consider it unsafe, I would just pay attention to your surroundings.

Oh 6 would be a perfect morning run....
it seems safe from what I read on line but my H is a safety nut...lol.
thanks

[InBetweenDays]

I ran in Central Park while visiting NYC last summer (well, summer of 2012). I went around 7:30am on a weekday and never felt unsafe. The hardest part was running to Central Park (our hotel was about 0.5 miles from the park) because of the number of people on the sidewalks and having to stop at every block.

Here's a link to a question I posted before running in NYC. Someone posted a link to a map of the park.
pandce.proboards.com/thread/35470/running-nyc?page=1#scrollTo=549582

[al320]

Yup, the big loop is.just over six, theres a smaller loop too. Its totally safe during daylight hohrs, but as others have said, stay aware. Depending on where you are staying, you can also run along the rivers - theres a path that goes uo the west side, and up the east (i dot know if its continuous on the east side though). Enjoy! We are having great weather.

[centralperk]

The main loop is nice. It's 6 miles but you can cut it short 1 of 2 ways to make it 5. But beware: it is SUPER easy to get lost. Every New Yorker I know who's run there has gotten lost, it's like a rite of passage. I grew up in the 'burbs but my family lives in the city now and last time I visited them I did what I thought was a 5 mile loop that would dump me out at E 90 st. Yeah I ended up at W 58 st. LOL. Consider yourself warned.

The reservoir is also really nice!! One loop is 1.5-ish miles. It's a gravel path, and very flat. I love running there and often do several loops.

[venice2007]

Oct 1, 2013 14:28:16 GMT -5 centralperk said:

The main loop is nice. It's 6 miles but you can cut it short 1 of 2 ways to make it 5. But beware: it is SUPER easy to get lost. Every New Yorker I know who's run there has gotten lost, it's like a rite of passage. I grew up in the 'burbs but my family lives in the city now and last time I visited them I did what I thought was a 5 mile loop that would dump me out at E 90 st. Yeah I ended up at W 58 st. LOL. Consider yourself warned.

The reservoir is also really nice!! One loop is 1.5-ish miles. It's a gravel path, and very flat. I love running there and often do several loops.

Is the 6 mile loop easy to follow then?

[centralperk]

Oct 1, 2013 15:03:29 GMT -5 venice2007 said:

Oct 1, 2013 14:28:16 GMT -5 centralperk said:

The main loop is nice. It's 6 miles but you can cut it short 1 of 2 ways to make it 5. But beware: it is SUPER easy to get lost. Every New Yorker I know who's run there has gotten lost, it's like a rite of passage. I grew up in the 'burbs but my family lives in the city now and last time I visited them I did what I thought was a 5 mile loop that would dump me out at E 90 st. Yeah I ended up at W 58 st. LOL. Consider yourself warned.

The reservoir is also really nice!! One loop is 1.5-ish miles. It's a gravel path, and very flat. I love running there and often do several loops.

Is the 6 mile loop easy to follow then?

If you've never run it before then I think it's hard to make sure you're going the right way. But you can totally do it, just ask people periodically if you're still on the 6 mile loop road. You'll be fine if you do that! People there are friendly.

[centralperk]

Oct 1, 2013 15:03:29 GMT -5 venice2007 said:

Oct 1, 2013 14:28:16 GMT -5 centralperk said:

The main loop is nice. It's 6 miles but you can cut it short 1 of 2 ways to make it 5. But beware: it is SUPER easy to get lost. Every New Yorker I know who's run there has gotten lost, it's like a rite of passage. I grew up in the 'burbs but my family lives in the city now and last time I visited them I did what I thought was a 5 mile loop that would dump me out at E 90 st. Yeah I ended up at W 58 st. LOL. Consider yourself warned.

The reservoir is also really nice!! One loop is 1.5-ish miles. It's a gravel path, and very flat. I love running there and often do several loops.

Is the 6 mile loop easy to follow then?

If you've never run it before then I think it's hard to make sure you're going the right way. But you can totally do it, just ask people periodically if you're still on the 6 mile loop road. You'll be fine if you do that! People there are friendly.

[patches31709]

Oct 1, 2013 15:03:29 GMT -5 venice2007 said:

Oct 1, 2013 14:28:16 GMT -5 centralperk said:

The main loop is nice. It's 6 miles but you can cut it short 1 of 2 ways to make it 5. But beware: it is SUPER easy to get lost. Every New Yorker I know who's run there has gotten lost, it's like a rite of passage. I grew up in the 'burbs but my family lives in the city now and last time I visited them I did what I thought was a 5 mile loop that would dump me out at E 90 st. Yeah I ended up at W 58 st. LOL. Consider yourself warned.

The reservoir is also really nice!! One loop is 1.5-ish miles. It's a gravel path, and very flat. I love running there and often do several loops.

Is the 6 mile loop easy to follow then?

I don't know if this helps at all, but check out this map from the nyc half. That's the big 6 mile loop of the park highlighted.

www.halfmarathons.net/usa_half_marathons_new_york_ny_city_half_marathon_map.html

[tuggyruns]

I know nothing about the NYC loop, but I would say take your phone and shoot someone a Glypmse if you can! I never take my phone, but after getting lost running in Ireland, and then discovering Glympse, I take it EVERYWHERE!

ETA: I take my phone to run when I am running in unfamiliar places.

[venice2007]

Thanks everyone! I so want to do the 6 mile loop but now y'all have me worried ill get lost lol lol lol
Looks like a nice run tho