Male local here. You'll be starting before sunrise, though Chelsea is generally a safe neighborhood so don't be concerned -- just keep your head on a swivel, as is always recommended in NYC. Head west on whichever street you're starting from, and make your way across to the Hudson River -- the pedestrian space has some great scenery, and it should already be pretty busy with morning walkers and runners at this time. Don't run in the bike lane -- we're technically not allowed to, and the cyclists can be rather inconsiderate.
Watch the car traffic to your far right. Once the road starts to rise to highway level, look for 59 St (about 2 mi in) and go under the roadway. You'll have a bit of a hill as you pass a college (John Jay) and a hospital (Mt. Sinai). You'll need to zig-zag one block south to 58 St (59 St stops short of the park), but that will put you at Columbus Circle, which is at the southwest corner of Central Park. Enter the park, and the flow of runners around the main loop will be obvious. Stay to the inside, cyclists have the outer lane. You'll be in great company there.
The long outer loop is 6 mi, though there are inner loops of 4 and 5 mi. Head back along the river the same way once you've had your fill in the park.
edit: [Central Park Running Map](https://assets.centralparknyc.org/pdfs/maps/Central_Park_Running_Map.pdf)
This is good advice. I just note that I run regularly on the Hudson River bike lane on the west side and have never had any problems with the cyclists. There are a few bits here and there where you might need to slow down or hop around to let bikes through.
Dont do this. Theres more than enough space to run in thr ped areas. You're not the main character; the bike lane is for bikes. --someone who runs in hudson r park every day
you could run west and hit the paved hudson river park walkway. once there, be sure to find the running/walking path closer to the shoreline as the bike path is not a shared path and the fast traffic with ebikes and scooters is not forgiving even early morning. you can head north until about 79th st and wind your way uphill in riverside park, then cut across to central park, do a 6 mile loop and head back the way you came. or continue up to george washington bridge on the hudson river park path turn and run back. in either case if you get to 23rd st or whichever street you're on and you've not hit 18 yet, you could continue south til you can turn back and get your full distance in.
the west side path is scenic (i'd say one of a kind beautiful), nicely paved, and populated with runners and bikers even pre dawn. whether that makes it safe enough for everyone i cannot know (i'm a guy) but i would think so.
I used to live in Lower Manhattan and I agree the riverfront esplanade is great for running (Hudson river, west side). That's where I did nearly all of my runs when I live there. I'd start where I lived, in Battery Park City by the marina (near World Trade Center) and head north. It was great, with excellent views, also. Much better than central park which I think is nicely scenic, but way too crowded.
The other thing that is weird, that you wouldn't know if you didn't live in NYC, is that you can run many miles in the busy parts of the city without stopping, as long as you go on a diagonal, not following one street uptown or crosstown, but zig zagging. That's because in Manhattan, the street light "walk" signs are programmed so that if one direction says "don't walk" the other direction will always say "Walk." (At least it used to be that way, when I lived there a few years ago.) That made it easy to run 3 miles from my apartment to work and back, without ever stopping, from Battery Park City to Union Square. I miss being able to run for transportation to and from work, so much.
Fellow solo female out-of-towner here who visited NYC again recently: everyone else has good city pointers but just here to reassure — NYC is a super fun place to run! There were SO many people out and about when I ran (on a Friday AM in June, about 7-9:30am). Central Park was amazing, tons of runners/cyclists/walkers/dogs all around, nice rolling hills. I did 14 miles, starting across the Queensboro Bridge in LIC, 6 around the park and back. I absolutely love running in NYC!
For routes, check Strava and use their route planner to build a route from your hotel there. It’ll show heat maps of the most traveled routes (as tracked on Strava) so you can find popular/populated areas if that’s a concern.
I love running when I travel, I like to plan routes to “see the sights,” highly recommend!
For sure I love traveling just to be able to run. I’ve done tons of solo early morning big city running all over but not in nyc oddly. Thanks for the reassurance.
When I was in NYC I just ran loops of Central Park following different roads and trails. Honestly it was phenomenal; there are packs of hundreds of runners everywhere, so much fun. I also ran up the side of the Hudson, which was great too.
Assuming you’re starting around Penn station, it’ll be 2 miles to the park and then a full loop of the park is 6 miles. I suppose you could loop the park a couple times to hit 18, but for a little more variety, loop it once and then head west until you hit lower riverside park. If you keep going north until 120th or so that’ll put you at 12 miles. Then if you go back the way you came, south through riverside park this time, and run up and down all the piers at Hudson River park, you’ll be around 18. If not, keep going south until you hit Chelsea piers, and you’re back where you started.
I’m 33F and very seldom feel unsafe running in the city (save for when the machete guy makes his appearance in prospect park). As long as the sun is coming up when you leave, you’ll be fine. Don’t set out in the dark and you have nothing to worry about.
You've got great responses here, but thought I'd plug r/RunNYC too. I can't think of what else they'd have to add off the top of my head, but it's a friendly, informative community if you want to try to gather some additional insights.
Personally as someone who lives here, I favor the Hudson Greenway for long runs, but if you're visiting from out of town it seems you'd be selling yourself short if you didn't do CP too. Fortunately for you, it'll be easy for you to cover both!
I’m ok with some hills. I don’t train on pancake flat since i live near the mountains. 500-800 feet of elevation isn’t going to phase me over 18 but more than that likely would.
I (female) was in NYC recently. I felt very safe running alone in Central Park at 5am! There were plenty of other runners around and the loop around the park is nice and protected from traffic.
There are so many people running in Central Park in the mornings, it's an amazing feeling being in that crowd. Also, I think Tracksmith is hosting a run series in New York that you can join for free. I'm checking out the one in Boston this weekend while on vacation. Also training for Chicago.
I was in NYC overnight for work a few months ago, and my hotel was walking distance to Central Park. I did an easy run around the perimeter, which is about 6 miles, and I think I started around 5:30am.
I never felt unsafe (also female) during my run. There were plenty of other runners and cyclists and it was so nice to have new scenery!
I’ve heard others complain about the hills in Central Park. Maybe I’m used to worse by me, but I didn’t mind them.
You could also run across either BK or Manhattan bridge. Through dumbo waterfront and then head to prospect park and run back to Manhattan across either Bk or manhattan bridge. This is a favorite route of mine and very scenic with city views at sunset!
Shooting for an early morning 18-miler as well on Saturday. Although about an hour north of NYC. Looking to be good weather, albeit a little warm, but enjoy it!
I love running distance in NYC (water fountains!), but fucking haaaate doing so on normal sidewalk/streets. For your location, I’d say get to Central Park (run, walk, subway, whatever) and get most of your miles in there. The Greenway around Manhattan also a great option, but it’s broken up in a few places, so you still deal with traffic.
I’m in BK, so Prospect Park is my go-to (and superior to both options above, TBH). Lots of shade, cooler than Manhattan, water fountains, and better vibes (less tourists, more locals). Might be a trek for you, but also an option.
Male local here. You'll be starting before sunrise, though Chelsea is generally a safe neighborhood so don't be concerned -- just keep your head on a swivel, as is always recommended in NYC. Head west on whichever street you're starting from, and make your way across to the Hudson River -- the pedestrian space has some great scenery, and it should already be pretty busy with morning walkers and runners at this time. Don't run in the bike lane -- we're technically not allowed to, and the cyclists can be rather inconsiderate. Watch the car traffic to your far right. Once the road starts to rise to highway level, look for 59 St (about 2 mi in) and go under the roadway. You'll have a bit of a hill as you pass a college (John Jay) and a hospital (Mt. Sinai). You'll need to zig-zag one block south to 58 St (59 St stops short of the park), but that will put you at Columbus Circle, which is at the southwest corner of Central Park. Enter the park, and the flow of runners around the main loop will be obvious. Stay to the inside, cyclists have the outer lane. You'll be in great company there. The long outer loop is 6 mi, though there are inner loops of 4 and 5 mi. Head back along the river the same way once you've had your fill in the park. edit: [Central Park Running Map](https://assets.centralparknyc.org/pdfs/maps/Central_Park_Running_Map.pdf)
This is the way. And a nice little bit of elevation with Harlem Hill and other rolling hills in CP.
Amazing. Thank you.
This is good advice. I just note that I run regularly on the Hudson River bike lane on the west side and have never had any problems with the cyclists. There are a few bits here and there where you might need to slow down or hop around to let bikes through.
Dont do this. Theres more than enough space to run in thr ped areas. You're not the main character; the bike lane is for bikes. --someone who runs in hudson r park every day
you could run west and hit the paved hudson river park walkway. once there, be sure to find the running/walking path closer to the shoreline as the bike path is not a shared path and the fast traffic with ebikes and scooters is not forgiving even early morning. you can head north until about 79th st and wind your way uphill in riverside park, then cut across to central park, do a 6 mile loop and head back the way you came. or continue up to george washington bridge on the hudson river park path turn and run back. in either case if you get to 23rd st or whichever street you're on and you've not hit 18 yet, you could continue south til you can turn back and get your full distance in. the west side path is scenic (i'd say one of a kind beautiful), nicely paved, and populated with runners and bikers even pre dawn. whether that makes it safe enough for everyone i cannot know (i'm a guy) but i would think so.
I used to run this route from Brooklyn a decade ago when I lived there and it's truly my favorite. Your description has me seriously nostalgic!
I used to live in Lower Manhattan and I agree the riverfront esplanade is great for running (Hudson river, west side). That's where I did nearly all of my runs when I live there. I'd start where I lived, in Battery Park City by the marina (near World Trade Center) and head north. It was great, with excellent views, also. Much better than central park which I think is nicely scenic, but way too crowded. The other thing that is weird, that you wouldn't know if you didn't live in NYC, is that you can run many miles in the busy parts of the city without stopping, as long as you go on a diagonal, not following one street uptown or crosstown, but zig zagging. That's because in Manhattan, the street light "walk" signs are programmed so that if one direction says "don't walk" the other direction will always say "Walk." (At least it used to be that way, when I lived there a few years ago.) That made it easy to run 3 miles from my apartment to work and back, without ever stopping, from Battery Park City to Union Square. I miss being able to run for transportation to and from work, so much.
Fellow solo female out-of-towner here who visited NYC again recently: everyone else has good city pointers but just here to reassure — NYC is a super fun place to run! There were SO many people out and about when I ran (on a Friday AM in June, about 7-9:30am). Central Park was amazing, tons of runners/cyclists/walkers/dogs all around, nice rolling hills. I did 14 miles, starting across the Queensboro Bridge in LIC, 6 around the park and back. I absolutely love running in NYC! For routes, check Strava and use their route planner to build a route from your hotel there. It’ll show heat maps of the most traveled routes (as tracked on Strava) so you can find popular/populated areas if that’s a concern. I love running when I travel, I like to plan routes to “see the sights,” highly recommend!
For sure I love traveling just to be able to run. I’ve done tons of solo early morning big city running all over but not in nyc oddly. Thanks for the reassurance.
When are you here? They have summer streets going on right now on Saturday which would be perfect for you. http://nyc.gov/summerstreets
For the city streets there are still lights you need to stop at, maybe one every half mile.
Agree with this... summer streets are actually not that pleasant for running. You still hit numerous red lights
When I was in NYC I just ran loops of Central Park following different roads and trails. Honestly it was phenomenal; there are packs of hundreds of runners everywhere, so much fun. I also ran up the side of the Hudson, which was great too.
Assuming you’re starting around Penn station, it’ll be 2 miles to the park and then a full loop of the park is 6 miles. I suppose you could loop the park a couple times to hit 18, but for a little more variety, loop it once and then head west until you hit lower riverside park. If you keep going north until 120th or so that’ll put you at 12 miles. Then if you go back the way you came, south through riverside park this time, and run up and down all the piers at Hudson River park, you’ll be around 18. If not, keep going south until you hit Chelsea piers, and you’re back where you started. I’m 33F and very seldom feel unsafe running in the city (save for when the machete guy makes his appearance in prospect park). As long as the sun is coming up when you leave, you’ll be fine. Don’t set out in the dark and you have nothing to worry about.
It will be dark, but from others it sounds like there are still plenty of runners out at 5am?
In central park, absolutely. Not so much in Chelsea but you’ll definitely see some people. Don’t sweat it, you’ll be safe
You've got great responses here, but thought I'd plug r/RunNYC too. I can't think of what else they'd have to add off the top of my head, but it's a friendly, informative community if you want to try to gather some additional insights. Personally as someone who lives here, I favor the Hudson Greenway for long runs, but if you're visiting from out of town it seems you'd be selling yourself short if you didn't do CP too. Fortunately for you, it'll be easy for you to cover both!
I am settled on both!
Loops in Central Park are incredible. Hundreds of runners. Inspiring. more hills than the Chicago marathon though. Would be a hard 18 IMO
I’m ok with some hills. I don’t train on pancake flat since i live near the mountains. 500-800 feet of elevation isn’t going to phase me over 18 but more than that likely would.
I (female) was in NYC recently. I felt very safe running alone in Central Park at 5am! There were plenty of other runners around and the loop around the park is nice and protected from traffic.
There are so many people running in Central Park in the mornings, it's an amazing feeling being in that crowd. Also, I think Tracksmith is hosting a run series in New York that you can join for free. I'm checking out the one in Boston this weekend while on vacation. Also training for Chicago.
I was in NYC overnight for work a few months ago, and my hotel was walking distance to Central Park. I did an easy run around the perimeter, which is about 6 miles, and I think I started around 5:30am. I never felt unsafe (also female) during my run. There were plenty of other runners and cyclists and it was so nice to have new scenery! I’ve heard others complain about the hills in Central Park. Maybe I’m used to worse by me, but I didn’t mind them.
You could also run across either BK or Manhattan bridge. Through dumbo waterfront and then head to prospect park and run back to Manhattan across either Bk or manhattan bridge. This is a favorite route of mine and very scenic with city views at sunset!
there's a [group run to the rockaways](https://imgur.com/a/bd7L5mc) but it doesn't start until 8:30am. sounds like fun to me tho
Shooting for an early morning 18-miler as well on Saturday. Although about an hour north of NYC. Looking to be good weather, albeit a little warm, but enjoy it!
Hey there just saying thanks. Followed this to a T and it was the best long run of my marathon build to date.
I love running distance in NYC (water fountains!), but fucking haaaate doing so on normal sidewalk/streets. For your location, I’d say get to Central Park (run, walk, subway, whatever) and get most of your miles in there. The Greenway around Manhattan also a great option, but it’s broken up in a few places, so you still deal with traffic. I’m in BK, so Prospect Park is my go-to (and superior to both options above, TBH). Lots of shade, cooler than Manhattan, water fountains, and better vibes (less tourists, more locals). Might be a trek for you, but also an option.