Places to run in Philly

This JUST in -- earlier today, Philadelphia's mayor announced the debut of the new Delaware Valley regional trails moniker, "The Circuit."

They've put together a nice interactive map online:

http://connectthecircuit.org/

For the OP, you can see all the places we've been writing about highlighted on this map.

For suburbanxcore, you can see the Cynwyd Heritage Trail just west of City Line Ave, between Wesminster Cemetery and West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

One last thing for the OP:

If you are going to be running after dark along in Fairmount Park at all, stick to the path on the Kelly (East River) Drive side.

It's better lit, has more passing car traffic, has smoother paving, and is markedly safer at night overall than the opposite side of the river.

And don't even think about running THROUGH the park after dark. Just don't.

suburbanxcore wrote:

Has anyone run that new Heritage Trail (I think it's called) that starts off Belmont Ave near Manayunk? At least I think it's new. I'd never heard much about it, but recently a few runners I was talking to mentioned it.

Yeah, it's really short; it goes on for less than two miles before it ends up in Cynwyd. That said, it's pretty nice while it lasts; once you get in a little bit, it's pretty much totally silent, which is a nice escape given all the roads and train tracks nearby. It's a very slight uphill on the way out, so you run a decent bit faster on the way back with the same effort, even though you don't really feel like you're running uphill on the way out.

Yeah, you're thinking of Wynnefield or Wynnefield Heights, which is basically part of West Philly. Wynnewood is along Rte 30 on the Main Line and borders Ardmore and Narberth. Outstanding communities and great running in these areas including Penn Valley up into Gladwynne. Hilly, quiet tree lined streets in wealthy neighborhoods. The old stomping grounds of many greats from Kate Fonshell, Rhines, Mahon, Tollefson, Blincoe, Maree, O'Sullivan, Haverford XC, Nova and on and on.

Gonna be starting runs around 5:30-6AM. Hopefully will be safe!

Thanks for the info on the Heritage, everyone. This Connect The Circuit site seems pretty excellent as well.

Yeah, there's great running out in the main line area. I've lived in Ardmore for the last few years, and it's nice starting on the Haverford trail then heading out through Gladwynne and Villanova. It's also pretty awesome to randomly run past someone like Bobby Curtis or Adrian Blincoe while you're out.

So yeah, good running in the Philly area!

The best place to run in Philly is AWAY.

do not run with an ipod and ear buds