Track in NYC

The one in the park along the East River at 8th Street is pretty popular.

Riverside Park on the Hudson River at 125th (???) Street or so. Never been there but heard that it's less crowded but far windier...i.e. you can run the old Steve Prefontaine 30-40 200s workout if you just set your effort to run even-paced 70 second laps

Anyone know if the Verizon track near the Brooklyn Bridge is open to the public?

On the NYC side or the Brooklyn side?

Jon Meathead wrote:

Anyone know if the Verizon track near the Brooklyn Bridge is open to the public?

Is that the one with the really funky squared-off turns you can see from the Manhattan Bridge? Yes, I've seen people on it at odd hours, so unless there's a ball game taking place there, nobody's going to hassle you.

That's got to be it. I didn't realize it had funky turns. Won't be going there.

How about the track (seems renovated) on 1st Avenue and 115th vicinity? Too crummy an area or OK in daylight?

Joseph McVeigh is correct about the wind at Riverbank.

That track is actually Murry B's Track or used to be.

I believe that the riverbend park track is at about 147 and riverside. The track has some cracks in it and such but is plenty fine to run on. They also have one of the nicer pools in manhattan there as well.

JW

Some links:

http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/Forum10/HTML/003488.shtml

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/af_running_tracks.htm

although it doesn't have Riverbank.

And you can scroll down on my map (any comments/suggestions welcome):

That NYC site is so out of date, it lists most of the tracks as cinder.

I think Riverbank is the nicest surface to train on. Closest subway is the 137th Station of the No. 1. Plus, the track has lights that on even in the winter evenings. Watch out for errant soccer balls from games, walkers with cell phones and radio in lanes 1 and 2, and kids who wander on to the track.

East 6th Street is terrible. Surface hard and uneven. I also liked it how the city paid for a new turf infield surface but did nothing for the track.

BT: Thanks for the info.

The Riverside Park one ain't bad and has great runs along the river for warming up and cooling down... there was always a soccer game going last summer whenever I was going, and lots of kids around chilling... an interesting forum to do a solo speed session.

Just to throw it out there (I know it's not in manhattan) -- the track at Astoria Park in Queens is beautiful -- right under the tri-boro bridge, not too much wind, great condition for the track, nice park around it. I think it's at the end of the "N" line (then walk towards the water).

also, the track in Red Hook Brooklyn is underutilized for most of the year (except during spring track season when high schools and colleges crowd it in the early afternoon). Not very easy by subway (10 minute walk from the F at Smith and 9th), and the neighborhood around it is the projects, but the track is in pretty good shape and there's never much of a crowd.

bump

Ditto on Astoria Park track-Astoria Pool is great and you can long run around the park with great water views.

As very skinny HS runner from Brooklyn Tech in the late 50's my first pair of spikes and a broken nose were the price for safe passage back to the 11,237 ft high Smith and Ninth Station.

One and only bad time.I'd like to say it was not my nose but that would be a lie.

Is the D shaped 220 cinder track with one uphill curve and one downhill curve still on 73rd St. and the Hudson River?

Yes, that "track" is still there - it seems like less of a D now and more like a circle. Still cinders, but it's flat now.