Top ten worst and best states to live in as a runner

How can Louisiana be so bad, they have one of the best Track & Field programs in NCAA history in LSU! Obviously, it is hot and humid most of the year, but there must be a few good reasons to run there because they have had many great athletes!

anywhere in america its a cesspit full of gun wielding nutters. come to canada where the people are normal

Iowa backroads all dirt and gravel. Very solid state to run. Illinois has paved everything though...not so nice to run.

One thing MA and all of New England has is an almost infinite number of races almost year round and very deep fast age group fields especially in older categories. And the weather builds character! Hot humid summers, rough winters, spring mud, and wonderful falls.

The killer here is the Summer weather (and that can last well into October.) The Summers are just brutal, an 6-8M run can leave you so beat down, that recovery is a struggle. Whenever I travel out West during a Summer I realize how people can casually get in 85+ mile weeks w/o a lot of issues. The low humidity and cooler temps make a double 10/6 day into a very doable thing.

The Winters in TN really are a GREAT time to run. There have been years where I have gone through an entire season and never even needed to wear tights.

The "culture " lol. So smart

Went for a few runs in January of this year and they were more boring than the routes I usually do at home, just a sea of concrete, strip malls, and homes all built at once. Now there are some very nice trails nearby but you’re gonna be spending more time driving than running unless you’re running for at least an hour, which makes it not worth it especially when time is limited.

I honestly don't think there's a single state where just based on running alone, I couldn't be quite happy to train there. Maybe a southern state where it's hot and humid 6 months out of the year? Even then you could live on the coast of Georgia or Florida for some relief.

Seems like everyone can't help but introduce some non-running factor into their reasoning. Which of course only makes sense, but that's a bit outside the question.

Exactly. People don't realize how good the parks are in Cleveland/Akron. The Summit County metro parks alone have > 150 miles of trails and there are hundreds more in the Cuyahoga Valley NP. The Cleveland metro parks have probably about 300 miles of trails.

Arizona sucks in the summer, but it is pretty great right now! I just came down to Phoenix from near Flagstaff where I live and right now Phoenix is hard to beat. I ran 18 miles on the canal banks this morning. Perfectly flat with pedestrian tunnels under the road crossings. The sun was out and the temps were high 40's low 50's.

With Utah as #2?

I live in South Carolina now but lived in the Cleveland suburbs for four years and GREATLY miss all the running opportunities there, especially rail trails. Sure the winter can be tough but they plowed the Emerald Necklace trails. I did my second highest mileage month ever in January in the Cleveland area. Lots of good races, too.

Honestly the humid states make you a very strong runner especially if you are racing northerners in a hot race. Your confidence also skyrockets in the fall when temps drop. Gotta love poor man's altitude. The major downside is that if you don't beat the sun in the summer you're stuck on the treadmill or outside risking your health especially if you're training hard.

I'm going to advocate for Texas here. I do not think it's a top 10 but I don't think it's a bottom 10 either. There are a decent amount of paths in the bigger cities, and dirt roads out in the smaller towns. And the running culture is very solid especially in cities like Austin.

This entire thread is just a massive rage bait

If you run the roads in Florida you are basically going to die sooner or later because one out of five people drive without insurance, drive without their headlights on, drive looking at their phone constantly and bonus there is no car inspection or even enforcement of exhaust so you are going to be poisoned to death by emissions bypass.

I guess if you can find a park or trails that aren't overrun or where people walk their dogs without leashes you might survive.

(and only track running is boring as hell, I mean why even run then)

You've obviously never run a trail race in the Phx area.

Almost every US state is a very large place. Parts of every state may be great for running and parts may be impossible. The list is probably just trollbait, but trying to rank states as a single entity in how good they are for running is a fool's errand. You might as well rank continents.

I trained a lot in ND, its probably underrated but the winters are very very very tough... summers also not great... Iowa/Ohio are probably pretty damn good midwest states to train in... maybe too much snow in parts of Ohio

Yeah Id take NC over MA any day, we have Umstead Park, ATT, Badin Lake, Salem Lake, plus a decent running scene with UNC, Wake, NC State, Duke, not to mention PUMA Elite. If only it was at altitude.