10 BEST States for Distance Running

original formula wrote:

I think Pennsylvania should at least be considered

+1

Unless you put a really heavy emphasis on NYRR and the NY marathon, Pennsy blows new york away and should definitely be in the top ten. Great races at every distance and surface. Tremendous training variety no matter where in the state you are. Populated enough that there are running groups/stores/races everywhere. All four seasons equally represented.

Frankly we have everything and should be damn near the top of the list.

footlocker and nike wrote:

just look who wins footlocker and nike team nationals.

The midwest is by far the best over the years

hahaha - You could say it's almost like Kenya - kids are doing anything to find a way out!

DE wrote:

Delaware is the best running state bar none. Boom.

As in "BOOM! Delaware should be blown up."

If you're tough enough you can run a workout at anytime of the day in the south.... give me 100 degrees any day of the week over rainy and cold(anything below 60!)

Eh, this kind of depends on what you're into. California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Utah, and parts of Montana, Arizona, and Wyoming are all great for running. Anything in the south is going to be sub-par due to summer weather. Can't speak too much about Florida as I've spent minimal time there. Anything along the east coast is likely to be lousy (spent some time in NYC, DC, and North Carolina and it SUCKED for running compared to out West). States like Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, etc are all decent, but not a lot of elevation or mountains, and you often have to deal with either heat or wind, which bumps these states out of the top ten. The Northeast might be good along with right around the appalachian mountains, but I haven't spent any time there so I can't comment. Western South Dakota is actually very nice. Can't imagine anything around the great lakes would be decent.

Out of the places I've been, I'd say it's a matter of personal preference between CA, OR, WA, UT, ID, CO, and maybe MT and AZ.

ghfhgfhjfgsdaareretrg wrote:

hfihfgfijrigijgi49r9i34et54367 wrote:

1. cali

2. colorado

3. oregon

4. washington

5. new mexico

6. arizona

7. alaska

8. montana

9. utah

10 wyoming

No clear-cut states after that. East coast blows compared to west coast.

You just named every west coast team. A little bias? I didnt even know alaska could run, maybe dog race.

Apparently, you've never heard of Mediterranean climates (coastal WA/OR/CA) or altitude training (CO/NM/AZ/MT/UT/WY)... not to mention there being more "wide open spaces" west of the Mississippi (sans Southern California). Alaska probably has the best weather for summer training in the US, though I wouldn't include it in the top 10 for the obvious opposite situation during the winter.

No bias necessary for noticing the best places to live and train.

1. Colorado

2. Wisconsin

3. Arizona

4. Oregon

5. Missouri

6. Maine

7. California

8. Washington

9. Wyoming

10. Indiana

1.Colorado

2.California

3.Oregon

Of course I'm biased living in Colorado, but you have to love a place where you can start a trail run at 9500 feet (as I did today at Rocky Mountain National Park) and climb 5 miles to 12,500 feet. Oh, then you can fill your water bottles with snow from a mountain top that must be 1/4 of a square mile of the white stuff and several feet deep!

I don't know how many "great" runners are from Colorado. There are some - Jon Sinclair, Libby Hickman, Kim Jones etc... but many great runners have trained here.

ok i'll bite...i've done plenty of winter runs in the single digits or below zero on numerous occasions in running shorts so your big bad tough runner status is in serious question to me if you can't even handle freakin 60 degrees; that's a pleasant shirtless run to me

Missouri at #5 really? I would put it in the bottom 33% actually. I have lived in Saint Louis for 11 years and ran all over the state as well. Winter= Crappy and Summer= 105+ heat index.

Just curious - where are you at in PA that you think we should be considered for top 10? I live in Amish country - and I have nothing against the Amish (plenty of family that are still old-order) but where I run its nothing but open farmland, no shade, no protection from the wind, and angry motorists who are sick of tourists and don't wanna give an inch of roadspace to a runner.

I've run 4:10 and 14:54 (not that that has anything to do with this thread, plus I just drank 3 pints of an imperial stout I picked up at a local brewing company so that's why I'm bragging about lame pr's) so it's not like I'm plodding along - but the motorists and cyclists in my area have no respect for runners, and the lack of shade makes summer running a bitch. I can't tell you how many times I've had to jump off the road because somebody felt like running me off of it.

Not saying PA should or should not be considered, just curious as to where you're from (and if you're close by, wanna go for 17 tomorrow morning early?)

Guess I'm not tough then...because I prefer to run when its 100+ outside, thats a good run with my shirt on:) I CAN run when its cold outside I just prefer it to be warm hence my reason for naming all southern states in my top 10!

You have to distinguish based on what you want conditions-wise. Altitude is probably the biggest factor. You either get altitude or not altitude; there are only a few places in the US that you can have high, medium, and low altitude (those being AZ, UT, and NM).

For altitude training, you have the aforementioned plus colorado and california.

For sea level training, you have california again and much of the midwest, but especially Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin. The Carolinas are pretty good too from what I hear.

jacabo - I'm in the Philly burbs. Every state is going to have portions that aren't perfect. Not saying you should have to, but if you drove 20-30 minutes east, you could get to some pretty nice parks and trails (ie French Creek, the Horseshoe trail, Mt Penn in Reading). If you lived in say Kansas, you'd have to drive three states away to find that kind of variety.

And I would have loved to go running with you, but you're just a bit faster than I am. If you ever want to come out to the VF area though ...

Any state with humidity is out of the question.

+1 - running in humidity SUCKS. Sorry east coast, you're off the list.

North Carolina has to 2nd or 3rd. Dont think it can be put above Cali but it could compete with Oregon. Great training places. Between the border of Tennessee and Hickory you have the app mountaines. Boone might be one of the best places to train in the country. about 3500 ft so enough alititude to keep away the humididty but not high enough to be turning your lungs inside out when you train. Great trails and gravel paths. Zap fittnes is in Boone as is App state who is getting.. better. Between Winston Salem and Raleigh things are awesome too. Great places to train. Great talent coming out of that area. Great college running scene. NC state, Carolina, and Duke. Wake, High Point and UNC G are getting better. As of competition it is good. State champs are always fast and competitive. having 4 ACC schools within 2 hours brings in big college meets every year. And of course NIN or NBON or whatever its called in Gboro and then FL south in Charlotte.

Right now:

Durham, NC - 74 degrees 93% HUMIDITY.

Out of the equation.

It might have literally everything else, but the humidity destroys its chances in any top10 list. I'd rather run in Nebraska.

daveyabe wrote:

+1 - running in humidity SUCKS. Sorry east coast, you're off the list.

If you are going to make blanket statements like that then;

- Anywhere with wind sucks to run in, so the entire midwest and anything on the coasts are out.

- Altitude sucks for racing so take all those states out.

If we keep this up we are going to end up with the conclusion that a treadmill in a climate controlled room is THE ONLY place to run.