Lanzhou, China. It was the most polluted city in the world, until the Chinese literally removed the mountain which was blocking the airflow through the valley. I saw one other runner, he was wearing a mask. The traffic is also horrible, I tried a there-and-back route for the first time (5 miles each direction), but then for the rest of the week I ran a 1 km loop near my hotel.
Hong Kong is probably one of the best places to run exceot for summer heat. A traffic light free promenade almost 13km even though parts of it is crowded by visitors. A few shorter pedestrian routes of 3-5km. Plenty of trails, if that is your thing.
Dubai is pretty wank. far too hot, pedestrians not expected. everyone in cars. dusty.
However, a few miles away Abu Dhabi is quite good for running, I actually like the heat and humidity (I embrace the suck if the area is nice) and there’s a running loop on Friday or Saturday mornings in the biggest shopping centre.
Vegas isn't great, but fwiw is much better than the international ones I listed earlier. After getting off the strip you're largely running on sidewalks which sucks, but that's at least better than the places that don't even have sidewalks
Hong Kong is probably one of the best places to run exceot for summer heat. A traffic light free promenade almost 13km even though parts of it is crowded by visitors. A few shorter pedestrian routes of 3-5km. Plenty of trails, if that is your thing.
Agree with this.
Couple other solid (underrated) placed to run would be Kuala Lumpur (a car helps), Beijing (plenty of parks but Chaoyang is fantastic), Bangkok, Macau and Kigali (nice to see someone else mention it). Minneapolis is also great.
On the other end, Jakarta, Shenzen, Colombo, basically everywhere in India, Osaka, Vegas, are places I'd consider the treadmill on.
Hong Kong is probably one of the best places to run exceot for summer heat. A traffic light free promenade almost 13km even though parts of it is crowded by visitors. A few shorter pedestrian routes of 3-5km. Plenty of trails, if that is your thing.
Agree with this.
Couple other solid (underrated) placed to run would be Kuala Lumpur (a car helps), Beijing (plenty of parks but Chaoyang is fantastic), Bangkok, Macau and Kigali (nice to see someone else mention it). Minneapolis is also great.
On the other end, Jakarta, Shenzen, Colombo, basically everywhere in India, Osaka, Vegas, are places I'd consider the treadmill on.
Forgot to mention Doha on the good list. Weather aside, it is as good as anywhere I've ran.
Vegas isn't great, but fwiw is much better than the international ones I listed earlier. After getting off the strip you're largely running on sidewalks which sucks, but that's at least better than the places that don't even have sidewalks
If you have a car Vegas has some great desert trails just outside of the city.
For distance running Doha was horrible. Was there when they hosted the World Championships. They had to contest the marathon from 12 midnight to 3 AM and there was also actual air conditioning inside the OUTDOOR stadium to make it bearable for competing.
True story - was running / surviving and stopped to stick head under a sprinkler and it was hot water. The place was like running in front of the old hot hand dryers in a restroom. Brutal.
Vegas isn't great, but fwiw is much better than the international ones I listed earlier. After getting off the strip you're largely running on sidewalks which sucks, but that's at least better than the places that don't even have sidewalks
If you have a car Vegas has some great desert trails just outside of the city.
IMO, if you need to take a car somewhere to go for a run, it’s not good.
A good running location means stepping outside and not being far from a good place to run.
Saratoga Springs is an example of a good place to run. If you stay in town, you’re warm up distance from the state park which is a great place to run.
If you have a car Vegas has some great desert trails just outside of the city.
IMO, if you need to take a car somewhere to go for a run, it’s not good.
A good running location means stepping outside and not being far from a good place to run.
Saratoga Springs is an example of a good place to run. If you stay in town, you’re warm up distance from the state park which is a great place to run.
It's pretty rare to be able to run without driving somewhere, but that's the dream. A lot of places you can run without a car, you just have to be rich to live near the trailheads.
IMO, if you need to take a car somewhere to go for a run, it’s not good.
A good running location means stepping outside and not being far from a good place to run.
Saratoga Springs is an example of a good place to run. If you stay in town, you’re warm up distance from the state park which is a great place to run.
It's pretty rare to be able to run without driving somewhere, but that's the dream. A lot of places you can run without a car, you just have to be rich to live near the trailheads.
I’ve found that once you become somewhat familiar with an area you can put together a route. It might not be a good one but better than nothing.
Or where did your worst location-specific running experience happen?
Atlanta airport parking during layover - 2 business trips back to back. Had 3 hour layover, so left extra running stuff in car. Ran easy run in parking lot. As miserable as you would imagine.
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