What's the worst "area" you've run in or through?

Rural Kentucky - got backed into a field by a pack of farm dogs once (thanks neighbors) and chased by at least a dog or two every run

one of my friends got off at a wrong stop from the train in Philly and walked into a bad area and couldn't find his way back. It felt like people were looking at him (you know, the feeling that people you can't see are watching you) and getting ready to mug him or worse. Keep in mind he was wearing a full suit and carrying a briefcase, but this was a violent and jobless neighborhood.

People began walking towards him, but then a police officer who was driving by saw him, pulled up, and then told him that "I don't think you belong here" and offered him a ride. He gratefully accepted it, and made sure never to get lost in ghetto cities again.

I ran in Druid Hill park a few times. I think they're doing construction there now, but I mixed up my bearings once near the zoo and went over the road into bad neighborhoods that were run down. I was able to find my way back, but I was completely out of place and the sun was going down so it wasn't fun. I looked up that area on Baltimore Sun's homicide map and I was in a neighborhood that typically has 2+ homicides per year.

The "funny" (tragicomic) thing is that I didn't think it was that bad until later. I grew up in Baltimore, and I often watched the local news since I was like 10 or so. I'd often see the story of "man shot/killed" and see boarded up houses behind. I lived in a nice neighborhood, but I thought the boarded up area was a normal neighborhood. If I recall correctly, the thing that caused me to realize how abnormal Baltimore's crime was when I spent time (only like a week or so - not long at all) in a middle class suburb on vacation. I asked my parents why the local news was so different - so stuff like "donation, food drive, high school sports, weather, and a few feel-good stories" - and they somewhat euphemistically told me that most cities don't have the same crime as Baltimore.

Lima was the scariest place I didn’t run.

Mexico City, Johannesburg, Manila, Rio, San Juan, NYC, DC, downtown Atlanta all at 6 am no problem.

Belfast was the place I got the most stares as I looked too Irish and ran in the wrong neighborhood (I am Irish)

Gwynn Falls Park down North Avenue Baltimore 1983-1985 at nights. Do not do this, even today

Kingston, Jamaica the cars and trucks just don’t care

Santo Domingo at night on the streets

In the late 1970's I lived in Sandberg Village, just south of Lincoln Park, in Chicago, and, as a newcomer, didn't realize how just bad the Cabrini-Green housing projects were (if you don't know, look it up). I had a regular loop that went through them, hoping I'd be too early for anyone to give me trouble.

One morning a Chicago PD cruiser stopped me and the cops told me: "Even we don't go in there." That was the end of that loop. BTW, these days the projects are demolished and the area is gentrified.

Also once ran in Central Ward of Newark in the early 1980's; it had never recovered from the 1967 riots. Not a comfortable experience.

I've run in a lot of "sketchy" parts of cities: the Tenderloin in SF, East St. Louis, far South Side Chicago, parts of Memphis. Never phased me.

Now rural Texas getting chased by several dogs? That was terrifying.

I'd say my most "dangerous" runs have been in Atlanta as well, although I've never really had a problem while running, only while walking around. I think the area around Ga Tech is pretty good these days (although someone was just shot and killed 3 blocks from campus 3 months ago) but I could still see someone having a problem in all of those areas, especially early in the morning.

Harlem NY, after dark, 1978, as a 12 year old, on run from midtown YMCA to GW bridge and back on a NYRRC training group run which got strung out so I was running by myself basically from Harlem back to the Y with a painful blister developing on my foot.

I ran a 3 mile xc race in Compton two months ago. Part of the race was on the LA river too. Lots of homeless and people looking like they are about to shoot up the meet.

MLK Drive. Any City, USA.

East Dallas around the Cotton Bowl early in the morning.

Fenkell in Detroit. 1991 That’s the name of 5 mile that crosses telegraph and goes into Brightmore. We were a pretty classic looking private school XC team that thought it would be fun to run from our school into Brightmore. not fun. Ran a mile in and sprinted mile out. lots of people yelling at us. we should not have been there in running shorts and no shirts. dumb

Jogging to warm up for Penn relays. I was seriously concerned. Cars missing wheels, scary people. etc. Why would anyone go to school there? My Ivy League self was horrified.

The murder rate there's only 29.5 though - it looks bad but not horrible

Tunica Mississippi and Dearborn by Detroit City limits

None of those areas in ATL that Atlien mentioned are really dangerous. I'm not saying there isn't crime there, but there are waaaay worse places in ATL and tons of other cities.

I ran through Beverly Hill's that was pretty rough. Almost got hit by a Rolls Royce flying out of a driveway then the driver through a brick of hundred-dollar bills at my head. A straight up $10,000 dollar law suit I had on my head. I have heard horror stories about people on bikes in Bel Air getting a Steve Madden thrown at them by Trophy's in Ferrari's!