Ann Arbor, MI

I would be more concerned about your job staying in Michigna for more than a year. the running scene is great with lots of stores and groups to run with and many road races in the area. among the best.

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Not good enough for Alan Webb, and not good enough for you.

A2 is a great area. Lots of everything. Trails, roads, parks, water. The running stores in the area are good and very established. The whole scene in general in A2 is very cool and for the most part laid back.

bige wrote:

A2 is a great area. Lots of everything. Trails, roads, parks, water. The running stores in the area are good and very established. The whole scene in general in A2 is very cool and for the most part laid back.

All of the above is true. There's also a good link from the Ann Arbor Track Club which has maps of quite a number of runs of varying lengths.

Personally I love the Arboretum, running on Central Campus, and up on North Campus as well. Running from Central Campus to the Medical Center involves some good hills as well. It's a great city for running and a lot of other things.

Here's the link:

The best part of Ann Arbor is also the part that gets the least foot traffic, the northwest side. Out there you've got Barton Hills, Bandemer Park, Huron River Drive, and Bird Hills Nature Area. There are also some nice dirt roads north of Barton.

Bird Hills is probably the best park in the city but you can run out there for an hour and only see three or four people. It's a great place to do hill repeats or hill fartlek.

The Huron River Trails, the arb, the park, etc. and the streets aren't too bad either, plus there are 3-4 tracks and the UM indoor track is open to the public and a couple good running stores. Very good running community.

I'm also getting ready to relocate to Ann Arbor. How are UM facilities -- tracks, gyms, pools, etc.? Is the outdoor track(s) open to the public? Are trails easy to access from the Kerrytown area?

grad student wrote:

I'm also getting ready to relocate to Ann Arbor. How are UM facilities -- tracks, gyms, pools, etc.? Is the outdoor track(s) open to the public? Are trails easy to access from the Kerrytown area?

The indoor track is accessible daily for a fee. The outdoor track is accessible whenever U-M isn't practicing. Don't know about gyms and pools. Kerrytown is a great area from which to hit the trails. You can go straight downhill to the train station and hit an unofficial rail trail headed in either direction, you can go toward U-M Medical Center to enter the Arb, or you can cross over Broadway Bridge then turn left to enter Bandemer Park. If you'd like to post your e-mail address, I'd be happy to give you a tour when you get into town.

grad student wrote:

I'm also getting ready to relocate to Ann Arbor. How are UM facilities -- tracks, gyms, pools, etc.? Is the outdoor track(s) open to the public? Are trails easy to access from the Kerrytown area?

The University itself has a recreation facility system:

I used it a lot when I was a student, nearly 30 years ago. I lived up on North Campus, so only got to Kerrytown rarely. As I remember, it's kind of "city-locked." Others will know more. Still, you'll be close to a lot of great trails.

I would LOVE to re-locate to Ann Arbor!

Sounds good that you are relocating here. Ann Arbor is a great little town. Both of the running stores Tortoise and Hare and Runnin Fit have group runs through out the week. There is also the Ann Arbor track club. They also have weekly runs, track workouts and races. There are some great trails just north of downtown in Bandamere Park and in the Arb near the Med School. North Ann Arbor you can reach Bird Park and Barton Hills. If you another mile down the road on Fuller towards Huron Parkway you will get to Gallup Park. Gallup has some great running trails towards Ann Arbor Township and Ypsilanti.

I do not recommend the university rec facilities. They are in dire need of renovation. I maybe spoiled since my undergrad (Purdue) just renovated our rec facilities while I was there. I would join the local YMCA. They just built a brand facility on W. Huron St. It is a beautiful facility. Memberships at the Y will cost you ~$30/month.

You will also be near Flint and the annual Crim race. The Crim is an awesome race.