I'm going to be in Washington D.C. next week and I was wondering what the best places to run are. I'll be here:
at the District Hotel. Are there cool trails by the river? I'm pretty excited to get off the same few routes I run at home, I don't get out much.
run south on 14th st nw till you come to hain's point and run around the point.
Great running city. The locals will tell you Rock Creek but i usually stay in a center city hotel and do the monuments so i don't get lost. Lots of grass. Canal Path in G'town also tremendous.
Yes, from your hotel, run NE up Rhode Island Ave, then take a left and run up 7th / Georgia Avenue. It's a great late evening / early morning route.
Other than that, no, there are no running routes in DC. A quick use of the "search" tool on this site will yield zero results.
Haha, don't listen to 'runner guide'. Run that route and get shot.
Yes, but wear a white sheet to stay visible.
Just don't run east and you'll be fine. Anything east of 14th street and you run the risk of some dicey neighborhoods. Running around the monuments is nice for a week, you can also skip across the Potomac (just head south to the 14th Street bridge) and run along the bike path in Virginia (that runs parallel to the Potomac) or along the Canal path (just go to the intersection of Pennsylvania and M and you'll should see it quickly). Rock Creek Park is great, too, but for some reason out-of-town folks never seem to use it. You can take the Metro to Cleveland Park and just head down the hill on Porter Street.
There are also a million similar threads on this board so utilize the search function for more tips.
Run down to DuPont circle, wear some shorties and have a good time, no strings, no guilt.
I think there are actually a lot of great neighborhoods east of 14th street to run in. Some of my favorite runs are through Brookland and Michigan Park. Views that there are no good places to run east of 14th prevent people from discovering all the city has to offer.
One great run is to run up 13th Street for about 3.5 miles, take a left on Longfellow, then run to 16th, where you'll bump into Carter Barron Park, enter the park follow the signs to Beach Drive; you'll go down a nice big hill, and then you'll be on Beach drive which is closed to cars on the weekend. Follow Beach Drive until it becomes a bike trail, follow the bike trail to the zoo, run up through the zoo to CT, then down CT to Mass, Mass to RI at 16th and you're back to the hotel.
All,
Please go to this thread for information:
I would take New Hampshire to M, then take a left on 33rd and go across the canal. Follow the dirt path west along the canal.
Sorry to say but this is a lousy running town and not much to see either. Stay home.
But if you are here on Wednesday at Noon you can run the Tidal Basin 3K:
Damnit. Listen to my command.
Please go to this thread for information:
Anyone who says you cant run east of 14th has no idea what they are talking about.
As mentioned, around Howard is a reservoir which is about a mile and a half+ around and you can go up towards catholic university if you are in the area and looking for more distance. Their are some really cool old cemataries around Rock Creek Church Rd. and Harewood Ave.
Its true you should be mindful of your surroundings in some areas but that is the case in all cities.
You CAN certainly run east of 14th street, I just got back from a track workout at Cardozo HS, but for someone from out of town I wouldn't recommend it. Why recommend a snaking route through some of the nicer neighborhoods where it is easy to get lost in a dicey area when there are some many far less complicated/frightening routes that a tourist would prefer anyway?
A very good idea to run the Tidal Basin race. Say hi to Jay Wind for me!
The obvious - head south to East Potomac Park or National Mall
You can follow the mall past the Lincoln Memorial, and run across Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Mt.Vernon trail on the Virginia side
Or you can head west from your hotel and hook up with Rock Creek Park at P Street. Heading south on that will connect you to the C&O canal or you can continue south also to the Memorial Bridge. Go north to more wooded trails, several miles north and you won't feel like you're in the city anymore.
If you're ambitious, go west a ways on the C&O and find Glover Archibold which is probably one of the best trails in the city. Also a way to get to this from Rock Creek, going through Dumbarton Oaks and through GTown -- but won't be easy for an outsider.
Up Massachusetts past Dupont will take you by the Embassies, which is probably one of the more decent runs you can do in the city on sidewalks.