Hey I am a collegiate runner living in Westwood for the summer. I am looking for places to run this summer. I will be doing runs ranging from 8-18 miles (mostly in the 12 mile range). Does anyone know the best places to run in LA closest to downtown and Westwood? Thanks!
I spent last summer running / living on UCLA campus near westwood. It's tricky finding "runs" in that area. UCLA campus is quite nice to run on, with plenty of hills. You can also run up/down Sunset blvd. Drake Stadium on UCLA campus and a bunch of soccer fields provide you with softer non-concrete runs.
theres a long street called san vicente right near westwood thats all grassy and can take you to the beach. its nice for long or short runs
The Santa Monica Mountains are a great place to run. You can hook up on the trails on Muhuland (damn that isn't even close to how you spell it). If you take the 405 towards the valley there is an exit near the top of the hill. It is a couple miles to the dirt section and then you will have miles and miles of trails.
http://www.nps.gov/samo/pphtml/maps.html
Try the Westridge/Sullivan Ridge loop. Click the regional link and you will see some good options.
You could go down to the beach and run along the bike path down there. It is mostly concrete though. Or you can run on the soft sand.
Run in Santa Monica. The L.A.P.D. pigs brutality record is one of the worst in the world. L.A.S.D. pigs are worse. If your'e white that won't excuse you, the black/hispanic pigs will beat the crap out of you to keep up with the locker room talk at shift change.
If your up for a bit of a drive you should head down to the beach and run onthe hardpack or strand. You can also run on the green belt in Manhattan, Hermosa, and Redondo which is basically dirt trail. Hope it helps.