Running routes in Washington, DC

[bunnyfoo]

Are there any WISHers in the DC area? I'm going to be heading to Washington, DC in a couple of weeks and was looking to see if anyone knew of some short running routes, 3-5 miles I'm thinking. I'll be about a mile or so from the White House in a residential neighbourhood but I remember the last time I was there, there were a lot of traffic lights. Is there a park or something like that that's safe to run through?

TIA!

[zakismom]

Its great to run down on The Mall (near the museums) and also around the tidal basin.

[Scott H]

Its great to run down on The Mall (near the museums) and also around the tidal basin.

I agree with Erica, I was there twice this month and ran in the early morning hours up and down the mall.

[FireDancer]

If you Google Running routes (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=running+routes) you will get some sites that allow people to upload routes they like. When I plugged Washington DC into Runner's World's route finder I go these (http://traininglog.runnersworld.com/tools/map_find_maps.aspx?City=washington&State=dc&Country=USA&Keywords=&Distance=All+Distances).

Have fun

[bunnyfoo]

Thanks everyone!

Scott - I was going to send you a PM or message on Facebook but figured you were busy packing.

Frank - LMGTFY ... very cute! I send that to friends all the time. Actually, I hadn't even Googled - just posted here first so I guess it's appropriate :)

[crewmatt]

I live in VA and work in DC. DC has some absolutely great running areas. It is kinda flat tho, so you wont be doing any great hill training. There are some long gradual uphills/downhills but nothing worth writing home about.

My favorite spots to run are:

1-National Mall - enough said. You have the monuments, memorial bridge, tidal basin. One of the nicest places to run in the world. I'd go in the morning or evening, during the day it can get crowded. Its very well lit and I've certainly run it at like 2am (altho I'm a guy). Its also fairly well patrolled so if safety is a concern.

2-Haines Point - this is a peninsula with a golf course in the middle of it, its flat and about 3.5 miles. Solitary as there arent usually many people out there. Or cars :)

3-Capital Crescent Trail - Paved trail runs along the potomac river (easy access from georgetown) and heads up into Maryland. You dont even know you're running in a city. there's waterfountains approx every 2 miles (altho some are a little harder to find than others - I recently found one I didnt know existed). I usually do my weekend long runs here as you can actually do 20 miles on the trail without leaving it (out and back). There are also mile posts

If you want a running buddy for a day or something just let me know.

[minniebeth]

Thanks for the suggestions! My DH usually runs the Mall when we are there, but he was looking for alternate routes, so got some great ideas for him. So appreciated!

[Mark214]

When I was in DC for the Cherry Blossom 10 mile race last April, I did my pre-race runs on the trails that go through Rock Creek Park. You can get in a really great run from the Washington Zoo all the way down to the National Mall.