Running in Central Park

[Padstack]

I put this in the WISH forum, but I meant to put it here:

Hopefully someone can help me out with this. I will be traveling to New York in a few weeks and staying in Time Square. I have mapped out a run that goes through Central Park. My questions is, what is the best time of day to go for a run in the park? I normally run very early in the morning, so that is not an issue. My main concern is the traffic going to and from my hotel.

 

[jeanneg]

The park starts on 59th so if you are in Times Square area, you'd probably have to run up 15 or more small streets. Traffic won't be bad, but you may find yourself having to wait for the lights at crosswalks. Do the city streets as a warm-up and cool-down, not for a time. Once you reach CP (from any avenue) just get on the jogging trail and go. You can't miss it. There are several in the park, but the lower one is about 1.7 miles. CP opens to traffic at about 8am. Hope this helps.

 

[Padstack]

jeanneg - Thank you for the info. I have a 6 mile loop mapped out that goes around the Onassis Reservoir, mainly on the streets. Since traffic in the park opens up at 8 am, I will probably head out by 7 am.

 

[jeanneg]

That's a good loop. I did it regularly in the eighties (when I actually RAN). I can't tell you how many times I would see Jackie O.....she always ran in in the opposite direction of the track! It must have been a security thing. I found it interesting when they eventually renamed the loop after her.