Brooklyn to Manhattan to Brooklyn Again
In praise of not staying in the parks
It came as a surprise to me when I first started getting into conversations about running on the internet that lots of people running in New York never run on the streets; they stick to the parks. And that further, lots of those people give the advice that visitors to New York only should run in the parks.
I have to say: New York parks are great. They’re definitely one of the reasons to live in New York. But also: I’ve never loved running in them. There’s something about the staid, expected nature of running in a park that seems to fly in the face of the borderline chaotic energy of the city. I’ve always loved to contribute to that energy by running in the streets. Dodging people and dogs and piles of trash and cars and bikes and anything else the city might throw at you energizes me and brings real exhilaration to my city runs. If I kept to the parks, I would miss all that.
So here’s my Two Bridges run. It’s about 5 or 6 miles I think, although I never charted it precisely, but I would love it if you would. Start out in Williamsburg at the doorstep of 278 Broadway, if you could, and run to the corner of Clinton and Carroll Streets using the most direct route, that is, without zigzagging through the Lower East Side, but cutting right to the middle of the island.
If you can’t or haven’t run in New York, what do you think of this route? Would you run it? Do you have any questions about it? Do you run in parks where you live? Let me know in the comments!
Where ever you are and whatever you’re trying to dodge, for today, remember: go run.