Are you bored of running loops and figure eights in Prospect Park? Well, get off the road and onto the trails and paths!
I’ve been clocking 40-50+ miles a week for the last 5 weeks and have about exhausted every possible variation of road running in the park. I’ve done countless big loops on the main road, small loops around the lake, hill repeats, figure-eights, Turkey Trots and transverse loops both clockwise, counterclockwise and in alternating directions.
Yes, I know there are other options outside of Prospect Park, but my schedule doesn’t really allow for adventures. I need to get out, get my workout in and get home as quickly as possible. I also hate running on the sidewalk and having to deal with stop lights. So, last week on an day where I was scheduled for an easy 7 mile run, I decided to see how far I could go by just running trails and paths.
Below is the Garmin map of my run. I was able to do the entire distance with only a bare minimum of road time. In fact, I only hit the road surface when I had to cross from one side to the other or on the parts where either the foliage or the stupid construction wall by the new skating rink pushed me off the dirt.
Click map for bigger view.
There were some segments that I had to repeat in order to get from one section of the park to the other, but for the most part I was simply free running from one path to the next.
Having lived in Park Slope and Windsor Terrace for over 12 years, I’ve gotten to know my way around the interior of the park pretty well so I did have a general sense of where I wanted to go and how to get there, but I have to admit that I saw things that I’ve never seen before; particularly in the northern areas near Flatbush across from the Botanical Gardens. There’s a whole area of seemingly abandoned ponds and fountains up there. Maybe they turn them on in the summer? I don’t know.
So, if you’re bored of the loop and need to be inspired again about running in Prospect Park, give the trails and paths a try.
One small disclaimer, though… I wouldn’t recommend doing this early in the morning, late at night or alone, ever, if you’re a woman and/or not really fast. I also wouldn’t recommend wearing headphones. While I didn’t have any sort of run-ins or even the slightest hint of trouble, there were a couple moments when I came around a corner or over a hill to find a stranger (usually a man… or two men) suddenly trying very hard to look like they weren’t doing anything. What they were doing… I don’t know or really care to know, but what you should know is that there may be some freaky people out there in the woods so use your best judgement and be careful on the quieter and more remote parts.
Have any other tips for making the park more fun to run? Leave them in the comments!
