6 Long Runs to Try in the New York Area
For marathon training... or just the thrill of a long run
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Hello, and happy fall running season! The East Coast humidity has lifted and the vibes are high, especially if you’re running a fall marathon. The big three—Berlin, Chicago, and New York—take place in September, October, and November as well as many, many others.
I’m not running a marathon this fall because I ran one in June and I can only let training take over my life once a year. I am, however, living vicariously through everyone training for the New York City Marathon. It’s my “home marathon,” so to speak, and my Instagram feed is bursting with people posting Strava screenshots of their long runs. I’ve done it three times, volunteered at the expo and on the course, and cheered on many family and friends. It really is magical, so one way I’ll be “participating” this year is by publishing a few newsletters geared to people who are running it. Starting with today’s, which is targeted to an even nicher audience of people who are training for it in the New York City area.
We’re a little less than two months out from race day, which means the long runs are entering the type 2 fun zone. One of the ways I get excited about grueling long runs is by mapping out *fun* routes on Strava. I think having your long run feel more adventurous, not just longer, than your normal weekday runs helps break up the monotony of training. And, like Prince William, I love geography. So for all the NYC-based runners, I’ve mapped out six routes in the area that will hopefully spice up your training routine.
Note that for each run below, I’ve included a link to the mapped route in Strava. You can save the map to your Strava account and depending on your watch’s features, download it to your watch to guide you.
In New York City
1. Central Park Loop
Why it’s good: Gosh, there are so many things to love about running in Central Park. To me, it combines the best parts of running on a treadmill with the best parts of running outside. You don’t have to stop and look at your phone for directions, worry about getting hit by a car, or wait at stop lights, and you get to be in nature but feel safe because you’re surrounded by people. I realize this is generally the appeal of running in an urban park, but Central Park is also very big (for Manhattan), very runnable, and very well-maintained. There are flat parts, there are hilly parts. The fact that there’s just one main road loop and no matter where you turn left, you’ll always get back to that loop, makes running there very mindless.
Distance: The full Central Park loop is just over six miles; if you’re doing a long run, you can increase mileage by just repeating the main loop or adding on smaller loops using the street crossings at 72nd and 102nd streets. Three full loops of Central Park will get you to 18 miles and close to 800 feet of elevation gain. Below is a map link to a 20-mile run I did a few months ago where I ran a variety of loops to keep things interesting.
Water/bathroom situation: There are water fountains all over the park near the road, and here’s a map with all the bathrooms. If you need actual fuel, like Gatorade, I recommend exiting at 90th and 5th Avenue and running to the Duane Reade one block east on Madison.
2. Central Park — Prospect Park Combo
Why it’s good: If you want to make your longest training run a real adventure, the move is to hit both CP and PP, and incorporate parts of the New York City Marathon course into your route. You can start with a full loop in either park. If you’re starting in Central Park, exit at 59th street and run to the Queensboro Bridge where you’ll run miles 12-16 of the marathon, in reverse. You could just keep running the marathon course from there but running on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg is pure chaos when the streets aren’t closed. Instead, I recommend running along the Brooklyn waterfront greenway by Williamsburg and the Navy Yard, then crossing over into Fort Greene and Clinton Hill to get to Prospect Park. Before I had a child, when I had all the time in the world for a weekend long run, I loved going on runs like this that felt like sightseeing in my own city.
Distance: If you do the full loops of each park, you’ll get to 20 miles.
Water/bathroom situation: Things can get a little bleak when you aren’t in one of the parks, but there’s a public bathroom halfway-ish at Kent and North 9th in Williamsburg.
3. The Bridges (Except the Verrazzano)
Why it’s good: This is a good run to train yourself both mentally and physically for some of the hardest parts of the New York City Marathon: the bridges. The marathon course has five bridges connecting the five boroughs: the Verrazzano in Staten Island, the Pulaski from Brooklyn to Queens, the Queensboro into Manhattan, and two that take you to and from the Bronx, the Willis Ave and the Madison Ave bridges. This run covers all except the Verrazzano, which is fine because a) it’s normally closed to pedestrians and b) morale is the highest at that point of the marathon anyway (mile 1). The route I mapped starts in Williamsburg and hits the Pulaski Bridge first, which is a nice warmup to the Queensboro Bridge, which is just like, the absolute worst part of the course. Instead of continuing on the marathon course, I recommend running to Central Park and then weaving up to the Bronx bridges to avoid street lights and crowded sidewalks. The route ends in Central Park.
Distance: 14-20 miles, depending on how much you want to run in Central Park after hitting all the bridges.
Water/bathroom situation: There’s the public bathroom at Kent and North 9th when you start, and proximity to Central Park throughout the run means lots of bathroom and water fountain access.
Outside of New York City
4. Rockefeller State Park Preserve
Why it’s good: Rockefeller State Park Preserve is an absolute treasure of a state park in Westchester, and one of my favorite places to run in the fall. It features miles of gravel trails, but doesn’t feel like “real” trail running because it’s a park with well-manicured and clearly-marked trails. You can really just show up and weave through the park for hours, and you’ll never be that far from your car. When I trained for a 50k during the pandemic, my parents and I would drive to Rockefeller and they would walk for a few hours while I ran, and then we’d meet back at the parking lot. The best way to get there is to drive, but you can take MetroNorth to Tarrytown and then take an Uber to the parking lot.
Distance: You can really cover as much or as little mileage as you want, but I’ve mapped out a 13-mile route that totals 1,000 feet of elevation gain.
Water/bathroom situation: There’s a clean bathroom in the parking lot that you can easily loop back to during your run. You should bring your own water.
5. South Mountain Reservation
Why it’s good: Unlike Rockefeller, South Mountain Reservation in central New Jersey is real East Coast trail running, as in, the trails are filled with roots and rocks, and the chances of spraining your ankle are high (been there, done that). Not a bad thing! South Mountain is a really pleasant place to run and feel at one with nature, and you can easily get there from New York City by taking NJ Transit to Millburn and walking a few minutes from the train station. There are also lots of great places to eat in town afterwards, like Liv Breads, the Millburn Deli, and the Millburn Diner.
Distance: I’ve mapped out an 18-ish mile route that combines two nine mile loops that start and end at Locust Grove parking lot, the most convenient starting point if you’re taking the train. The route is adapted from the course of the annual Mayapple Trail Race that takes place in May.
Water/bathroom situation: This is a bring your own toilet paper and hydration vest situation, but there is a Starbucks in downtown Millburn, about a five minute walk from the Locust Grove parking lot.
6. Empire State Trail
Why it’s good: The Empire State Trail (EST) doesn’t get enough press. It’s a 750-mile paved biking and walking trail that runs from the bottom of Manhattan to the Canadian border, and from Albany to Buffalo. COOL?! Technically, you could run the EST in Manhattan by following the path along the Hudson from Battery Park to Inwood, but it’s nice to get out of the city and hit the quieter and more scenic parts. If you don’t have a car, you can take the subway to Van Cortlandt Park/242nd Street and run as far into Westchester as you’d like (more info on that section of the trail here), but if you do have a car, I recommend driving to the Maybrook Trailway section in Brewster. It’s a nice and flat rail trail that doesn’t get too crowded, so even though it’s open to cyclists, you won’t feel like you’re in their way/fear getting hit.
Distance: I’ve mapped out a 10-mile out-and-back route that starts and ends at the Brewster trailhead parking lot. You could also keep running to the next trailhead in West Pawling, which is 8.5 miles from Brewster.
Water/bathroom situation: Lacking. I ran the Maybrook Trailway section when I was 28 weeks pregnant and man, did I have to pee that whole time!!