Forums >General Running>Running in Manchester England
I'm going to be in Manchester England for a week and I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on places to run? I've never been to Manchester before and don't really know the lay of the land. I've used google and seem to find the route of the Great Manchester Run but I don't think they will close the roads for me on a random weeknight. I will be there on business and I will be staying close to the Univ. of Manchester.
I frequently ask for guidance at the front desk but I have had mixed results in the past. Once I discovered that the "6 mile loop" was a little shorter than advertised when I found myself back at my hotel in just over 20 minutes. I also had one experience, in Boulder of all places, where the clerk recommended I drive to a residential neighborhood and to do loops until I got the mileage I wanted because there wouldn't be much traffic. Um....aren't there trails nearby with NO traffic?
Hi Rich,
I'm not based in Manchester in the UK but I can give you a few pointers. The Manchester canal runs through the centre of Manchester so you can run along this for a distance and back. Other options are going along to a local club night of one of Manchester's running club's (there's plenty if you google). They are bound to have a track training night midweek or long run groups on Sundays and most clubs would be happy to have you along for the night/long run. Also we have something called parkrun in the UK which are free 5k races on a Saturday morning at 9am in various parks around the country. There will be a number of these in the Manchester area depending on where you are staying if you want an informal race - www.parkrun.org You can register and bring a barcode if you want an official time or just rock up and run and you will just be recorded as an unknown runner if you don't.
if you had time during the day, i'd recommend a trot along the river Mersey, but as you're restricted to week-nights, a route like this suits the scheduled runs in your training plan. it'll take you through the centres of Fallowfield, Withington, West Didsbury, Chorlton & back to Fallowfield (obviously reversible).
if you choose to accept this mission, you'll be rewarded with the fact that you finish only 150yds or so away from the Saajan, which for me (& many others) is the best Kebab house around. head for Sainsburys/Nandos and then it's directly opposite the Friendship (a decent boozer with a good mix of locals and students). order the chicken kebab served in a naan (freshly made in the tandoor oven) with all the trimmings & you won't be disappointed; it's life-affirming.
i miss Manchester, enjoy your stay!
My leg won't stop mooing.
i think i've got a calf injury.
Thanks, both replies are exactly what I was looking to hear. Roth Runner, even though you aren't in Manchester, this is much better intelligence than I would get in Texas.