KK those look like amazing places to run and just to be at.

D, I was expecting you to respond but not with that, that's horrible! We've had some bike and pedestrian deaths around here too unfortunately, the one spot had two bike accidents, one fatal (and he was a bike safety proponent) In less than two months. Running seems to be fairly safe though.

Fahy Bridge is a death trap for cyclists. Ugh.

I live near where lilac lives and I like it. My neighborhood is huge and fully-sidewalked, and the busiest roads I encounter only have 35mph speed limits. When my husband and I were house-hunting back in 2010, I had just started running (actually had completed my first 5k the morning we saw the house we ended up buying, because of course I wore the race shirt to the appointment). I didn't know at the time how vested I'd become in running but it was important to me to find a runner-friendly neighborhood. There were some houses we saw on busy unsidewalked roads that I ended up just saying no to right away due to location.

Lots of races here too. I've been running almost 3 years and haven't gotten bored enough of local races to feel the need to travel to race yet.

Like Kristin, I live in Brooklyn, NY.  I would say that for running it has its good points and its bad points, like everywhere else.  There are so many runners, I almost always feel safe in the parks here, and it's such a pedestrian city, I feel like I don't have to worry about being hit by a car as much as I would if I were in a city where pedestrians weren't the norm.  I love my park, and I love my loop.  I love my running club and I really love the inter-club competition, which I think fosters more competitiveness and more drive for excellence among the runners who choose to take part.  I love that there are flats and hills to run.  I love that you can run for two hours and if you get tired you can just hop on the subway.  I also love how easy the subway makes run-commuting-- you never have to worry about your car!  For the most part, races here (even half-marathons) are well-priced. It's nice to be able to run a well-supported half marathon and pay only $30.

OK, so I guess I mostly love it.

I do wish the weather was a little more west-coasty (I think Portland/Seattle/Vancouver would be just about the perfect climate for me).  And because there are so many runners here, it's extremely difficult to AG place in a race, if that's your goal.  (I think I would have to travel, and find some tiny little race somewhere, to make it happen, and my race times aren't all that terrible).  The no-car lifestyle in NYC (I know I _could_ have a car, it would just be wildly impractical) means I almost never get out of my immediate area to run, and pretty much never run on trails outside of my local park.

All in all, I give it a thumbs-up.  It's certainly better than a couple years ago, when I lived in Queens, just off of a street not-so-lovingly nicknamed the 'Boulevard of Death'.  That was my regular running route the whole time I lived there, before I put my foot down and decided I needed to live near a park.

It's been worth it

We have weather extremes here in the Philly area. It can drop into low teens or single digits in winter with nasty wind chill and get into the upper 90s with high humidity in the summer.  It's still a good place for runners is you can avoid the roads with narrow or no shoulders. The drivers seem oblivious to pedestrians including runners. The residential streets are fine though and I have a nearby college campus to run on where traffic is not a problem. In addition there are several convenient local parks and Valley Forge NP to run in with many connecting trails.

I can find a race almost any weekend of the year, even in the dead of winter. There's a dearth of 10Ks but from prime racing season in the spring to the end in late fall I usually have several 5Ks and sometimes other distances each weekend to choose from. A couple local clubs also sponsor track meets which are an important part of running and racing for me, so I have indoor track meets and summer outdoor track meets to race my favorites distances, 800m and mile. I'm not interested in the mega races, but we have several that draw large fields including the Philadelphia Marathon, one of the top 10-milers in the country, the Broad Street Run, and the former PDR now known as the RnR Philadelphia HM.

There are quite a few running clubs in the area and I've been a member and active with one for the past 14 years. Several of them are also associated, at least indirectly, with local running stores so there's no lack of places to get running shoes and gear. One of them gives a discount to members of the club I belong to which is a nice perk.

Overall I think I have a pretty good area for running though I may complain about the weather now and then. The running environment would be a primary consideration if I were ever to decide to move.

We have weather extremes here in the Philly area. It can drop into low teens or single digits in winter with nasty wind chill and get into the upper 90s with high humidity in the summer.  It's still a good place for runners is you can avoid the roads with narrow or no shoulders. The drivers seem oblivious to pedestrians including runners. The residential streets are fine though and I have a nearby college campus to run on where traffic is not a problem. In addition there are several convenient local parks and Valley Forge NP to run in with many connecting trails.

 

I can find a race almost any weekend of the year, even in the dead of winter. There's a dearth of 10Ks but from prime racing season in the spring to the end in late fall I usually have several 5Ks and sometimes other distances each weekend to choose from. A couple local clubs also sponsor track meets which are an important part of running and racing for me, so I have indoor track meets and summer outdoor track meets to race my favorites distances, 800m and mile. I'm not interested in the mega races, but we have several that draw large fields including the Philadelphia Marathon, one of the top 10-milers in the country, the Broad Street Run, and the former PDR now known as the RnR Philadelphia HM.

 

There are quite a few running clubs in the area and I've been a member and active with one for the past 14 years. Several of them are also associated, at least indirectly, with local running stores so there's no lack of places to get running shoes and gear. One of them gives a discount to members of the club I belong to which is a nice perk.

 

Overall I think I have a pretty good area for running though I may complain about the weather now and then. The running environment would be a primary consideration if I were ever to decide to move.

I didn't realize you were near Philly. I had a really nice time running around Fairmount Park.

It's pretty nice, except for the summer heat.  I live on country roads that are too cambered for me.  But 5 minutes away is a rail trail that goes for something like 25 miles.  Which is about 20 miles more than I need it for.   Within a 5 minute drive into our little tiny town are plenty of subdivisions with a variety of hills and flats, a bit of a greenway, and lots of sidewalks.  I can run many miles without have to make any treacherous road crossings.

If I really want to get frisky, I could drive 20 minutes into the big city and have more greenways than I care to count.  I haven't needed to do that yet.

Near north Chicago 'burbs.  We live .5 mi from the cook county forest preserve North branch bike path which goes about 10 miles north and 5 miles south.  Another, longer forest preserve trail is 10 minutes west of us.   Evanston lakefront trail is also a 10 minute drive.  Winter only lasts about 9 months so we have 3 free indoor tracks 10 minutes away.  Works  for me.

I have lived near parts of the Boston Marathon most of my running life which is really cool. Now I am close enough to make Heartbreak Hill part of my long run, or head toward the Charles River. I'm not into trails but people come from a few towns away to run here. There are more runners in my area than any place I have lived, and part of that is because of the Charles.