On holiday in New York for a week?  One of the things I was told I had to do was to get up early one day, and run the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges.  Boy, was I glad I did!

Before going on holiday, I asked the folk over at Reddit a few questions, ranging from where to run to how to get about New York in running gear.  I was so glad I did, for they gave me a wealth of suggestions that turned out to be very useful indeed.

I managed to get out running two days.  The first time I went out for a run was at Central Park.  For that I had to walk from my hotel (which was beside Bryant Park, at the junction of 6th Avenue and 39th Street) to Central Park – a distance of about a mile.

On Reddit, I had been recommended to use the Bridle Path through Central Park, and I did so.  This was great; it was a soft path that would not hurt my knees, and was beautiful to run.  The park was one of the quietest places I had been, though some traffic noise was still audible.  I honestly don’t know how New Yorkers tolerate that noise all day!

I ran from the south end of the park up through the woods at the north to Harlem Meer, a lake at the north-east corner of the park.

After that I ran south towards the Jackie Onassis reservoir.  You are meant to run this anti-clockwise, which most people seemed to be doing.  However, for some reason there were still a few idiots going clockwise – can’t they read?

The views from the reservoir were lovely, you could almost be out in the countryside. And yet you were in such a busy and noisy city; it all seemed so incongruous. Just a short walk beyond the wall and you are back in the unforgiving city of glass and concrete – and car horns!

So I finished my run, and walked back into the city. The walk back from the park to the hotel seemed a lot shorter than the walk to get there, through unending crowds and noise.

The Two Bridges

In my original Reddit discussion, there was an inspired suggestion by /u/wwwppp77 and others, that I should run the two bridges – the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge.  And that I should do it at sunrise.  Now, I’ve got to say that I am not a morning person, but wow, it was so worth it!

I got up early and changed into running gear without waking the wife and kids.  From the hotel a quick walk to the Times Square subway station, and then a train down to Chambers St.  And then I I found my way to the Brooklyn Bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge has traffic on the left and right, but a raised pedestrian walkway in the centre.  That was where I ran, enjoying both the bridge itself and the sun rising over the Manhattan Bridge.

As I got to the South Side of the bridge, I asked a patrolling Police Officer for directions to the Manhattan bridge.  He told me to continue on the footpath I was on, keeping to the right.  Then take a left at Tillary.  I did all of that, and soon got to the Manhattan Bridge.  There were others coming off the bridge just as I was joining

The real reward for the run came at this point – looking out over the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan skyline, all lit by that wonderful Golden Hour sunshine

And then I continued north, even getting high-fived on the way by a pair of lady runners who were going south as I was going north!

Once I was back on Manhattan, I struggled a little to find my way back to somewhere I could recognise.  It was clear that the bridge was passing a residential area. It was also interesting to see so many of the shop signs in Chinese – I guess that’s why they call it Chinatown!

Eventually, phone in hand, I worked out how to get to the court.  We had gone past this previously on a bus tour, so I had some idea of where it was relative to other notable features. As I tried to find my way, I tripped over an uneven paving stone and managed to wreck my favourite running tights. I would probably have gotten on a lot better if I had been paying attention to the ground around me, rather than spending most of my time looking at my phone and wondering how I could possible get back to Chambers St.

But the tights were a lot more damaged than I was, and I was able to keep going. It took me a while to find my way back to Chambers St subway station, but it gave me a chance to grab the classic photo of the Freedom Tower on the way.

The run had taken forever as I kept stopping to take pictures, but it was a great morning – thank you to all the Redditors who helped me know what to expect in New York!