Running Routes in Sunset Park

gc72

Hi, everyone,

Recently moved (actually back) to Sunset Park and am wondering if there are any runners out there who could provide some suggestions for running routes in Sunset Park. I’m on 9th Ave. in the mid-40s and have been running down (south) on 9th Ave. and making my way to Owl Head Park in Bay Ridge (68th St. near the water) and back, for a nice appx. 5-mile run. It’s okay, but am hoping for some alternatives. For example, is there a school with a track nearby? I’m also going to go check out the rec center in Sunset Park (the park) this weekend to find out about getting membership for running on a treadmill during winter. Thanks in advance for your input and thoughts!

turtle95

If you're looking for a good run, you could consider going up Ft Hamilton Parkway and running around Greenwood Cemetary. That would get you at least 4 miles from 9th Ave in the mid-40s. You could also take Ft. Hamilton right to Prospect Park and do a loop there (3.35 miles)

Also, you can search for runs in your neighborhood using the city feature on this website

http://www.favoriterun.com/route/test_search

and also on this website

http://www.mapmyrun.com/search

If you put Brooklyn as the city and use the keyword "Sunset" as a search criteria, you come up with lots of routes; for example, here is a five mile loop that starts and ends in Sunset Park

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ny/brooklyn/887094268600

You might also want to look into the Brooklyn Meetup Running group. They do runs in Prospect Park, Brooklyn Bridge and in Williamsburg. You can find them on meetup.com.

hamilton

Ft. Hamilton High Has a 1/4 mile track, it's at 83rd and Shore Road.

curlygirl

Down to Owls Head is a good one -- if you haven't noticed, once on the promenade miles are marked in 1/4 mile increments which is great for speedwork. I also like running around the cemetery -- 3.5 around, pretty much exactly, and then as mentioned, making the detour up to Prospect Park. A loop of the park+a loop of the cemetery via 9th ave/ppw = pretty much exactly 7.5 miles. The Prospect Park Track Club website (www.pptc.org) used to have a map of the park with the distances of the transverses -- the link was broken last time I checked, but I didn't try that hard.

Also, for variety from the promenade, running along shore road is a bit hillier, and allows for dipping into the park there itself which can be a nice break from the monotony of it all.

For no good reason I hate the Fort Ham HS track -- although it can be fun sharing it with the marching bands and occasional JR ROTC drill practice. The track in Red Hook isn't actually too far away -- I ride my bike there and just prop it and my personal belongings against the fence while I run and have never had a problem with anyone touching my stuff. Although I did walk in on someone shooting up in the women's bathroom once. Ah, urban life!

niamh

Subject: running in sunset park

Hi,

I live pretty near to where you're talking about, and I run along Fort Hamilton along the cemetery, across Mcdonald ave. and over to Prospect Park, to the entrance near the Commerce Bank, then around the park and home. It’s about 6.6 miles total. There’s a website called mapmyrun.com. that allows you to map your run exactly online it’s pretty cool.
The cemetery run is a good one too, though I prefer the park one.

I work in Manhattan, near the Staten Island ferry, and I often run home over the Brooklyn Bridge, which is close to 7 miles. I’ve save both the work run and the PPW run on maymyrun, so you might be able to see them on there. It’s a free site.

gc72

Thanks, everyone, for your ideas and advice. It's good to have options. I've done the run around Greenwood cemetery a few times, and it's a good workout, but also a bit hilly.

I tried out the run to Prospect Park and back this weekend (I was a bit hesitant to because it, 6.5 miles, is longer than I was used to running), but it's a great run. Although it's longer, I like it that it's not as hilly as going around Greenwood cemetery, and you don't have to deal with as much traffic as going to Owl Head Park (or anywhere else in Brooklyn). Plus the park is beautiful with all the fall colors. Really makes the run go by quick.

Thanks again! Happy trails . . .