Boston Is America’s Third Best Running City

Photo by Lisa Decotis

As Boston runners, we brave snow, cold, and sleet to train all winter. We wake up at dawn to hurdle up Harvard Stadium. We flood the Esplanade as soon as the clock strikes 5 p.m. We crush a little race called the Boston Marathon. And now, we’ve been rewarded for all that effort.

Boston took third place in Runner’s World‘s ranking of the best running cities in America, behind San Francisco and Seattle. Honestly, we’re only surprised we didn’t place higher.

The magazine showed some love to the Fenway Victory Gardens, the Charles, the Emerald Necklace, Clemente Field, hometown brand New Balance, our history-heavy routes, and the many run clubs around town. It also noted that 99.6 percent of our population has access to places to exercise (when you’re a runner, that’s pretty much anywhere), and that 97 percent of Boston residents can walk to a park.

“Each mile could bring you to a different historic destination, and runners who’ve traversed the city for years say their routes feel like scavenger hunts,” writes associate editor Ali Nolan.

Boston isn’t perfect, of course. We didn’t do so hot in two of Runner’s World’s five main indexes: climate and safety. Out of 150 cities, we ranked 48th in terms of weather, which frankly seems pretty generous, and a dismal 116th for safety.

We may have a little room for improvement, but the bronze isn’t half bad. Now go celebrate—perhaps with a post-work run along the Charles?