I’m not going to lie, it’s not easy living in NYC sometimes. It’s crowded, noisy, expensive, full of traffic and worse- Yankees fans (no offense). However, being a runner and podiatrist in NYC does offer some distinct advantages, one of which is the abundance of great running paths. And the mother of all running paths is Central Park, through which I had the pleasure (and pain) of running in the NYCruns Frozen Bonsai half marathon last Sunday. For full disclosure, the run beat me up quite a bit, so there’s not a whole lot of info in this blog, and should you choose to skip this one, I will still invite you to the holiday party, if I get around to throwing one. Meanwhile, here’s what I took away form a quite majestic run through an amazing Park.
Central Park opened in 1857, was completed in 1873, and is the most visited urban park in the world. It’s hard to imagine so much can be crammed into an urban space, right in the middle of a rather busy city. A lake, reservoir, parks, woods, carousel, baseball fields, as well as sculptures, statues, a mini castle, as well as many many other architectural, design and landscape masterpieces grace and beautify the park. And there are almost as many activities - boating, biking, ice-skating, and of course, running. A loop around the park is 6.1 miles long, perfect for a half marathon, which was well planned and executed by @nycruns on December 14. The scenery is breathtaking, in the midst of a city of architectural masterpieces and icons. And the course, of course, is no walk in the park - it is surprisingly hilly and challenging; although I must admit, dear kids, that the loop becomes a wee bit repetitive after a while, especially to those of us who are challenged in the attention span department. I’m a big fan of exploring new spaces through running, and I am now intrigued and look forward to more visits to the Park.
So if you’re a NYC resident and have been to the Park, you know of what I speak. If you haven’t been to the Park, or are from out of town, add this to the bucket list of things to do. And what’s more, it’s just a few short blocks away from your friendly neighborhood foot doc.
See you in the office.
Ernest Isaacson
