Grab Your Running Shoes! These Are the Best Cities for Marathon Training

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Updated on January 22nd, 2024

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The New York City marathon is the largest marathon in the world, and it’s less than three weeks away! Last year, the race had more than 49,500 runners pounding the pavement of NYC for 26.2 miles. The year before that, it had a record-breaking 50,530 runners.  The NYC marathon may be the largest, but it’s just one of approximately 700 marathons scheduled in the U.S. for 2016 alone!

Whether or not you have ever run a marathon (or are crazy enough to run more than one), you probably know that all marathons require the same thing: adequate training. Unfortunately, you can’t just wake up one day and run a marathon without putting in some serious time with those running shoes. Preparation and training will certainly be needed if you plan to successfully run all 26.2 miles of the race. It’s important to have the proper shoes and shoelaces, clothing and a planned running schedule to get you race-day ready, especially if you want to finish with a certain time.

With the NYC marathon just around the corner, Redfin decided to locate the best cities to train for a marathon, in case you want to start training for 2017! To come up with the list, Redfin looked at each city’s Walk Score (a measurement of how easy it is to get around without a car), number of parks per square mile, average daily temperature and amount of sunlight for each city.

Here are the 20 best cities to get you ready to cross that finish line. Check out the Outdoor Places Top 10 Cities tab to explore the local park scene for the top 10 cities. Click on the map tabs for daily sunlight, park density and Walk Score to see what other U.S. cities have to offer.

Ready, set, go!

If you are represented by an agent, this is not a solicitation of your business. This article is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for professional advice from a medical provider, licensed attorney, financial advisor, or tax professional. Consumers should independently verify any agency or service mentioned will meet their needs. Learn more about our Editorial Guidelines here.
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Alanna Finn

Alanna is the celebrity real estate expert at Redfin and oversees the Fun & Fabulous content for the Redfin Real-Time blog. Before coming to Redfin, Alanna was a local TV news producer and dabbled in the world of reality TV production. Her dream home would be a duplex in NYC with a balcony, washer/dryer and a dishwasher. Redfin is a full-service real estate brokerage that uses modern technology to make clients smarter and faster. For more information about working with a Redfin real estate agent to buy or sell a home, visit our Why Redfin page.

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