Run Long Around A Short Loop

I live in a suburb of Philadelphia, and the neighborhoods around me are pretty congested when it comes to traffic. I would like to have a nice long stretch of road that could serve as an out and back when I want to run long, but there is no such road near me.

There are, however, a number of loops in the neighborhoods around me. I can start and finish at my house with a 2–3 mile loop, depending on where I come back around.

About a half mile from my house is a loop that is just a shade under 2 miles. About 1.98 miles if I start at the right place. Directly next to that section is a loop that is 2.3 miles around. And on the other side of that section is a loop that is a little more than 3.25 miles around.

So if I put those together I can run a bunch of connected circles that will total around 10 miles. Double up on a few of those circles and I can add miles pretty quickly.

So a few weeks ago, when I had a long run on the training plan, I started calculating a route that would take me around 16 miles. I figured I could do a short out and back on the main road that cuts through these neighborhoods I just mentioned. That would give be around 5 miles and then I could circle around some of the loops.

But then I thought, why not just do the whole run around a single loop? This would eliminate the need to carry water with me, since I could stash some on the route and stop for it each time I passed.

And then I thought of the park.

Tucked between two sections of my neighborhood is a small park. There is a roller hockey rink, a playground, two small fields, woods, a creek, some parking spaces, and most importantly — two portable toilets that are cleaned once a week. Around this park is a paved path that measures about three tenths of a mile.

I often stop at this park for the portable toilets. I just as often pass through this park when I am going from one section to the next. And I have used that paved path to bump up my mileage and round it off before heading home after a run.

What if I did my entire long run inside that little park?

I could take a few water bottles to leave on one of the benches that I would be passing about three times every mile. I would have a convenient place to stop if I needed to use the bathroom. And I could listen to a couple of podcasts while zoning out without needing to worry about the traffic.

So I jogged the mile to the park and then set off to complete lap after lap after lap after lap.

I ended up doing about 13 total miles around that little loop and then taking to the road for 3 miles at marathon pace.

It might seem crazy to run so long on such a short loop, but it does have its benefits.

Like I said, easy access to water and pit stops, but also mental training. Running around a circle for so long might seem boring, but getting into a flow and enduring that boredom is good mental preparation.

Other than this long run I just described I also ran an 18 miler and another 16 miler using that little park loop, and I have two other long runs in my training plan that will take place there.

So instead of exerting mental energy planning your run and trying to calculate distances to make sure you get enough miles, simply settle into a loop course and just keep going until your watch clicks over to the distance you need to go.

Trust me, it’s not as crazy as it sounds.

I am on a quest to become a faster marathoner. Follow along on Instagram as I document that quest.