Great Runs in Philadelphia
Philadelphia has a cool running scene, immortalized of course by the famous “Rocky Run” from the 1976 movie. This run, through the city and up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is on any runner’s ‘bucket list’. We’ve included this route in our guide to running in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia was laid out with some grand city planning. There is wonderful architecture and some historic sites and institutions. Our guide to the iconic runs of Philadelphia includes a ‘Philadelphia History’ run, a ‘Museum’ run, a gorgeous route along the Schuylkill River, and the beautiful Fairmont Park. The Philadephia city core is fairly compact so it’s easy to access the iconic runs from nearly anywhere downtown. In the southern part of the city you are closer to some routes along the Schuylkill river, the University of Pennsylvania, and also over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge to New Jersey. There’s quite a bit of development along the waterfront improving things for runners, including a new boardwalk and refurbished bridges.
The Iconic Routes
- The ‘Rocky’ Run
- Philadelphia History Tour- Ben Franklin Bridge
- Museum Tour (include Rocky Steps here!)
- Fairmont Park
- Skuykill River
The Routes
The ‘Rocky Run’
5k and 10k options, from the annual Rocky Race MAP
Forty years later, this run still holds sway with runners, and with the release of 2015’s Creed, a new generation of runners will add this run to their bucket list. For inspiration, here’s a clip of the run from the 1976 movie. By the way, it still works. Big time. There’s also an annual Rocky Run road race.
Now, it is impossible to actually replicate the Rocky Route. I read a few articles trying to replicate the route in the movie montage, and the route actually covers a vast swath of Philadelphia — some 25+ miles, including some sections that would be impossible to do (i.e. through a tunnel). However, here’s the route the organizers of the annual Rocky Run Road Race use to replicate the ‘iconic’ parts of this ‘iconic’ run. MAP.
Philadelphia Museum Run
4.26 Miles RT from City Hall around the Philadelphia Museum. MAP
This route gives the runner a great idea of the grandness of Philadelphia’s master plan, and a view of some of the city’s most interesting architecture. You can start anywhere in central city. We start the run at City Hall, where it is possible to run through the arch and along the “grand allee” of Benjamin Franklin Parkway, through the various squares and plazas as you pass the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, Library, Rodin Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Our route has you running around the Museum counterclockwise, and then, instead of returning along Benjamin Franklin Parkway, follow the River trail to Chesnut Ave.
It is possible to extend this run, well past the Museum and into Fairmount Park — either along the river or using one of the interior trails.
Fairmount Park
One of the largest urban green spaces in the country, Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park consists of more than 9200 acres of trails, woodlands and wetlands. The park is divided into east and west sections, divided by the Schuylkill River. There are many options for runs here, so it’s not easy to plot one particular route. One good option is to start near the Philadelphia Museum of Art and head north along East Fiarmount Park. You can follow the trail along the river, or enjoy some of the interior trails. Then cross one of the bridges and run back alons West Fairmount Park, again along the river or one of the interior park trails or roads. Crossings are at Girard (1.2 miles), Strawberry Mansion (3 miles), or Falls Bridge (4.25 miles).
Schuylkill River Trail
8.2 miles from Museum of Art to Falls Br. and return on west side. MAP
Numerous options for longer or shorter routes/loops. MAP of entire system
The Schuykill River trail is a multi-use trail that is planned to run some 130 miles when completed. Today, 60 miles are accessible, and there are continued developments and improvements. The section accessible from central Philadelphia is about 10.5 miles, starting at South St. and continuing past Manayunk. The most developed section is to East Falls, which is 4 miles from the Museum of Art. You can do a there and back or cross over to the west side on one of the bridges and do a loop back. There are many options to extend the run, north, and then slightly south to near the Univ. of Pennsylvania. Recently, a 2,000 foot long boardwalk running parallel to the eastern shore of the river from Locust Street to the new stairtower on the south side of the South Street Bridge was completed, providing an easier connection for people with bicycles. This project provides an important link to the Schuylkill River Trail and Center City from University City and West Philadelphia. A run
Philadelphia History Run
8.4 miles (long version, includes NJ waterfront). Phil and NJ waterfront trail ‘extensions’ each add about 3 miles one way. MAP
This is “running history tour”, that combines a 1.25 mile tour of the most historic sites of Old Philadelphia and then a jaunt over the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, crossing the Delaware River, to New Jersey. The map on the left is the walking tour used by Constitutional.Com, to which I’ve added an extension over the bridge. There are two great options to add about 3 waterfront miles on each side of the bridge. On the New Jersey side, run along the New Jersey side, by the aquarium to the Battleship New Jersey. Great views of the Philly skyline. Especially great at sunrise. On the Philadelphia side, come off the bridge, and run along the trails of Penn Plaza just pass the Seaport Museum, then come 1/4 mile back to join the Delaware River Trail. It’s 2.8 miles from the bridge to the end of the Delaware River trail.
FDR Park/Navy Yard
5.45 miles. Start at Marconi Statue, Broad St. MAP
A great option in south Philadelphia is to run in Olmsted designed Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Park. This is sort of like Franklin Park in Boston, which numerous trails, a golf course, and other recreational options. Start at Marconi Plaza (where a statue honors Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radio), on Broad St., near the Xfinity Center where the Flyers and 76ers play, then head south toward FDR’s Pattison Avenue entrance. A lap of the park, with views to the lake, the golf course, and attractive gazebo, is about 3 miles. This route has you do a tour of Philadelphia Navy Yard, for views of the boats and some of the ‘grittier’ side of Philadelphia.
Additional Options/Destination Runs
Philadelphia is a large city that has some beautiful suburbs and some interesting, scenic sites for running within relative proximity.
Wissahikon Valley Park/Forbidden Drive. This park 1,800 park north of Fairmount park in the northwest section of Philadelphia has 50+ miles of trails, many of them wooded. The flat run along ‘Forbidden Drive’ (a road closed to cars) parallels a creek. There are numerous wooded trail options that also provide some hill opportunities. The park is very popular with Mountain Bikers
Valley Forge — Joseph Plumb Martin Trail
The 5.0-mile loop trail for runners or walkers inside the
famous Valley Forge National Historical Park, about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, is a great experience.
STAY
One thing that’s great about Philadelphia is that there are wonderful hotel options within proximity of good running routes. Most hotels in the center city are in the “square” between Spruce to the south and Race St. to the north, and east-west between 10th an 19th St. This provides access within a mile or two to most of the ‘iconic’ runs in Philadelphia. There’s another cluster of hotels in the historic district near the waterfront and the Ben Franklin Bridge, and around the Univ. of Pennsylvania.
Running Stores
Each major running area of Philadelphia has one or two good dedicated running stores.
Center City: Philadelphia Runner, a local chain of stores. Group runs Thursdays 6pm. Other locatons in University City and Manayunk (north).
University of Pennsylvania Area. Philadelphia Runner. Group runs Wednesday 6pm
Fairmount Park area. Fairmount Running Company. Group runs Wednesday 6:45pm from their store
Events
Rocky Balboa Run. A run in honor of the famous “Rocky” movie. Approximates parts of Rocky’s famous run.
Broad St. Run. 10 miles. First Sunday in May.
Philadelphia Marathon. November. One of the oldest and most historic Marathon races, covers a lot of the great sites of Philadelphia.
Rock ‘N Roll Half Marathon. Half Marathon. September.
Community
Group Runs
Center City.
Group runs Thursdays 6pm from Philadelphia Runner store. Also Wednesdays 6pm from Univ. of Penn. store.
Tuesday 6:30pm from Art Museum steps, run by Philadelphia Runners
Saturday 9am from Art Museum steps, run by Philadelphia Runners
Fairmount Park. Thursday 6:45 pm from Fairmount Park store of Philadelphia Running Company.
RunPhilly has a great Web site with a master schedule of group runs.
Run Clubs
Weather
Philadelphia summers that can be hot and humid. Spring and fall are gorgeous. Winters are cold but not frigid. Roads can get snowy and icy. About the same as New York City. Rain is fairly consistent throughout the year but in summer is more characterized by short, bursty thunderstorms.
