Downtown Runners Take it to the Streets

You say you thought the running craze was over? Excuses, excuses. With as many as 150 people taking to the streets and sidewalks each day at lunchtime from the downtown YMCA and countless others running from their homes and offices, downtown Dallas and surrounding areas look like Olympic training grounds.

The most popular city running route this time of year, says YMCA Women’s Fitness Center director Linda Turner, is along Cedar Springs and the Turtle Creek green belt. From the YMCA at Akard and Ross to the Dallas Theater Center and back is between four and five miles-the perfect length for a lunchtime run, Turner says. Stronger runners choose from longer courses-the most ambitious, she says, reaching to SMU’s Dallas Hall and back, is ten miles (see map).

Turner’s tips to city runners: run at the same time every day-the heat difference between morning and afternoon can be startling; don’t wear headphones, which can drown out traffic noises; where you must run in the street, face traffic; run at off-peak traffic times such as lunch, very early morning, or late evening; and choose a route with some pit stops-bathrooms, water fountains, telephones for emergencies.