My favorite page of Runner’s World world magazine is the Rave Run page. This page, usually found towards the beginning of the magazine, describes a spectacular place to run, that is worthy to Rave about. The page reminds me of a tour guide, revealing a secret running spot that is not known by the tourist, but rather an amazingly cool place to run, popular among the locals. It immediately makes me day dream and inspires me to plan a trip.

Well my city, Washington, DC, has been on the Rave Run page several times before. I have lived here my whole life, and although sometimes I get bored of the area, I am lucky to live in a city with numerous places to run. If you run or cycle DC is your dream city. Let me tell you why…

DC has several bike paths, paved for the road cyclist and road runner. The most popular are Mount Vernon Trail, Four Mile Run, WO&D, The C&O Canal, and although not the safest there is Rock Creek Park.  DC also has several trails for the trail runner, including Roosevelt Island, Capital Crescent, Rock Creek Park, and Great Falls National Park. All of these paths/trails I have run and cycled on several times except for Rock Creek, and when it comes to safety, they are all pretty safe except for Rock Creek.

If you do not want to be stuck on a trail, the city has some amazing loops around the historical monuments. There is also tons of cool bridges to run over, including Memorial Bridge and Key Bridge. There is water to run next to, such as by the Tidal Basin, and even cemeteries to run by, including the famous Arlington Cemetery.

DC also has an amazing community of runners, and tons of running events. There are running groups/clubs that meet several times a week. There are also tons of races year round. Marine Corps Marathon, Army 10 miler, and the Cherry Blossom 10 miler are the three most popular races. There is also the Nations Triathlon, and several bike races, including some Centuries.