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Lead Stories: Sunday, July 20, 2008

Top three running routes
in Dallas, Texas

Posted February 28th, 2007 at 2:12 PM by Warwick Ford

Section: Columns, Fun on Foot

Warwick Ford is a guest contributor to The Final Sprint and author of “Fun on Foot in America’s Cities,” the book that details and maps the best on-foot routes in 14 major US cities. Check out FunOnFoot.com for more information and to purchase the book or maps.

Big “D”, Dallas, TX, seems much more a place for automobiles than for pedestrians. If you asked the average person here what was the most important thing he did with his feet, he would say hitting the accelerator and the brake. Nevertheless, Dallas does have a thriving subculture of on-foot enthusiasts. There is a keen running community and a few really good trails convenient to downtown. The DART bus and light rail system can help you get to and from these trails, making it possible to plan exercise outings without using a vehicle at all.

The weather is excellent for running in October through April, with good temperatures and only a small risk of precipitation ruining your outing. In the other months, average maximum temperatures move into the 80s and 90s, meaning you might want to go to extra pains to fit your outdoor exercise in early in the day. In this short article, we shall look briefly at the very best of those local on-foot routes.

For a training or recreational route to be motivating and enjoyable it needs to have four attributes: