Everything You Need to Know about Taking a New York City Tour with City Running Tours

quickwhittravel

August 9, 2023

Ready to run? It’s my favorite way to see a lot in a new destination in a short amount of time, but it’s even more fun when you can go with a local! I’ve only done a few guided running tours in my travels, but because there is so much to see in New York, I knew this was one place I definitely wanted to go with a guide. I found City Running Tours in my research, and I was so impressed with them, I knew I wanted to share my experience with you. Here is your sneak peek into a personalized tour with C ity Running Tours–New York City!

Just posing at Bryant Park, feeling worked and happy at the end of my tour!

Tour Options

C ity Running Tours offers multiple tour options to run in Central Park, the Highline, Brooklyn Bridge, and brewery runs. Or sign up for a holiday-specific tour centered around St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas (including a Home Alone Tour!), Fourth of July, and more. There is bound to be a tour that appeals to you, no matter your running level or site seeing preference.

Times and routes vary, but most importantly, C ity Running Tours will ask you for your preferred pace to make sure they have a guide who will stay with you. No need to worry about being slower than everyone else, or worrying that others will slow you down if you like to cover a lot of ground in a short time. Still feeling self-conscious or just want to see things that aren’t included in their preset tours? Book a Personalized Tour instead!

Just taking in the view of Hoboken, NJ!

Keep reading: H ow to Travel from EWR to NYC (and back)

How to Book

Booking on their website was very straight-forward and easy to do. Simply select your tour and fill out the form that will come up. The Central Park Highlights tour is the most popular, and as such, it is offered every morning. If you prefer to book a personalized tour, you’ll select “Personalized Tour,” select your time, and select your mileage. With a personalized tour, you will also have an opportunity to list the places you want to see on your tour, so it can be customized to you.

There are tours available every day, or you can book a personal tour at a time and on a route that works for you!

Their calendar and price list-per-mile makes it easy to know what you’re booking!

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What’s Included

General tours start at $44 per person, and Personalized Tours start at $60 per person for 3 miles, plus $5 per person for each additional mile. For that price, you’ll have your group guide (or personal guide) to show you the way, complete with stops at pre-determined sites of interest, information at each stop, photo opportunities, and a bottle of water provided for each runner. Your guide will also have a small backpack available for small items (hotel key cards, wallet, phone, etc.) as long as they fit.

I loved seeing so many unique things in and around the City, such as Little Island!

Read on: H ow to Tour Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty

Highlights of the Tour

I chose a personalized tour because I wanted to see a lot in and around Midtown Manhattan, so your tour will have different highlights depending on which tour you choose. Here are the highlights of mine:

Arielle, my tour guide! She was amazing, and we had the best time chatting on our run! We talked travel, fitness, coffee, cookies, New York, growing up in other states and moving to big cities, etc., etc., etc. Five miles later, I think we might be BFFs. I can’t wait to take another City Running Tour in NYC because my experience with Arielle was so positive.
Washington Square Park. This was my favorite place for photos of the entire tour. That fountain! That arch! That view down 5th Avenue! I absolutely love green spaces in big cities, and New York has so many good ones. I love that our route included this one.
Seeing lesser-known sites. You can’t miss the iconic NYC sites, right? They’re huge! But personally, I also love the lesser-known, just as interesting sites. For instance, I didn’t know there was a super cool manmade island that looks like a lillypad in the Hudson River called Little Island. (See photo above!)
Ending at an amazing local coffee shop. I love that I got to see a more “local” New York, and that included ending up at a Culture Espresso, which is known for its coffee and cookies! It was the perfect way to round out the morning, and it gave me energy to kickstart the rest of my day.

Washington Square Park photo ops are the most amazing early in the morning!

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Why I Loved t his Company

I love how considerate this company is. The fact that they ask up-front about your pace and running preferences is so kind, because not everyone runs for speed or time–some of us run for the stress or anxiety management. I appreciated knowing that C ity Running Tours is proactive about making sure no one is left behind or feels like they don’t belong on a running tour. Arielle, my guide, was great to ask me how I was feeling throughout the run. If I needed to slow down, or walk, or even end early, I know I could have done what I needed to do.

The other amazing thing about this company is the variety of tours they offer. New York City is such an iconic place, with so much to see, and they have done an amazing job of creating tours that showcase so much of it. I can absolutely recommend a tour with C ity Running Tours New York City!

Ask for Arielle! She is amazing, and she knows where the best coffee and cookies are found!