Good runs in Santa Fe, NM?

September 22, 2005 6:24 PM

Good runs in Santa Fe, NM?

I'm going to be in NM this weekend and I feel compelled to see how poorly I run at the higher elevations of Santa Fe.

I'll be in the downtown square area, but have a rental car, a Camelback, and a decent sense of direction. I don't want to get lost, though... and I doubt the rental car will be able to handle much off-road action.

'Course-wise, I'm always down for a challenge, so long as it's not too insane. 8-10 miles would be ideal and dirt paths are preferred, but really I'm just looking for something interesting.

posted by ph00dz to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total)

can't speak to the topography, etc. of that specific area, but the google pedometer will keep you from getting lost and give you exact mileage for your runs as well. Perhaps follow-up posters could use its tinyurl feature to link suggested routes here? Have fun!
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 6:30 PM on September 22, 2005

I think that the Santa Fe Rail Trail might be just what you need. It's a dirt trail that runs along the Santa Fe rail spur from Santa Fe to Lamy (where the spur connects to the main line that goes through the region). You definitely won't get lost with the track to guide you.

It's 11.5 miles long.

I'd also recommend taking a ride on the Santa Fe Southern [warning SOUND] if you like trains at all. It's not cheap, but it's one of the best train experiences I've had.

Map to the station in Santa Fe
posted by ursus_comiter at 7:39 PM on September 22, 2005

I got the runs pretty good after eating spoiled guacamole at Marias off St. Francis back in the day....
posted by Pressed Rat at 8:44 PM on September 22, 2005

Best answer: Be careful depending upon the altitude you're coming from. If you're at sea level, running at Santa Fe's elevation could make you very sick. Santa Fe's a good deal more than a "mile high", hell Albquerque is a mile high. Santa Fe is closer to 6500+ feet.

I'd just recomend a run from somewhere dowtown (presumably near where you'd be staying) to something up toward the mountains. Up Canyon Road, maybe. Something like that, or up to St. John's, would offer you the option of continuing on trails into the mountains if you want.

Surely if you're not used to running at such a high altitude it wouldn't be a good idea to do a run between Lamy and Santa Fe given that much of it is out in the middle of nowhere. And not as scenic, in my opinion, of many other places you could run.

Santa Fe's starting to get a little chilly now, too. Looking at today's forecast, it's 49-76; and you can reduce that by a few degrees if you're looking at any significant increase of elevation into the mountains away from downtown.
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 10:18 PM on September 22, 2005

Response by poster: Good to know, Ethereal....

I'm coming from Phoenix, so I've been running at sea level in hot weather. It's kind of crazy to think about, but I've been running in the dark at 4:30 am and it hasn't been below about 70 degrees in months and months and months...

Anyway, I'm in pretty good shape, but maybe you're right in terms of playing it safe... I certainly don't want to wander out of cellphone range.

I do know the St. John's area a bit... and, from what I remember of the drive up there, if I can make it up there and back, I think I'd be satisfied. That's a good suggestion.

SSF -- I forgot about the google pedometer -- that thing really is a runner's friend, isn't it?
posted by ph00dz at 5:49 AM on September 23, 2005