My Places to Run in India

This blog is a list of places to run in India. I have run in each of them and hence can vouch for their suitability.One should exercise due caution after about 7 pm, especially in winter since most parks are isolated in the evenings.

Lalbagh: Bangalore: Our baby Bangalore is home to one of the best locations that I have run in. The periphery of this botanical garden cum park has a rough track (meaning, its not paved or levelled) measuring about 3.5 km, which runs along the compound for the most part and along the road inside Lalbagh for about 1.5 km, running along the road that leads from MTR to the rocky hillock in Lalbagh and then around the lake. The dual benefit of running in Lalbagh, especially in the mornings is that the air is rich in clean air, in addition to the track providing a good workout, by virtue of the occasional gradient. Your life can be enriched by the migratory birds in winter, including the occasional swans from god knows where!
How to get here: Lalbagh is about 4 km from the City Bus Stand (Railway Station) and about 3.5 km from MG Road, both of which are known landmarks.

Rose Garden: New Delhi: This is almost a surprise in Delhi, nestled as it is in the heart of Hauz Khas. Very thick with vegetation and a mud track to run on, this is about 2.5 km if you take the route from the entrance and take a long loop of the park (if your back is to IITD, then the loop is a right hand loop starting from the leftmost end of the park where a path leads into the park). You could extend your run by running to one of the gates and then back and then take the above mentioned loop.

Khadakvasla: Pune: This would rank with the best of places (excluding hillstations) for a good run. This is outside the city and involves the road to NDA. Ordinary citizens are not allowed into the NDA except on weekends. Those with defence connections can gain easy entry as guests. The road is flanked by fantastic vegetation and is excellent for even a good, short cycling trip, especially due to the steep gradients leading up & down to the NDA gate. Everyone in Pune should have a reasonable idea of how to get to NDA.

Marina Beach: Madras: This starts of with a rather revolting stretch of people along the Marina beach near Santhome, where men and kids mostly, are squatting early in the morning answering nature’s call and more. The stretch clears up into just sand and boats as you move closer towards the lighthouse. This carries on till Chepauk for a stretch of about 4.5 km from Santhome to Chepauk. Running on sand is an excellent cure for the legs (personal opinion) since it is tough as your legs sink in every step. But it has the action of shock absorption since the sand ensures that landing impact is minimized. You could choose to start running at the lighthouse and still run till Chepauk for about 2.5 to 3 km or so and then run back. Fantastic, if you want to train for the Mumbai marathon, since Madras is horribly humid and hot!

Hyderabad: The KBR park in Hyderabad has to be my discovery of the year for running. Too bad that I didn’t run there every weekend. The KBR park lies on the way to Jubilee Hills from Nagarjuna Circle on your left. It is a large park with 2 tracks for running – one inside of 4 km (for which you need to pay an entrance fee) and another outside or slightly higher distance (free). I would recommend the inner one since it is mostly free. The track is a mud track and the best reason to choose this one is that there are peacocks all along the trail at various points which remind me of my IIML running days. Also the air is clean and there are several steep sections which can be of great benefit if you want to do interval training. Also, there are clear markings every 0.2 km.

There is also the Jalagam Vengal Rao Park (a stone’s throw away from the Nagarjuna Circle) but it has a hard track. Not recommended.

Bombay: Joggers’ Park in Borivili is a good place if you want to do interval training for sprints. However there are too many celebrities and people in the park. I would rather run in Shivaji Park or Azad Maidan or along the Worli Seaface. The Worli Seaface stretch is about 2 km from end to another. The sea to your side is sufficient inspiration to run along here.

Can't Walk. Gotta Run...