Running hills has long been a cornerstone of serious running programs. Whether you’re doing threshold training or running intervals, running uphill is a great way to “ramp up” your cardio session. For city dwellers, running over a bridge can offer a nice variation on the classic hill run.
If you are in the NYC area, I recommend running the Williamsburg Bridge as it’s generally less prone to foot traffic from tourists as compared to the Manhattan or Brooklyn Bridge.
The Williamsburg Bridge runs from Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood into Manhattan’s Lower East Side. According to Wikipedia, the Williamsburg Bridge is 7308 feet (don’t worry, I did the math and it comes to about 1.38 miles.)
When you’re crossing the bridge from Manhattan into Brooklyn, the pedestrian crossing splits into two sections. Staying to the right is steeper on the last downhill portion so I generally prefer to stay to the left; very steep downhills take practice. (It’s still pretty steep on the left.)
I brought my invisible shoes (and my camera!) with me on a recent running excursion into my native Brooklyn.
Watch the video below to see how it went: