You haven’t lived until you’ve died on the hills of Vanny. Just ask anyone who has ever raced there! Located right off several main highways (Henry Hudson, Mosholu, Deegan) and at the last stop of the #1 subway train (242nd Street & Broadway), Van Cortlandt Park has plenty of wooded trails to run.
The cross-country course, the site of numerous national championships, has recently been renovated and is now a well-groomed cinder path. The 400-meter artificial surface track, located at the stadium on the south end of the Park, was also refurbished and is a good place for speed training. Three courses in the grounds include “the flats” in the middle of the Park (1.3 miles); “the chute” through the woods on the east side of the flats (extends 1.68 miles); and the short, steep “Freshman Hill”, with a footbridge leading to the the back hills. Together, the three courses make the full loop a total of 2.98 miles.
Cemetery Hill, home of the Van Cortlandt family graves, provides runners a challenging incline, climbing 100 feet in about 300 yards before cascading down to the footbridge. Cutting across the south end of the Park, below Van Cortlandt Park Lake, is the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail that you can take north to Yonkers.
The NYRRC (New York Road Runners Club) uses the same 5k course for all of its cross country championship races.
