Asia Pacific

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A comprehensive guide to running in Kuala Lumpur

The cultural, financial, and economic center of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is one of the most visited cities in the world for tourism. The city is wonderful mix of the old and new, from colonial era buildings to the futuristic Petrona Towers. A verdant city with many wide avenues and good public transport, the best running in Kuala Lumpur is in select parks and gardens, and certain neighborhoods with wide paths or sidewalks. If you’d like to have an in-person guided running experience in Kuala Lumpur, we highly recommend our friends at Go! Running Tours.

In central KL, the best spots to run are KLCC Park, Perdana Botanical Gardens, and the Bukit Kiara Park. To the north, there’s a nice running path in newly developed Desa Park City, and trails in Kepong Metropolitan Park and the Forest Research Institute. South of the city, there’s good running in Bukit Jalil, and the newer, extensive Putrajaya neighborhood. The National Botanical Gardens, an hour west of the city, make for a great ‘destination’ run.

KL has good public transport in the center of the city, consisting of a metro and light rail. Be aware that Kuala Lumpur weather is hot and humid year-round. The temperature never dips below 60F.

Editor's Picks

Some of our favorite runs in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

See All Routes
  • All Routes
  • Iconic Routes
  • Weather & Climate
  • Where To Stay
  • Stores & Group Runs
  • Events

The heat of Kuala Lumpur makes it a challenge for running. Given it’s hot and fairly humid year-round, with average high temperatures if near 90F (32-33C) and lows rarely dipping below 70F (21C), we recommend going when the sun is not too strong.  Pay attention to hydration. The city gets some 100 inches of rain per year, with the drier months of July and August getting about half the rainfall of the wetter months. Be prepared to run in a downpour at any time!

Kuala Lumpur is a heavily visited city for business and tourism. There’s a large number and range of hotels, including many larger, luxury spots. Given the congestion in the city and its wider streets that are not always so pleasant for running , we recommend trying to stay near one of our designated running spots, or close to a metro stop providing easy access to running.

STORES

Running is a growing activity in KL, and there are numerous running stores. The best independent running store is Running Lab, with locations in central KL and the Utama Shopping Center. There are also outlets for Asics, New Balance, and other running apparel companies.

GROUP RUNS

The running stores don’t typically host group runs. This page has a list of running clubs in Malaysia.

There is a growing number of running events in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding locations. Here’s a link to a good RUN CALENDAR.

Among the signature events are:

Kuala Lumpur Marathon. April.

Brooks KL City Run. August.