Mexico City is the capital of Mexico and the largest city in North America. This dense, sprawling high-altitude city is a busy financial and cultural center. Within Colonia Centro, is Centro Histórico, location of historic landmarks, and numerous museums. Owing to the density and traffic, running in Mexico City can be a challenge. The best places to run tend to be in the city’s large parks. If you’d like to have an in-person guided running experience in Mexico City, we highly recommend our friends at Go! Running Tours.
Our 10k ‘runseeing’ tour of Mexico City’s key sights is a good way to orient yourself — do it on Sundays when Reforma Ave. is closed to traffic! Chapultepec Forest, just outside Colonio Centro, is the signature running spot and the largest urban park in the Western Hemisphere. In between Colonia Centro and Chapultepec Forest lies Zona Rosa, which is popular for visitors and has some nice running areas. South of Zona Rosa, there’s nice running in the Roma and Condesa neighborhoods. There’s good running around the large UNAM national university. Other running highlights in Mexico city are the Coyoacan and San Angel neighborhoods. Not far from the city, El Ocotal, Cuemanc, Bosque de Tlalpan, and Forest of Aragon are worthy running destinations. In the southern part of the city, the Ciclopista Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca is a lengthy bikeway that offers good off-road running.
There are two obstacles when running in Mexico City: altitude and pollution. At 7,350 feet, it’s important to allow yourself to become acclimated to the elevation before pushing yourself. Pollution is also a reality in Mexico City. Try planning your runs in the morning or the evening when the air quality is better. As for getting around, the metro system consists of 12 lines and 195 stations. The city’s bus rapid transit line is the Metrobús, with metro-style stations in the middle of the street, spaced at three- to four-block intervals. Peseros are gray-and-green minibuses operated by private firms.
