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The Man Who Designed Where You Run

April 26, 2022 is the bicentennial of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted, the famous landscape architect. While Olmsted might be most famous for Central Park in New York, he and his firm designed many other well-known parks, residential neighborhoods, university campuses, and famous estates. They even played a role in several National parks, including the National Mall & Memorials in Washington, D.C. , Acadia National Park & Yosemite National Park.

Every day, millions of runners enjoy and experience the beautiful places Olmsted designed. And, Olmsted’s human-centered design principles influence so many other places we get to enjoy every day.

In honor of this special day, we’ve created an ‘Olmsted’ category, which includes 70+ routes in places he and his firm designed.

A Few of the ‘Bests’

Iconic Parks: Central Park, New York; Prospect Park, Brooklyn; Mount Royal, Montreal; Golden Gate Park, San Francisco; Forest Park, St. Louis; Audubon Park, New Orleans
Linear Parks: The Emerald Necklace, Boston, and similar concepts in Buffalo, Cleveland, Louisville, Chicago, and Rochester (NY)
University Campuses: Stanford University, Yale University, Wellesley College, Washington University of St. Louis; Ohio State University.
Historic Residential Neighborhoods: Roland Park, Baltimore; Clayton neighborhood, St. Louis; East Side neighborhoods, Atlanta; Riverside, Chicago; Berkeley, CA;
National Parks: National Mall & Memorials, Washington, D.C.; Acadia National Park Loop Road; Great Smoky Mountain National Park; Yosemite National Park

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