(Half) Live Photo Blog: 2014 Run Around Manhattan

Checkpoint 1: Queensborough Bridge (12:30pm)

Scenes so far:

The first glorious sight on Manhattan's perimeter comes at a bend just before 23rd St. It's a little hard to see in the distance because my picture isn't great, but if you look closely you can see the Queensborough Bridge.

At 25th Street, there is a bridge over the FDR. Just north of that on the side of the river is Waterside Plaza, which is a gorgeous outdoor plaza that overlooks the East River.

Unfortunately,  you can't run the entire length of the East Side of Manhattan right along the river. One of the stretches where you have to come a little inland begins here, at this pedestrian tunnel at the end of 38th Street.

Access to a path along the East River resumes here, if you run up a ramp on 60th Street. The scene is complete with this structure that resembles a roller coaster, which (sort of) covers a dog park.

Checkpoint 2: Macombs Avenue Bridge (1:40pm)

A little above the Queensborough Bridge, the Bobby Wagner Walk begins, and we see this lovely scene.

At 84th Street, Carl Schurz Park begins. Across the river from that, you can see Lighthouse Park, on the northern tip of Roosevelt Island. See the lighthouse?

Sometime in the 90's, you come by this place. It would seem to me that it used to be a pier of some sort. Now it's just a roosting place for seagulls.

Between about 120 and 155 is another stretch that can't be done along the river. It's a zig zag slog through an industrial area of Manhattan that is replete with bus depots and car dealerships. At some point, though, you make it to the Macombs Avenue Bridge, from which you can see Yankee Stadium.

As typically happens with this, battery and energy ran short on the second half, but here are a few more pictures I took before I couldn't anymore. Let's call this Checkpoint #3: Inwood.

10-20 blocks above the bridge, there is a small, barely noticeable entrance to a pedestrian and bike path that'll take you across a highway and back along the river. It provides breathtaking views of a number of bridges on the East side as well as the towering structure you can see here that is located in the Cloisters.

Bridge views from north of the same bridges. I love this area.

Ever so slightly north of the last picture, you'll see the Peter J. Sharpe Boathouse. A boathouse on the northeast side of Manhattan? You bet!

At the back end of Manhattan, there is this pretty little inlet. It's hard to see here, but it was actually frozen. The curved pathways you see in the picture were little rivers that had unfrozen. There are geese and ducks there, getting ready to take off in flocks.

Pretty sure this is exactly the furthest part north on the island. I took this particular bridge on a nice pathway that happened to be under a bridge.

I think this is one of the best views on the run. It's a small outlook point in the park. Look how far north you can see up the Hudson River!

Alas, I started running out of time, battery and energy after this checkpoint. I actually bypassed a sizable chunk, since I underestimated how long it would take and was meeting Jessica Sassy at 14th Street. So I cut a good 7-8 miles out, but also added a bit at the end between the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges that I haven't done the last couple of years. I think altogether it ended up being 27-28 miles. I learned some things for next year's run. As usual, it was a great experience. Hope you enjoyed the half live blog!