7 running routes to try

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Columbia, South Carolina is where I call home. When I moved here three years ago, it was very important to me to find running trails right away. Thankfully, I was in luck. Columbia, in my opinion, is a runner-friendly community and there is no shortage of places to run.

Here are some great running spots throughout the city. 🏃‍

River Walk: Conveniently located downtown, the River Walk is a safe and popular place to run. The River Walk is paved and provides a beautiful view of the Congaree River. 💰Free.

Saluda Shoals Park: Just off of Bush River Road, you can run in this riverfront nature park for hours! The park has dirt trails, meadows, and paved paths. 💰 $5 entrance fee/option to buy annual pass.

Harbison State Forest: Located a few minutes outside of downtown, this forest is a trail runner’s paradise. Run your heart out on over 31 miles of trails. 💰 $5 entrance fee/option to buy annual pass.

Shandon/Rosewood: The Shandon and Rosewood neighborhoods in downtown have well-kept sidewalks that make it easy to get your miles in. 💰 Free (depending where you park).

Irmo Community Park: A quiet park with paved paths in the suburb of Irmo, just off the highway. 💰 Free.

Lake Murray Dam: This walkway is a popular place for joggers and provides a breath-taking view of Lake Murray. Run across the dam on Lake Murray for a total of 3.4 miles. 💰 Free.

Sesqui State Park: Located in the Sandhills area of Columbia, Sesqui has 12 miles of trails and paved paths for runners. 💰 $5 entrance fee/option to buy annual pass.

–Kara Burdett, marathoner + owner of Revival Running Coaching, LLC

I’m not even going to attempt to pretend with y’all – I don’t run. The only time I can recall picking up the pace in the last year was anytime Karl sprinted out of the house as soon as the front door opened. 🙄

So I got some additional help from my friend, Chelsea – who just completed her first marathon + runs with Females In Action (FIA), a free running + bootcamp group for women – inspired by the men’s workout group, F3. It’s always better when you have someone to run alongside you (a.k.a. motivation), so check out the FIA downtown, FIA Lexington + FIA Lake Murray schedules.

Do y’all know of any other good running trails or running groups in Cola? Let us know so we can add them to the list... for the long run. (Punny > Running, IMO. 😏)

Here's what y'all said:

"The Timmerman Trail: located at the mouth of SCANA corporate campus entrance, just off 12th street extension… 2 stoplights up from I77 exit 2 toward Cayce. FREE parking and cement sidewalk trail through the Congaree Creek Heritage preserve. Downtown Canal: located across the river from Cayce Amphitheatre behind the Museum. It accesses ~ 2 – 3 miles of canal paved sidewalk running between the museum and the canal entrance off of Broad River road accessible from both ends." –Warren

Peak Trail: "The peak trail is a good one. It's passed Irmo, but worth it because of the bridge and the rivers. It's one of my favorite places to go to." – @gunpowder_burns

"Isn’t there a track in the BullStreet project or maybe it is on the ball field? Love your work, thanks" –Helen (COLAtoday answer: Yep – the concourse at Spirit Communications Park, home of the Columbia Fireflies, in the BullStreet Neighborhood. It was one of our local New Year's resolutions.)

"www.palmettoTRACclub.org has info on the area running (and cycling and triathlon) groups as well as a current list of area races and events." – Roy