Midtown Greenway: Recreational Mecca

Posted on Jul 17, 2008 under Course Comments, Information, resources |
Image from Flckr

There are hundreds of miles of trails - maybe even thousands across the greater Twin Cities metro area. Some have no real purpose other than winding around, enjoying nature. Some serve as vital arteries of transportation and commerce. The Midtown Greenway falls into the latter category.

Cutting East-West through the heart of South Minneapolis, the Greenway is a major commuter artery connecting the Western Suburbs to the Mississippi River. It is also a three lane recreational mecca of sorts easily connecting with the chain of lakes, Midtown Global Market, West River Parkway, and a variety of other bike trails.

Officially the “Midtown Greenway” is only 5.5 miles long but the trail continues on after leaving Minneapolis and Hennepin County. The Star-Tribune recently reported that for the the quarter ending on June 30th that overall trail usage was up 30% and three-fold since 2003. From a running standpoint this means the trail is quite busy. I would argue that this facility maintained and advocated for by the Midtown Greenway Coalition is invaluable as a paved trail for those who need paved surfaces to recreate.

Living only 4 blocks from the Greenway and 6 from an entrance/exit I use the trail for many of my runs and bike commuting to work.  From a running standpoint it is extremely nice to be away from cars and to have a flat surface to run on - although it does get a little boring and repetitive.  The trail occasionally has a dirt shoulder that I can run on to avoid the pounding pavement but you can’t count on being able to run there.  I said flat, but the newest addition - Martin Olav Sabo bike-pedestrian bridge over Hiawatha Ave - provides a pretty steep incline for both the runner and biker.  However, it can provide some pretty sweet views of downtown at the right times of day.

Winter Greenway
Image from Flckr

In the winter the Greenway is extremely useful because it gets plowed on a regular basis and you don’t need to worry about cars sliding around and hitting you - just a bicycle!

I have really enjoyed being able to utilize the Greenway so much. It wasn’t until I started training for the marathon that I really started branching off and running different routes from my house.  The Greenway is just so convienent!

Hope to see you out there!

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3 Responses to “Midtown Greenway: Recreational Mecca”

  1. Marathon Training: Week 15 | Team Cross Runs Says:
    September 15th, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    [...] .3 on a pretty nice morning, and ran it in 1:16:56. It was 58 and like 90% humidity. I ran down the Midtown Greenway and around the Mississippi River crossing both the Lake and Franklin bridges. I felt pretty good [...]

  2. Marathon Training: Week 18 | Team Cross Runs Says:
    October 6th, 2008 at 7:23 am

    [...] 3 miles. I ran out and back along the Greenway for a nice 4 mile run.  This may have been the warmest run of the week in the upper-50’s in [...]

  3. Week in Review | Team Cross Runs Says:
    October 27th, 2008 at 4:08 am

    [...] I ran for 5 miles along the Greenway. It was a cool 42 with a slight drizzle for most of the run.  I finished in 38:36 and had another [...]

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