Belkin makes a good armband for your iphone. I've got one, plus the ipod armband.

Potomac Heritage might get you a broken ankle - it's tricky. the rest are milder trail.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Wow, thanks for the info! And I'm more worried about breaking an ankle in the middle of the woods somewhere, I'm not the most coordinated

If that's your main concern, try to find a belt of shirt or something that you can keep your cell phone in.

Most trails mentioned (Potomoc heritage excluded) are not likely to break your ankle though

Anonymous wrote:I run the horse trails in Rock Creek park on weekends. There are lots of joggers, walkers, and the occasional horse!

+1 Love them!!!

I run the horse trails in Rock Creek park on weekends. There are lots of joggers, walkers, and the occasional horse!

OP here. Wow, thanks for the info! And I'm more worried about breaking an ankle in the middle of the woods somewhere, I'm not the most coordinated

We live across from Melvin Hazen. That trail and Soapstone have a lot of stream crossings and will lead to a lot of stop and start as you walk across logs and rocks to the other side. However once you are over by Rock Creek trails branching off from the Pierce Mill (there is parking there too) you should be fine. Pop into the Mill and get a Rock Creek map. Learn to follow blazes and hike different trails on both sides of the creek until you find some that have the right amount of hills or flat surfaces for your liking. Then mark them on your map and try running them.

The trails on the east side of the creek or up by the horses and nature center are less crowded. The trail down by the zoo and Georgetown is more asphalt than dirt and crowded. The trail sign at the park exit of Melvin Hazen that says "more strenuous" or "difficult" means tricky footing narrow trail the branch marked easier or moderate has stable footing, but more hills.

For nice, flat, dirt running - use the tow path anywhere between Gtown and the beltway. Lots of parking options.

10:50 here - oops, forgot that Glover Archbold also branches off into another one - the Whitehaven trail or Wesley Heights trail or something with a WH. there's one fork in the GA trail with a sign, and you can go left to keep on the GA and right to take the WH. If you follow that up to a couple of local roads, you can then get to the Capital Crescent and C&O canal trail for a nice long loop.

what time of day and what days are you running?

First of all, it's still technically winter, when a lot of people take their runs indoors, and a lot of others are running on roads because they're not sure the trails are cleared of snow and ice. I trail run in the spring-summer-fall, but avoid trails in winter. Also, the trails will be more crowded on weekends than during the week, and more crowded during pre-work and post-work hours vs. during the day. (a lot of trails are unsuitable for the jogging stroller crowd and retired folks, which makes up the midday crowd.)

Trails I like:
* Potomac Heritage trail - you *might* see another runner or two, or a hiker or two, but this is a pretty isolated trail. It's so technical, though, that generally shady people will avoid it. I've never felt threatened there. (pick it up by roosevelt island.) Awesome views and some real challenges, but you have to slow to a walk often to pick your way over rocks and ford streams and go over or under fallen trees.
* Glover Archbold trail - pick it up from the Capital Crescent trail just west of Gtown, or by the railroad trestle on M St. west of gtown university. You can take it up to Van Ness, for about 3 miles of trail, then from there, turn around, or find the Melvin Hazen trail.
* Melvin Hazen trail - in DC, near the zoo, I usually pick it up on CT Ave. it's on maps.
* Normanstone trail - this is not very long - you can pick it up from the Rock Creek Parkway trail (just south of the fitness stations below CT ave, I think) and take it to Gtown
* C&O Canal towpath - it's a dirt path, so it's easy on the legs. This is a good time to run it - there's no tree cover, so it gets hot in the summer, plus the canal gets smelly at certain times of year before they drain it and clean out the algae. It goes for miles and miles. One of the lock houses has bathrooms and water fountains - maybe the one that's a few miles out from gtown.

Potomac Heritage branches out into a couple of nice areas in Arlington for adding mileage - look for the "Windy Run" markers near the big waterfall - you can climb up rocks to a rock staircase and then run through woods and over a couple of streams till you get to a small road, and then turn back. PH also connects to Donaldson Run by Marcey St. and Military Rd -there are a bunch of winding trails there suitable for walking or running.

My doc has told me that the only way I can keep running any sort of distance is trail running. I usually run during the day so I'm a bit concerned about safety. Are there places to ditch the concrete where there will be a fair number of people around? I've run on Roosevelt Island and it seems kind of lonely. Also tried the side of the Capital Crescent. TIA!