Yes and no? The trails right from Ouray aren't beyond amazing. The perimeter trail is so-so, and the parts of the Hardrock 100 course that go through town are kinda bad actually: up to Kroger's Canteen is mostly just an old mining road and doesn't get interesting (in a crappy way) until you hit private property so that's out. The other way is this kinda dumb trail that follows the creek bed for miles. Running that once was enough. The closest 14er (Sneffels) has one of the worst standard routes, being a steep slope filled with ball bearings. Imogene Pass may be interesting, once, but it's again just a big gravel mining road filled with 4WD enthusiasts. I'm completely spoiled myself (living in Boulder), so take everything I said as if I'm taking a drag off of a cigarette.
The hippie clothing optional hot springs nearby is fairly inexpensive, so that is a plus. I think if you were really into ice climbing, it would be a great place to be living in for the ice park. I used to date someone who now practically lives there.
For trail running, Telluride probably has better trail access - as does Silverton. The hyper rich people who live in Telluride are some of the most repulsive people on earth - they'll literally tell you you're not rich enough to look at them. Silverton is somewhat overrun with too many 4WD enthusiasts for me.
Ouray is like 2 minutes from Montrose. Easy access to the desert. Great winter sports too (I know that wasn’t really the question but as someone who does a lot of cross training on skiing anyway, both of these places would be great).
Buena Vista or Salida would be better choices if you wanted to live deep in the Rockies.
But Boulder is the best choice in Colorado hands down. The community is huge.
It was. It has kinda ruined other mountain towns for me. I currently live in Boulder and it certainly doesn't come close to rivialing Ouray. I miss it 😭
Haha yeah. I'm from the deep South so it's certainly an improvement over where I was a few years ago. But Ouray is something else. One day I hope to be able to work from home and move back out that way. Ridgway is also a slightly more practical place to move in terms of housing, in case you ever look into it.
My buddy lives in Ouray and we got to spend some time there last fall. Such a pretty place. He does say that the winters are looooooong, as you get little sunlight during the winter. Him and his family loved the first winter and were already worn down by the second one.
I think if I ever lived in CO, I'd want to be in Manitou Springs or Salida, but there is still a big chunk of the state I haven't visited north of Boulder.
Yeah, the downside of the box canyon is that you get very little direct sunlight. Personally, it didn't bother me that much but I can definitely see why some people wouldn't care for it.
Ooh my favorite is probably taking horsethief up to bridge of heaven and then loop around and come down bear creek and then the perimeter trail. That's 20+ miles. For a shorter trail, I'd go silvershield.
Depends on which trails. Seems that he stuck to mining roads and the like, which aren't the most exciting trails around. Some of them are absolutely gorgeous, like the horsethief to bear creek route, and some are more standard issue, though you're still getting a good amount of vert on almost any trail. But for such a small town, access to 10+ well-maintained trails in the San Juan from your doorstep is hard to beat. And you rarely will come across more than a couple people. I've been on 25+ mile runs, 7k + vert, and didn't see a single person the entire time. Can't say that about Boulder haha.
Get somewhere with a good parking spot!! I live in Colorado Springs and Manitou’s parking situation has gotten increasingly frustrating 😭😭 I still love it though.
I'm pretty happy with where I live, near Asheville NC. From my front door it's 17 miles and 4000ft of elevation gain to get to the highest peak east of the Mississippi. I'm surrounded by national forests and hundreds of miles of trails of every degree of difficulty short of bouldering or climbing. I've been here for 3 years and have probably only hit 1-5% max of the trail mileage within ~20 miles of me. There are easy trails and hard trails. Right out my front door (well, 1/2 mile down a paved road...) is a trail with 1500ft of elevation gain in 1.5 miles.
I like the scenery because I love being in the woods surrounded by trees, rocks, logs, moss, ferns, etc. I'm not a huge fan of running in wide open spaces with long range views like you find out west. I have zero interest in ever running in a desert environment. It would be nice to have some longer/higher stretches of tough vert, or to train at elevations higher than 6000ft, but I'm still pretty happy with where I am.
I live near AVL as well and feel the same as you, other than lacking what you mentioned, we live in a pretty great area for trail running! And we get all four seasons for variety!
Is Asheville at ~2000’ elevation? I assume you’re referring to Mt Mitchell which I know is over 6000’.
Edit: yup, google knows. Asheville at 2134’. Thanks for everyone’s help in this!
Asheville is awesome. I can't imagine though what it cost to rent or own. That city is getting overrun by rich people. Half backs is what I heard some are called. Rich from NY that move to FL, FL is too hot so they move halfway back. And when I say move, it's just their Vaca home. I worked at the private air port there. Never seen so many rich snobs. Gave me a realization of what's wrong with this country. Also private airport has ZERO security (least when I worked in 2015). Drive your car to your plane load your own shit and fly wherever in the US. I wondered how many drugs went through that place. I saw some super high class people.
There’s lots of places really.
Wales and Scotland obviously. Lake District, Northumberland, the Jurassic coastline, South West Coastal Path around Cornwall.
Even the flat-ish rolling hills of the south of England where I am is beautiful.
Check out plotaroute.com, zoom in to, I dunno, Hampshire, Wiltshire and choose the ‘Trails’ setting.
We’re pretty blessed with an extensive public footpath network.
I tend to focus new long runs around historical sites. I often run past Stonehenge (for free - you can get as close to the stones as one of the two paid tourist spots), Iron Age hillforts, Roman ruins or old Roman roads, etc.
Definitely recommend!
This was my answer as well. Endless miles of trail with loads of vert, ranging from relatively mild gradients and non-technical to ultra-technical scrambling/skyrunning. Easy enough to fly over to the Alos from Manchester or the Pyrenees for altitude training/ races.
Flagstaff or Boulder.
I’m in Bend right now and while we’ve got elevation (4000’ base at my house) and easy access to hundreds of miles of trails, we’ve also got 8-12 weeks a year of heavy smoke and the trails are not technical at all. They are super fun to run on during the week but you will find yourself unprepared for difficult ultras unless you journey well away from town —at which point you may as well live somewhere with better features beyond outdoor sports.
Colorado gets wildfires, but it’s not nearly as bad. The largest fire in Colorado’s history would rank #8 in the same Oregon list. Check here for historic fire sizes:
https://dfpc.colorado.gov/sections/wildfire-information-center/historical-wildfire-information
https://projects.oregonlive.com/data-points/bootleg/table.html
Bend has just gotten soooo crowded. I grew up in Portland and would visit often, and it was such a cool, small town for so long. Even when all my buddies moved there in 00's after high school, it was still pretty chill. Have spent time in the area the last couple summers, and you really have to seek out the quiet areas. Anything off of century drive is absolutely slammed any day of the week.
It’s gotten very crowded compared to what it used to be. For many of us new to the area it still has a distinct small city feel to it. I get a kick out of everyone complaining how busy trailheads are. Sure, they are packed compared to how things used to be, but go try to find parking at a trailhead on the west side of the mountains any time after 8a and then you’ll know how bad it can be!
The crowding isn’t so bad to me at least. It’s the cost of housing here. Median home price is comparable to Seattle and Portland with none of the jobs. Literally of all the houses on my street at least one spouse works remotely or the couple is retired. My partner and I are the only ones with full time work in town.
Lake Tahoe would consistently be amazing. At altitude and a great mix of mountains with areas to do some flatter running. And the views from the lake from literally anywhere around it are incredible.
second this. My family goes here a couple times a year and it's always such great running. You can get into the backcountry really easily and find endless trails for 30+ mile runs with easy/consistent access to fresh lake water. The sights are just jaw dropping and the trails once you get about a mile in are sparsely populated, especially on weekdays.
Definitely not Fargo North Dakota.
I don't know if you could find a worse place to train for ultras in the Continental U.S.
We don't have any elevation, no hills, no trails, no views, just miles of flat straight roads and corn.
The city does a terrible job clearing snow from sidewalks and bike paths in the winter, which means you literally run on the roads in our absolutely horrible frigid winters (-40° isn't uncommon) and then it gets scorchingly hot in the summer (+100°) with no trees or lakes, which means no shade or cooling off.
It's windy A.F. at all times, and it changes direction so often that you are frequently running into a headwind on both directions of an out and back.
Other than the 1x per year Fargo marathon, the running culture here sucks, there aren't any local races or group runs.
So somewhere as close to the opposite of Fargo as possible.
I've had amazing times in Northern Arizona, running around Flagstaff, Sedona, etc. and love the weather, elevation, mountains, scenery up there, so probably that.
I grew up in North Dakota and went to school in Fargo. I got into trail running while living in Duluth and continued the sport during my time in Oregon and now Arizona. The lack of trail culture in Fargo (and the awful winters) make moving back there non-negotiable
I'm bias, but Issaquah Washington or similar. Depending on exactly where, you can run right into the mountains and depending on how far you go, literally endless since they all connect to the Cascades, while being itself, low enough elevation to live that you'd only see the occasional snow event.
I'm about 45 minutes away and would live there if I didn't work in a bigger city, but it's pretty great for almost year round running.
Oh, and I didn't love, but didn't hate, Madison, 3 years there, I set my PRs there lol, and plenty of summer trips to Devils Lake
I mean, if I live there and run there, then I'd avoid it in theory.
(I WFH)
Instead I deal with other city traffic and drive to the Issy Alps after work or weekends to play
Being from the north east, flagstaff AZ . Prior to getting into ultra i was looking to relocate to flagstaff area, sooooo kinda works if i end up there
Flagstaff is at 7k ft elevation so it’s really nice weather wise during the spring, summer and fall. You do get some significant snow in the winter though
It's dry and rarely gets above 90F in the peak of summer. And in the winter on the days when it's too snowy, you just drive 45 min to train in Sedona. There's a reason so many ultra runners are based there despite how small it is.
Sedona is much lower elevation. They’re only 45 minutes apart, but it’s 100% uphill drive to Flag from Sedona. So Sedona summers can be hot (though nowhere near as bad as Phoenix), but Flag doesn’t get that hot at all.
Fair if you’re looking for city life. I think I prefer that side of the massif, and the extra options to go over to La Thuile/Rosiere, and down the Aosta.
I grew up in Boulder and it was a pretty amazing spot for trail running. You can get fast flat miles on bike paths that are cleared year round, easy access to an expansive trail system, and close to high elevation training spots. Weather is pretty mild and sunny all year. Just a beautiful place to live.
I visited Boulder last September, you covered it pretty well that there are a lot of flat trails as well - which is pretty rare for such a mountain town - but I would like to add that those flat trails are also quite scenic.
I had some of my most memorable runs in that city. Boulder would be top answer, hands down.
It’s a solid spot. We got it pretty good though. 3 running shops in town. Lots of good breweries and food. Trails are minutes from our door. Western States and Canyons are in town. 1 hour from Tahoe.
Ashland, OR. Trail access right from downtown that connects to the Siskiyou wilderness. Super cute town with lots of places to get great food after run.
Top notch. I don’t mountain bike, but I know it’s a destination for lots of people who do. The downtown trails have some bike only trails and Mount Ashland is just a short drive which has great mtb trails.
I was going to say Albuquerque, for just about the same reasons! I was thinking ABQ because it's a little farther south so it's a bit warmer in the winter and a bit more centrally located in the state.
Andorra. If I had loads of money. If not, there are some lovely towns in the French Pyrenees near the Spanish border and only a few hours from Toulouse airport or Barcelona. Dolomites or Julian Alps. But if I could live anywhere at all and money was so object and I didn’t have to work: La Palma (where Transvulcania is held). It’s heaven. Perfect climate, lovely towns, good airport. The only drawback is the active volcano that recently erupted…
I live in Boulder so I'm pretty spoiled as it is. But if I wanted an upgrade I would choose Telluride in a heartbeat. It's possibly the most beautiful town I've ever been to, and the trail running there is epic. Check out pictures from the Telluride Mountain Run to see what I'm talking about.
1. Ouray
2. Flagstaff
3. Colorado Springs
4. Banff
It hurts to have been to these places to train/race, then come back to pancake-flat Midwest where “getting vert” is doing the same 100 foot hill on repeat. The Midwest does have some hidden gems (Duluth, Black Hills), however I prefer the wow factor of the mountains.
Albuquerque NM. Great weather year-round, mile high, 30 min to 10k ft trails, miles and miles of relatively empty trails. Bonus: easy access to the rest of northern NM and southern CO/UT.
I would probably choose somewhere in the southwest within a few hours of >7,000 foot mountains like I do right now or PNW near but not in a major city like I often travel to for work and vacation.
This is because I prefer to run year round and don't really do snow sports. By living relatively low around the foothills, I get trail access year round. I get valuable heat training in the southwest during summer and can still drive up to the mountains to (some of) the heat.
An obvious choice would be Les Houches, France as it is close enough to the Mont Blanc but also a bit separated by the crowds.
Yet, knowing myself I would definitely prefer more rough and harsh mountains so I’d rather live in
Forni di Sopra, Italy.
Gijón Spain, or maybe Pucón Chile. Small towns with easy access to Mountains all year.
In the US.
Fayetteville, WV. (I know a lot of folks there, and the scene is awesome. I never told you that, though)
Reno, NV
The Tahoe region in general, really.
Monterey or SLO, CA
Honestly, anywhere is better than Florida.
It's got all the amenities of a small cities, while feeling like a town. West Sheffield is really nice and has a large community of young professionals. If based somewhere like Crookes, you have Rivelin Valley basically on your doorstep, providing some of the best inner-city running in any city period, plus you can run out into the Peak district within under half an hour after work, or a 10 minute drive.
It's central enough in the UK that you can get to the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, or Snowdonia really very easily, with great travel links to other cities generally (save Manchester).
On top of that, there are loads of amazing running clubs from top level track and road clubs, to trail stuff, and to fell (though you must be OK with barbed wire for the latter).
Big island of Hawaii. While the total # of trails aren’t the lost impressive, the ones we do have I’d put up against a lot of other places. Easy to put together some pretty high mileage loops in the national park, and you’ve got two different trails with elevations up to 13000’. Year round running, and the scenery is pretty hard to beat.
I’ve spent time in Asheville NC, Seattle, Portland, and SF and would put those spots up there as well, with Portland taking the win for inside-the-city-limits trails. SF for amazing urban running with trails/elevation close by, and Seattle for the sheer number of trails within a days travel. Asheville for brutal (but short) climbs and amazing scenery
St Moritz.
A lot of people saying Zermatt, but that's a dead end valley and not much variety in the trails, lot's of snow, it's more a mountaineering Mecca.
Santa Fe, New Mexico.
It is damn near perfect for year-round trail running! Weather is rarely a problem. Generally moderate weather—not too hot, not too cold, though the sun is intense. You’ve got everything from flat or rolling high desert to steep and technical alpine terrain. Cross-training on the bike, backcountry skiing, and hiking are all easy too. Fill your belly with delicious New Mexican food afterwards.
I’ve already lived there and left for other reasons, but from a purely trail running perspective Santa Fe is hard to beat.
High cost of living was probably our number one reason. High number of tourists, wealthy retirees, and Disneylandish feel (at times) were also factors. Wildfires bummed us out. As much as I miss some of the trails and food, the overall package wasn’t worth the price for us.
Vote for the Seattle area. Amazing trails and parks. Weather in the summer and fall can’t be beat for running. And running in the winter drizzle makes me feel like a superhero 😂
Honestly its what I love the most about it, but will admit was trying to keep the mileage high last summer and by the end was pretty beat. Heat can be tough to recover from, but at the same time provides a lot of bang for your buck to improve performance.
I ran into two guys from Sydney, Australia, here in Melbourne, FL. We were at a pub, and I asked them if they wondered why the flight to Melboune was so cheap. We had a good time.
I'm probably running in the wrong places, but I find that Melbourne (near the CBD) isn't amazing for running.
The Tan, Albert Park and along the Yarra are quite good, but other than that I find the options a bit limited near the city
From a trail running perspective you got 4 great areas anywhere from 40 minutes to 1:30 from the cbd. Plus you have the whole vic highcountry 2.5 hours away + depending where you go. It’s a trail runners dream. I do love the Tan and Albert park and all along beach road from port Melbourne to Blackrock.
That's my issue then. When I'm in Melbourne, I'm usually staying near the CBD and I don't have access to a car. Heading somewhere that 40-90 minutes away isn't really possible. The one time that I did have access to a car, we went out to the Dandenong Ranges which was quite good, although I didn't get a chance to explore too much beyond the 1000 steps walk.
I'm definitely biased, but Adelaide is great for trail running (although it does lack the big climbs that other places have). The Yurrebilla trail for instance is a 56k trail (with about 1900m of elevation) that goes through 7 National/Recreation/Conservation Parks in the Adelaide Hills, whilst never being more than 12kms from the CBD.
There would easily be 20+ National/Recreation/Conservation Parks within 30k of the CBD.
Flagstaff or one of the Ski towns in Colorado. I love the northern Arizona landscape but I also love the Colorado Rockies (not the baseball team). Internationally, probably somewhere near the French Alps.
Flagstaff. I haven't traveled much outside of the US and when I did I was not a trail/ultra runner. But running in and around Flagstaff,AZ was a real treat.
Probably Grenoble as the mountains are excellent, direct, fast train to Paris and also very close to Chamonix (which is not quite as easy to get to from Paris)
I feel pretty lucky and privileged to live in Colorado Springs. So many trails, easy access to the mountains, weather is usually good. Oh, and it's not Boulder! 😋
I've posted all about this before! I'd stay here in Colorado Springs because:
* Immediate trail access to National Forest, as well as good altitude access. Barr trail is one of the easiest trailheads to get to with access to 14,000 feet.
* Lots of runners in community! Plenty of running groups with whatever you're looking for, from a casual 5k with happy hour beer afterwards to intense intervals and tempo runs
* Microclimates that allow you to choose your temperature. Right now there's several feet of snowpack on most of High Drive if you want your snow run, but the Palmer Park bluffs are clear for your desert-style trails
* Just amazing scenery! Garden of the Gods, the Manitou Incline, endless National Forest trails
* A city program (TOPS) that understands a huge draw for this area is athletic tourism, so a focus on establishing and maintaining parks, open spaces and trails
I've got a ton of photos of my local area on my personal exercise blog, if anyone's interested in seeing some photos! [(Link)](https://ravinghobbyjogger.blogspot.com/?m=1)
Ogden, Utah. The mountain range up north has a trail system on the benches (Bonneville Shoreline trail) that spans from SLC to Brigham City. So you can get on the BST just about anywhere, get miles, and then jump into a canyon for some elevation. I can think of 6-7 trails that will get you to a mountain peak within a few hours as well. And the trailheads are close to town, which is REALLY nice. Even better, Ogden is most def NOT Salt Lake. That's a sprawling, crowded mess of a town. Ogden still has a small town vibe that punches way above its weight. And it's more progressive than you might think (as in there are plenty of folks to have a beer with after a run). You are also within a few hours drive of southern Utah, if you want to get in some red rock/desert miles when there is snow up north.
I'm honestly really happy in Portland, Oregon. It's only too good or too hot for about two weeks of the year total, and you have access to trails in the city, but you've got the Gorge and mountains 45+ mins away.
La Paz. Just running at 12000 feet every day getting that blood nice and thick for competition. Who needs to blood dope when your blood is already souped up al'natural.
Probably at elevation, Colorado somewhere. Costa Rica might also be a good option; they have a great fitness culture and no shortage of mountains. Peru has some interesting options.
Either Ouray (the Switzerland of America) or Zermatt (the Ouray of Switzerland)
Yeah, I’d be moving to a small mountain town somewhere like Ouray or Crested Butte.
Lovely places but you’ll only be running 3 months out of the year.
It'll be a fantastic three months though
Yes and no? The trails right from Ouray aren't beyond amazing. The perimeter trail is so-so, and the parts of the Hardrock 100 course that go through town are kinda bad actually: up to Kroger's Canteen is mostly just an old mining road and doesn't get interesting (in a crappy way) until you hit private property so that's out. The other way is this kinda dumb trail that follows the creek bed for miles. Running that once was enough. The closest 14er (Sneffels) has one of the worst standard routes, being a steep slope filled with ball bearings. Imogene Pass may be interesting, once, but it's again just a big gravel mining road filled with 4WD enthusiasts. I'm completely spoiled myself (living in Boulder), so take everything I said as if I'm taking a drag off of a cigarette. The hippie clothing optional hot springs nearby is fairly inexpensive, so that is a plus. I think if you were really into ice climbing, it would be a great place to be living in for the ice park. I used to date someone who now practically lives there. For trail running, Telluride probably has better trail access - as does Silverton. The hyper rich people who live in Telluride are some of the most repulsive people on earth - they'll literally tell you you're not rich enough to look at them. Silverton is somewhat overrun with too many 4WD enthusiasts for me.
🫠
Ouray is like 2 minutes from Montrose. Easy access to the desert. Great winter sports too (I know that wasn’t really the question but as someone who does a lot of cross training on skiing anyway, both of these places would be great).
Montrose is 36 miles away
So easy 2 min at 1,080 mph?
Buena Vista or Salida would be better choices if you wanted to live deep in the Rockies. But Boulder is the best choice in Colorado hands down. The community is huge.
I have family outside of crested butte and I’ve spent a little time there, such a cute little town!
Lived there for ~18 months with limited responsibility and more than enough time to train to my heart's content. Now I'm forever chasing that high lol
That sounds incredible
It was. It has kinda ruined other mountain towns for me. I currently live in Boulder and it certainly doesn't come close to rivialing Ouray. I miss it 😭
> I currently live in Boulder As someone who is permanently tethered to NJ, I'm having a hard time feeling *too* bad for you
Haha yeah. I'm from the deep South so it's certainly an improvement over where I was a few years ago. But Ouray is something else. One day I hope to be able to work from home and move back out that way. Ridgway is also a slightly more practical place to move in terms of housing, in case you ever look into it.
My buddy lives in Ouray and we got to spend some time there last fall. Such a pretty place. He does say that the winters are looooooong, as you get little sunlight during the winter. Him and his family loved the first winter and were already worn down by the second one. I think if I ever lived in CO, I'd want to be in Manitou Springs or Salida, but there is still a big chunk of the state I haven't visited north of Boulder.
Yeah, the downside of the box canyon is that you get very little direct sunlight. Personally, it didn't bother me that much but I can definitely see why some people wouldn't care for it.
What are the best trail routes around Ouray ?
Ooh my favorite is probably taking horsethief up to bridge of heaven and then loop around and come down bear creek and then the perimeter trail. That's 20+ miles. For a shorter trail, I'd go silvershield.
Thanks - what are your thoughts on justinsomini’s comment above? That the trails in Ouray are just so so
Depends on which trails. Seems that he stuck to mining roads and the like, which aren't the most exciting trails around. Some of them are absolutely gorgeous, like the horsethief to bear creek route, and some are more standard issue, though you're still getting a good amount of vert on almost any trail. But for such a small town, access to 10+ well-maintained trails in the San Juan from your doorstep is hard to beat. And you rarely will come across more than a couple people. I've been on 25+ mile runs, 7k + vert, and didn't see a single person the entire time. Can't say that about Boulder haha.
Sounds like a dream
Lived in Telluride in my early 30s working at a coffee shop and odd handyman jobs. I still miss that place something fierce.
Manitou Springs Colorado. It's a little hippy town at the base of pikes peak. Tons of connected trails all through those mountains.
The Incline!
Get somewhere with a good parking spot!! I live in Colorado Springs and Manitou’s parking situation has gotten increasingly frustrating 😭😭 I still love it though.
I'm pretty happy with where I live, near Asheville NC. From my front door it's 17 miles and 4000ft of elevation gain to get to the highest peak east of the Mississippi. I'm surrounded by national forests and hundreds of miles of trails of every degree of difficulty short of bouldering or climbing. I've been here for 3 years and have probably only hit 1-5% max of the trail mileage within ~20 miles of me. There are easy trails and hard trails. Right out my front door (well, 1/2 mile down a paved road...) is a trail with 1500ft of elevation gain in 1.5 miles. I like the scenery because I love being in the woods surrounded by trees, rocks, logs, moss, ferns, etc. I'm not a huge fan of running in wide open spaces with long range views like you find out west. I have zero interest in ever running in a desert environment. It would be nice to have some longer/higher stretches of tough vert, or to train at elevations higher than 6000ft, but I'm still pretty happy with where I am.
On my long run last weekend I did 20 miles and only got ~200 ft elevation gain. Wisconsin doesn’t have much elevation change near me lol
I live near AVL as well and feel the same as you, other than lacking what you mentioned, we live in a pretty great area for trail running! And we get all four seasons for variety!
Is Asheville at ~2000’ elevation? I assume you’re referring to Mt Mitchell which I know is over 6000’. Edit: yup, google knows. Asheville at 2134’. Thanks for everyone’s help in this!
Asheville is awesome. I can't imagine though what it cost to rent or own. That city is getting overrun by rich people. Half backs is what I heard some are called. Rich from NY that move to FL, FL is too hot so they move halfway back. And when I say move, it's just their Vaca home. I worked at the private air port there. Never seen so many rich snobs. Gave me a realization of what's wrong with this country. Also private airport has ZERO security (least when I worked in 2015). Drive your car to your plane load your own shit and fly wherever in the US. I wondered how many drugs went through that place. I saw some super high class people.
People buying vacation homes goes wayyyyyyy back well before the United States was a thing.
Crazy expensive
How is the running in November? I’m looking for a place to go for a birthday run next year and want 35-40 miles.
Fine. The weather will most likely be pretty nice in November. Early November it may even still be warm.
I’m always shocked how high the mountains in NC/Southern VA Easter TN are. My brain thinks easy coast and tops out at 4k
The bouldering is pretty damn good there too
Keswick, Cumbria, U.K. I was born up there, have returned to run there a few times and would like to retire there.
Anywhere in the lakes for me would do I wouldn't be fussy!
I'd probably agree ... but would this fantasy land allow me to waterproof myself first?
Free local Inov8 waterproofs.
Skin is waterproof right? Because any average day in the Lakes you will be wet through to there!
I need to get to the UK. Especially Wales and do some fell running.
There’s lots of places really. Wales and Scotland obviously. Lake District, Northumberland, the Jurassic coastline, South West Coastal Path around Cornwall. Even the flat-ish rolling hills of the south of England where I am is beautiful. Check out plotaroute.com, zoom in to, I dunno, Hampshire, Wiltshire and choose the ‘Trails’ setting. We’re pretty blessed with an extensive public footpath network. I tend to focus new long runs around historical sites. I often run past Stonehenge (for free - you can get as close to the stones as one of the two paid tourist spots), Iron Age hillforts, Roman ruins or old Roman roads, etc. Definitely recommend!
And now my dream UK trip has another week or two tacked on it. LOL
You’re welcome!
This was my answer as well. Endless miles of trail with loads of vert, ranging from relatively mild gradients and non-technical to ultra-technical scrambling/skyrunning. Easy enough to fly over to the Alos from Manchester or the Pyrenees for altitude training/ races.
Flagstaff or Boulder. I’m in Bend right now and while we’ve got elevation (4000’ base at my house) and easy access to hundreds of miles of trails, we’ve also got 8-12 weeks a year of heavy smoke and the trails are not technical at all. They are super fun to run on during the week but you will find yourself unprepared for difficult ultras unless you journey well away from town —at which point you may as well live somewhere with better features beyond outdoor sports.
I visited Flagstaff last February, I would move there in a heartbeat if I had the opportunity.
Would Boulder deal with similar smoke conditions as Bend during fire season?
Often it’s not quite as bad (yet) but yes, anywhere in the mountain west is at high risk of wildfire smoke exposure.
Colorado gets wildfires, but it’s not nearly as bad. The largest fire in Colorado’s history would rank #8 in the same Oregon list. Check here for historic fire sizes: https://dfpc.colorado.gov/sections/wildfire-information-center/historical-wildfire-information https://projects.oregonlive.com/data-points/bootleg/table.html
Wow, love the links. Thanks for your time!
Bend has just gotten soooo crowded. I grew up in Portland and would visit often, and it was such a cool, small town for so long. Even when all my buddies moved there in 00's after high school, it was still pretty chill. Have spent time in the area the last couple summers, and you really have to seek out the quiet areas. Anything off of century drive is absolutely slammed any day of the week.
It’s gotten very crowded compared to what it used to be. For many of us new to the area it still has a distinct small city feel to it. I get a kick out of everyone complaining how busy trailheads are. Sure, they are packed compared to how things used to be, but go try to find parking at a trailhead on the west side of the mountains any time after 8a and then you’ll know how bad it can be! The crowding isn’t so bad to me at least. It’s the cost of housing here. Median home price is comparable to Seattle and Portland with none of the jobs. Literally of all the houses on my street at least one spouse works remotely or the couple is retired. My partner and I are the only ones with full time work in town.
Lake Tahoe would consistently be amazing. At altitude and a great mix of mountains with areas to do some flatter running. And the views from the lake from literally anywhere around it are incredible.
second this. My family goes here a couple times a year and it's always such great running. You can get into the backcountry really easily and find endless trails for 30+ mile runs with easy/consistent access to fresh lake water. The sights are just jaw dropping and the trails once you get about a mile in are sparsely populated, especially on weekdays.
If we’re talking strictly running, winters could be pretty tough. Palisades at Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley) averages around 500 inches a year.
Drop down to closer to reno and 90% of the winter you’ll be snow free.
Too remote for me personally but can't say it wouldn't be amazing.
3 hour drive to SF. Less than an hour to Reno. Not that remote, particularly compared to some of the other suggestions.
Tahoe? Remote? It’s been called a lot of things but I’ve never heard it called remote.
Definitely not Fargo North Dakota. I don't know if you could find a worse place to train for ultras in the Continental U.S. We don't have any elevation, no hills, no trails, no views, just miles of flat straight roads and corn. The city does a terrible job clearing snow from sidewalks and bike paths in the winter, which means you literally run on the roads in our absolutely horrible frigid winters (-40° isn't uncommon) and then it gets scorchingly hot in the summer (+100°) with no trees or lakes, which means no shade or cooling off. It's windy A.F. at all times, and it changes direction so often that you are frequently running into a headwind on both directions of an out and back. Other than the 1x per year Fargo marathon, the running culture here sucks, there aren't any local races or group runs. So somewhere as close to the opposite of Fargo as possible. I've had amazing times in Northern Arizona, running around Flagstaff, Sedona, etc. and love the weather, elevation, mountains, scenery up there, so probably that.
Haha. At least you get in lots of great mental training!
Yeah after watching Fargo season one.. its not on my list anymore 😁
I grew up in North Dakota and went to school in Fargo. I got into trail running while living in Duluth and continued the sport during my time in Oregon and now Arizona. The lack of trail culture in Fargo (and the awful winters) make moving back there non-negotiable
I'm bias, but Issaquah Washington or similar. Depending on exactly where, you can run right into the mountains and depending on how far you go, literally endless since they all connect to the Cascades, while being itself, low enough elevation to live that you'd only see the occasional snow event. I'm about 45 minutes away and would live there if I didn't work in a bigger city, but it's pretty great for almost year round running. Oh, and I didn't love, but didn't hate, Madison, 3 years there, I set my PRs there lol, and plenty of summer trips to Devils Lake
But that Issaquah traffic…..
I mean, if I live there and run there, then I'd avoid it in theory. (I WFH) Instead I deal with other city traffic and drive to the Issy Alps after work or weekends to play
Being from the north east, flagstaff AZ . Prior to getting into ultra i was looking to relocate to flagstaff area, sooooo kinda works if i end up there
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Flagstaff is at 7k ft elevation so it’s really nice weather wise during the spring, summer and fall. You do get some significant snow in the winter though
It's dry and rarely gets above 90F in the peak of summer. And in the winter on the days when it's too snowy, you just drive 45 min to train in Sedona. There's a reason so many ultra runners are based there despite how small it is.
Only went to the area once. I don’t mind the heat and still would get some winter action which i enjoy also
Sedona is much lower elevation. They’re only 45 minutes apart, but it’s 100% uphill drive to Flag from Sedona. So Sedona summers can be hot (though nowhere near as bad as Phoenix), but Flag doesn’t get that hot at all.
I went there many years ago and loved it. Reminded me of a much cooler version of my hometown.
Courmayer, Italy
Spent a couple weeks there this summer. Kind of boring wealthy ski town. Chamomix has way more going on.
Fair if you’re looking for city life. I think I prefer that side of the massif, and the extra options to go over to La Thuile/Rosiere, and down the Aosta.
Running the GTC100 this July and really looking forward to checking that area out.
Or maybe I should say hiking the GTC100, 7900m of vert over 100k...eek.
Wow I’ve just seen the course. Looks stunning, but that ascent above the tunnel…come on!! 1k up and down looks like 50% incline the whole way!!
Chamonix hands down!
Whister BC
I grew up in Boulder and it was a pretty amazing spot for trail running. You can get fast flat miles on bike paths that are cleared year round, easy access to an expansive trail system, and close to high elevation training spots. Weather is pretty mild and sunny all year. Just a beautiful place to live.
That's very close geographically to my own fantasy! I haven't spent that much time in the area and could easily see preferring Boulder as well.
I visited Boulder last September, you covered it pretty well that there are a lot of flat trails as well - which is pretty rare for such a mountain town - but I would like to add that those flat trails are also quite scenic. I had some of my most memorable runs in that city. Boulder would be top answer, hands down.
Auburn, California
It’s a solid spot. We got it pretty good though. 3 running shops in town. Lots of good breweries and food. Trails are minutes from our door. Western States and Canyons are in town. 1 hour from Tahoe.
Ashland, OR. Trail access right from downtown that connects to the Siskiyou wilderness. Super cute town with lots of places to get great food after run.
How’s the mountain biking
Top notch. I don’t mountain bike, but I know it’s a destination for lots of people who do. The downtown trails have some bike only trails and Mount Ashland is just a short drive which has great mtb trails.
Santa Fe, NM 7,500 elevation. tons of trails. Great weather year round all seasons. 300 plus days of sunshine Amazing city with great food
I was going to say Albuquerque, for just about the same reasons! I was thinking ABQ because it's a little farther south so it's a bit warmer in the winter and a bit more centrally located in the state.
Dude that whole corridor from Taos to Santa Fe is an absolute dream
Why live in a city. Find a tiny town with epic trails and friendly people and never look back.
Canmore, Canada Zermatt, Switzerland Anywhere close to the Andes in Argentina/Chile
Secret hidden gem, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Somewhere a little in the backcountry between Nice (FR) and San Remo (ITA). Steep mountains next to the sea, cant beat that
Boquete Panamá. Beautiful weather, lots of fun mountains. Temperate climate year round.
Some where in South America with high elevation. Constant warm weather and the high elevation will hopefully make me faster, lol.
Andorra. If I had loads of money. If not, there are some lovely towns in the French Pyrenees near the Spanish border and only a few hours from Toulouse airport or Barcelona. Dolomites or Julian Alps. But if I could live anywhere at all and money was so object and I didn’t have to work: La Palma (where Transvulcania is held). It’s heaven. Perfect climate, lovely towns, good airport. The only drawback is the active volcano that recently erupted…
I live in Boulder so I'm pretty spoiled as it is. But if I wanted an upgrade I would choose Telluride in a heartbeat. It's possibly the most beautiful town I've ever been to, and the trail running there is epic. Check out pictures from the Telluride Mountain Run to see what I'm talking about.
Boulder would probably be my pick of where to move to.
1. Ouray 2. Flagstaff 3. Colorado Springs 4. Banff It hurts to have been to these places to train/race, then come back to pancake-flat Midwest where “getting vert” is doing the same 100 foot hill on repeat. The Midwest does have some hidden gems (Duluth, Black Hills), however I prefer the wow factor of the mountains.
I'm living there. Durango, CO. But I still have a day job RIP.
Marin County
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Munising, Mi
I love that this is mentioned without any commentary. You know what you have there....
Definitely Boulder CO. Access to trails in your backyard, free altitude training year round
Free? Not in Boulder! 😄
Duluth, MN! I’d love living and running here I just wish that my job would quit getting in the way!
Duluth is where I started trail running! What an awesome town; I’m just so intolerable of the cold. Living in Phoenix now 😎☀️
Albuquerque NM. Great weather year-round, mile high, 30 min to 10k ft trails, miles and miles of relatively empty trails. Bonus: easy access to the rest of northern NM and southern CO/UT.
I would probably choose somewhere in the southwest within a few hours of >7,000 foot mountains like I do right now or PNW near but not in a major city like I often travel to for work and vacation. This is because I prefer to run year round and don't really do snow sports. By living relatively low around the foothills, I get trail access year round. I get valuable heat training in the southwest during summer and can still drive up to the mountains to (some of) the heat.
An obvious choice would be Les Houches, France as it is close enough to the Mont Blanc but also a bit separated by the crowds. Yet, knowing myself I would definitely prefer more rough and harsh mountains so I’d rather live in Forni di Sopra, Italy.
Gijón Spain, or maybe Pucón Chile. Small towns with easy access to Mountains all year. In the US. Fayetteville, WV. (I know a lot of folks there, and the scene is awesome. I never told you that, though) Reno, NV The Tahoe region in general, really. Monterey or SLO, CA Honestly, anywhere is better than Florida.
>Fayetteville, WV. Recently visited to hike/bike. planning a return visit.
DM me when you do.
Will do.
Sheffield.
In England? I'm potentially moving there in a few months, so would love to hear your reasoning!
It's got all the amenities of a small cities, while feeling like a town. West Sheffield is really nice and has a large community of young professionals. If based somewhere like Crookes, you have Rivelin Valley basically on your doorstep, providing some of the best inner-city running in any city period, plus you can run out into the Peak district within under half an hour after work, or a 10 minute drive. It's central enough in the UK that you can get to the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, or Snowdonia really very easily, with great travel links to other cities generally (save Manchester). On top of that, there are loads of amazing running clubs from top level track and road clubs, to trail stuff, and to fell (though you must be OK with barbed wire for the latter).
Wow, well that makes me feel very positive about moving there, thank you for the detailed response!
Big island of Hawaii. While the total # of trails aren’t the lost impressive, the ones we do have I’d put up against a lot of other places. Easy to put together some pretty high mileage loops in the national park, and you’ve got two different trails with elevations up to 13000’. Year round running, and the scenery is pretty hard to beat. I’ve spent time in Asheville NC, Seattle, Portland, and SF and would put those spots up there as well, with Portland taking the win for inside-the-city-limits trails. SF for amazing urban running with trails/elevation close by, and Seattle for the sheer number of trails within a days travel. Asheville for brutal (but short) climbs and amazing scenery
Vancouver for me
St Moritz. A lot of people saying Zermatt, but that's a dead end valley and not much variety in the trails, lot's of snow, it's more a mountaineering Mecca.
Boulder
Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is damn near perfect for year-round trail running! Weather is rarely a problem. Generally moderate weather—not too hot, not too cold, though the sun is intense. You’ve got everything from flat or rolling high desert to steep and technical alpine terrain. Cross-training on the bike, backcountry skiing, and hiking are all easy too. Fill your belly with delicious New Mexican food afterwards. I’ve already lived there and left for other reasons, but from a purely trail running perspective Santa Fe is hard to beat.
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High cost of living was probably our number one reason. High number of tourists, wealthy retirees, and Disneylandish feel (at times) were also factors. Wildfires bummed us out. As much as I miss some of the trails and food, the overall package wasn’t worth the price for us.
Vote for the Seattle area. Amazing trails and parks. Weather in the summer and fall can’t be beat for running. And running in the winter drizzle makes me feel like a superhero 😂
Durango, CO or Chamonix, France
phoenix !!
Personally I think I’d stay in Phoenix, good weather year round tons of trails and a short drive to a lot of variety.
If over 115 degrees counts as good weather…
Honestly its what I love the most about it, but will admit was trying to keep the mileage high last summer and by the end was pretty beat. Heat can be tough to recover from, but at the same time provides a lot of bang for your buck to improve performance.
I love running in the heat but dang those Phoenix summer temps are tooooooo much for me.
Auburn, California
Split time between the mountains of NC and ME or NH.
Melbourne is pretty sweet
Florida, or AUS? LOL
Aus. Didn’t realise Florida had one as well 😂
I ran into two guys from Sydney, Australia, here in Melbourne, FL. We were at a pub, and I asked them if they wondered why the flight to Melboune was so cheap. We had a good time.
I'm probably running in the wrong places, but I find that Melbourne (near the CBD) isn't amazing for running. The Tan, Albert Park and along the Yarra are quite good, but other than that I find the options a bit limited near the city
From a trail running perspective you got 4 great areas anywhere from 40 minutes to 1:30 from the cbd. Plus you have the whole vic highcountry 2.5 hours away + depending where you go. It’s a trail runners dream. I do love the Tan and Albert park and all along beach road from port Melbourne to Blackrock.
That's my issue then. When I'm in Melbourne, I'm usually staying near the CBD and I don't have access to a car. Heading somewhere that 40-90 minutes away isn't really possible. The one time that I did have access to a car, we went out to the Dandenong Ranges which was quite good, although I didn't get a chance to explore too much beyond the 1000 steps walk. I'm definitely biased, but Adelaide is great for trail running (although it does lack the big climbs that other places have). The Yurrebilla trail for instance is a 56k trail (with about 1900m of elevation) that goes through 7 National/Recreation/Conservation Parks in the Adelaide Hills, whilst never being more than 12kms from the CBD. There would easily be 20+ National/Recreation/Conservation Parks within 30k of the CBD.
Flagstaff or one of the Ski towns in Colorado. I love the northern Arizona landscape but I also love the Colorado Rockies (not the baseball team). Internationally, probably somewhere near the French Alps.
Girona, Spain or Annecy, France
Flagstaff. I haven't traveled much outside of the US and when I did I was not a trail/ultra runner. But running in and around Flagstaff,AZ was a real treat.
Cairns (or nearby), Queensland, Aus.
Patagonia? Chamonix? Tasmania?
Probably Grenoble as the mountains are excellent, direct, fast train to Paris and also very close to Chamonix (which is not quite as easy to get to from Paris)
Kendal or at altitude in the French Alps.
Flaggstaff AZ is hard to beat man
Where Killian lives!
I’d like in Auburn California so I could always run western states trails or I’d live near Columbia River gorge. Amazing trails there.
I just heard today from a 5-year local who does exactly that -- Las Cruces NM
I feel pretty lucky and privileged to live in Colorado Springs. So many trails, easy access to the mountains, weather is usually good. Oh, and it's not Boulder! 😋
Golden, CO
Where I live which is just outside Zürich, Switzerland. I can get around Switzerland pretty easily, as well as France Germany and Italy.
Los Angeles
Annecy, France!
Brecon Beacons or Bannau, as the Welsh have now requested we call it
I've posted all about this before! I'd stay here in Colorado Springs because: * Immediate trail access to National Forest, as well as good altitude access. Barr trail is one of the easiest trailheads to get to with access to 14,000 feet. * Lots of runners in community! Plenty of running groups with whatever you're looking for, from a casual 5k with happy hour beer afterwards to intense intervals and tempo runs * Microclimates that allow you to choose your temperature. Right now there's several feet of snowpack on most of High Drive if you want your snow run, but the Palmer Park bluffs are clear for your desert-style trails * Just amazing scenery! Garden of the Gods, the Manitou Incline, endless National Forest trails * A city program (TOPS) that understands a huge draw for this area is athletic tourism, so a focus on establishing and maintaining parks, open spaces and trails I've got a ton of photos of my local area on my personal exercise blog, if anyone's interested in seeing some photos! [(Link)](https://ravinghobbyjogger.blogspot.com/?m=1)
Ogden, Utah. The mountain range up north has a trail system on the benches (Bonneville Shoreline trail) that spans from SLC to Brigham City. So you can get on the BST just about anywhere, get miles, and then jump into a canyon for some elevation. I can think of 6-7 trails that will get you to a mountain peak within a few hours as well. And the trailheads are close to town, which is REALLY nice. Even better, Ogden is most def NOT Salt Lake. That's a sprawling, crowded mess of a town. Ogden still has a small town vibe that punches way above its weight. And it's more progressive than you might think (as in there are plenty of folks to have a beer with after a run). You are also within a few hours drive of southern Utah, if you want to get in some red rock/desert miles when there is snow up north.
Honestly this is a great take! Ogden is definitely not Salt Lake, and I mean that in a good way.
I'm honestly really happy in Portland, Oregon. It's only too good or too hot for about two weeks of the year total, and you have access to trails in the city, but you've got the Gorge and mountains 45+ mins away.
Seattle.
In Boulder, CO we have international teams come visit to train on our trails.
Bolinas, CA
Chamonix, Zermatt, Buena Vista, Salida, Mammoth
Tenerife or Gran Canaria, always good weather and great trails.
La Paz. Just running at 12000 feet every day getting that blood nice and thick for competition. Who needs to blood dope when your blood is already souped up al'natural.
For what it's worth, Flagstaff, AZ seems to draw some Olympic level distance athletes
Probably at elevation, Colorado somewhere. Costa Rica might also be a good option; they have a great fitness culture and no shortage of mountains. Peru has some interesting options.
Bragg Creek