Downtown Jefferson City

  • Plenty of sidewalks, crosswalks, and hills
  • Prime sightseeing for historical buildings and landmarks
  • Going west, Boonville and West Main excellent for tacking on miles
  • Also in the vicinity: Central Dairy, excellent post-workout recovery; and the State Capitol building, free mid-run fun
  • http://www.downtownjeffersoncity.com

Katy Trail

  • 225 mile path going east and west across the state roughly along the Missouri River
  • Formerly a railroad track; now closed and covered with crushed gravel
  • Mile markers, excellent scenery, decent shade, and frequent benches
  • Bathrooms and water fountains at the North Jefferson pavilion (good place to start and finish) and Hartsburg (10.4 miles west)
  • Very flat with no sharp turns
  • Hills and traffic nonexistent; great place for long runs and tempos
  • http://www.mostateparks.com/katytrail/

Parks and Rec Greenway

  • Wide concrete path going from Fairgrounds Road to Dunklin Street; more sections planned
  • Quarter-mile markers
  • Bathrooms and water fountains at the intersection of Edgewood and Wildwood courtesy of Lions Club
  • Occasional interruption from street crossings
  • Going west to east, it follows Edgewood, crosses Southwest, and runs adjacent to a creek all the way to Dunklin
  • 3 mile off-road trail south of the Greenway that starts south of the parking lot that is just west of the Edgewood/179 intersection
  • http://www.jeffcitymo.org/parks/greenway.html

Local 400m Tracks

  • Helias High School (on Stadium Blvd): asphalt
  • Thomas Jefferson Middle School (west, on Fairgrounds Rd): black rubber
  • Lewis and Clark Middle School (east, on Eastland Dr): black rubber, newly resurfaced

Local Parks

  • Cole County Park (Fairgrounds Road): 2/3 mile concrete path around a lake; prime grass areas for fartleks or repeats; cross country course mowed in late summer and autumn
  • Binder Park (west of Jeff City): 12 miles of off-road trails; grass cross-country course mowed in the fall
  • McKay Park (Southwest Boulevard): 3/5 mile concrete path around a lake; steep but short grass hill that is great for repeats
  • Riverside Park (East McCarty): short section of Greenway sidewalk; several steep grass hills for repeats; Ellis Porter Pool
  • Memorial Park (West Main): 1.1 mile concrete loop; great location to start road runs into downtown or the surrounding residential streets; adjacent swimming pool for post-run dips
  • McClung Park (Moreau Drive): huge hill for killer repeats; good starting place for runs along Clark, Ellis, and Dunklin
  • http://www.jeffcitymo.org/parks/cityparks.html