Running

I don't run, although I clearly should.  As it turns out, for those who do run, Rochester is a rather desirable spot to carry out this pursuit.  Runner's World recently sought to identify America's 50 Best Running Cities.  Beginning with a list of 250 U.S. cities with populations over 160,000 that had been identified as having a high participation in running, the authors then ranked each city based on five weighted indexes of importance to runners:

• Run Index (40% weighting) - included factors such as number of races, number of running clubs, number of running stores, etc.
• Parks Index (20% weighting) - included factors such as parks per 10,000 residents, walkability, etc.
• Climate Index (20% weighting) - included data on precipitation, temperature, and air quality
• Food Index (10% weighting) - included data on farmers markets per 1,000 residents and healthy food availability/affordability
• Safety Index (10% weighting) - included data on violent crime, pedestrian fatality rate, and travel time

Rochester was not a top performer in any individual index, but as is often the case, it excelled as a total package.  Of the 50 best running cities, here are the top 20:

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Seattle, WA
3. Boston, MA
4. San Diego, CA
5. Washington, DC
6. Portland, OR
7. Minneapolis, MN
8. New York, NY
9. Omaha, NE
10. Denver, CO
11. Chicago, IL
12. Madison, WI
13. Colorado Springs, CO
14. San Jose, CA
15. Los Angeles, CA
16. Rochester, NY
17. Pittsburgh, PA
18. Tucson, AZ
19. Raleigh, NC
20. Boise, ID