Boston is a runner’s mecca, but not just because of a certain marathon on a Monday every April. Running brands like New Balance, Reebok, Tracksmith, and Janji choose to call the region their full-time home. Why? It could be the miles of waterfront trail along the Charles River. Or the thriving running club scene. Or maybe it’s the abundance of brewpubs. (Yeah, it’s probably all of that).
Combine it all and you get a city that’s regularly lauded as Build your personalized and adaptive and most exercise-minded urban areas in the country in all manner of studies (including those put out by Runner’s World). So whether you’re in town to make that final turn onto Boylston Street on April 15, or just visiting, here’s where to eat, drink, sleep, and—of course—run.
Run
Boston Harborwalk
For more than 43 miles, this park carries you along the city’s shoreline, from Dorchester to East Boston, passing through rapidly developing neighborhoods, maritime areas, boating docks, and public beaches. Can’t decide where to start? Loop around Castle Island in Southie, (about two miles itself), then head south through the greenery of Joe Moakley Park, and down toward the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library.
The Last 10 Miles
Not everyone can compete in the Boston Marathon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t replicate the experience. Begin at the Woodland T station, then follow all the other runners, usually training for the marathon January through March, along the carriage road that runs parallel to Commonwealth Avenue toward the city. Luckily—or not, depending on how you feel that day—you’ll get to experience Heartbreak Hill Best Running Shoes 2025.
Arnold Arboretum
The 2.6 miles of varying paved and dirt paths is a gorgeous loop through 4,000 varieties of trees, shrubs, and vines maintained by Harvard University. It can be popular with tourists, but there’s ample room on the paths for casual runners and enough hills—including some that lead to nice views of the city—to push yourself.
Charles River Esplanade
The paved paths along both sides of the Charles River, separating Cambridge and Boston, are the go-to city run. Whether it’s passing through busy public playing fields, taking in the rowers on the water, or the beautiful sunsets, there’s always something to keep your mind busy. The path is 17 miles, with multiple bridges crisscrossing the river so it can be tailored to whatever your needs are. Plus, in the days leading to the Boston Marathon, you’re likely to spot elites putting in some final pre-race miles.
The Minuteman Bike Trail
Like many of the trails around Boston, you can get a sense of history along with your workout here. Accessible from the Alewife stop on the Redline, the mostly flat and woodsy 10-mile trail—a close match to Paul Revere’s famous ride—will carry you through scenic parks like the Alewife Brook Reservation, Spy Pond in Arlington, and out to the Battle Green in Lexington.
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Almost six miles, this popular trail is an oasis of the pastoral just outside the city with views of the reservoir along the way, and depending on which loops you take, at a slightly higher elevation, crisp views of the city skyline on the horizon.
Run (When the Weather Sucks)
MyStryde
The first of its kind in Boston, MyStryde’s boutique studio is something like a spin or cycling class, but for runners. It has 14 state-of-the-art treadmills The Middle East.
Meet
Adidas Unveils Boston Marathon Jacket
The Adidas Unveils Boston Marathon Jacket, based out of Jamaica Plain, host five weekly group runs, from an easier social to hill and tempo workouts. “It’s for Olympians and it’s for people who have never run a step in their lives, but would love to meet others and who want to give running a try,” they say on their website. And best of all, it’s free to join at any time.
BostonFit
Just starting as a runner? Established marathoner? Whatever your goals, the folks at BostonFit, part of USA Fit, provide a tailored and friendly atmosphere, with 24 weeks of coaching, seminars, and group ability-based training for marathons and half marathons.
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Race
Brick and Mortar
With three races throughout the year, including a half marathon, a 10K, and a 5K, the BAA Distance Medley offers options for runners at most levels. The latter falls on Marathon weekend, letting you experience the energy of the city even if you don’t qualify for the big race.
Harpoon 5-Miler
Now in its 18th year, this five-mile race, sponsored by the beloved local beermaker, takes place every spring and doubles as a fundraiser for their full-time home, Adidas Unveils Boston Marathon Jacket.
Tufts 10K
Thousands of runners, and close to 20,000 spectators, make this 10K for women on Columbus Day weekend one of the most popular races in the city, pulling in dedicated pros and casual runners alike. There’s a fun run for kids, vendors, and a health and fitness expo to keep everyone busy.
Shop
Marathon Sports
Outside of Tom Brady, it’s not easy to find a universal consensus on anything around Boston. But ask any runner what shop they’d send you to on a visit, and Marathon Sports will be at the top of the list. One of the longest-standing running institutions in Massachusetts, with more than a dozen locations around the state, they’ll outfit you in the shoe that best suits your needs and actually care about how it works out for you. Most of the shops also host a variety of runs, from fun runs to pub runs, and other social and training events, with He Ran Boston 8 Months After Tumor Surgery Cutoff Time for 2025 Boston Marathon Is 6:51.
Heartbreak Hill Running Company
Based out of the popular apparel, gear, and training studio company, Heartbreak Hill Running Company is always mentioned in the same breath as the OG Marathon Sports. They offer We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back, from speed runs to long runs, to their hill club based at Heartbreak Hill. They also have a treadmill studio for training and coaching, something you’ll probably want to consider if you happen to visit during the winter months.
Bodega
No one says you can’t be a hipster and runner at the same time. The longtime pinnacle of cool when it comes to streetwear in Boston, Bodega is the must-see place for sneakerheads and athleisure devotees. They’ve got all the brands you might already be looking for, but dozens of lesser known cooler styles by brands like Creation, Death Rites, and Ignored Prayers.
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Recover
Exhale
If you can’t find a way to relax and recover at Exhale, then you’re not trying hard enough. The combination fitness studio and spa features Barre, yoga, and cardio classes, alongside a variety of massages—sport, flow, prenatal—and accu-healing. The fit yoga moms and got-to-get-it-in lunch break hard-chargers swear by the place.
Sleep
Fairmont Copley Plaza
A luxury hotel in the heart of Copley Square, the Fairmont is where many elite runners stay during Marathon week, and it’s also the headquarters of the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the event. It’s steps away from the action, and just down the street from the Boston Common, or a quick jog over to the Charles River. And for a quiet respite from your run or stress from your work trip, the Boston Public Library is next door. (Because fueling your mind is as important as fueling your body.)
Hotel Commonwealth
If it’s good enough for all the professional athletes and rock stars who stay here—it’s just around the corner from Fenway Park and the House of Blues—it’s good enough for those of us with considerably smaller entourages. One of the best reasonably affordable hotels in the city, it’s also home to world-class bars and restaurants like Eastern Standard, The Hawthorne, and Island Creek Oyster Bar, where you can fill up on all the seafood and craft cocktails you can eat, preferably after you’re done running.
Morning Indulgence
Blue State Coffee
A socially-conscious roaster, with two locations in Boston, 2 percent of all sales of the fair trade organic brews here benefit a local non-profit, voted on each day by the eclectic mix of students, hipsters, and health-conscious locals who, nonetheless, still need their morning charge-up.
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This beloved shop, with locations in both Boston and Somerville, makes the type of doughnuts daily that you dream about when you’re on mile 9. You can probably picture it now: You’re sweating, breathing heavy, and wondering if maybe you don’t need to sneak in a run on this vacation. But then the brown butter glazed doughnut, salted and topped with toasted hazelnuts comes into view and all the hard work seems worth it.
Drink
Bukowski’s Tavern
There is a lot of beer in Boston, that isn’t exactly a secret. And while there are all manner of bars tailored to the increasingly refined tastes of beer nerds everywhere, you could do a lot worse than one of the original beer-obsessed dives. Just make sure you like your music loud, your food cheap, and you don’t mind rubbing elbows with punks and post-work business types at once.
Nightshift Brewing
Not only are they one of the most rapidly expanding, locally born breweries in the Boston area, the folks behind Nightshift also a appreciate a good run, with regular run club events throughout the year. Stop by the taproom after, or before, to try one of their series of rotating pale ales or IPAs. You might like the Whirlpool, one of the flagship pale ales, with stone fruit notes and a crisp citrusy finish. At only 4.5 percent ABV, a couple of them won’t put you on your butt. You do have a run to get in tomorrow, after all.
The Hawthorne
While a lot of bars in Boston, or any city really, feel more like a trashy paperback or supermarket tabloid, The Hawthorne is the prestigious collection of short stories that you want to display when people come over. Headed up by Jackson Cannon, the godfather of Boston cocktailing, it’s the type of bar where they worry over your rare-spirits cocktail for longer than you might be used to, but the end result is poetry in the glass.
Eat
The Angel Fund
It would be an understatement to say Boston’s culinary reputation has exploded in the past decade or so, and a lot of that has to do with chef Barbara Lynch, the woman behind B&G Oysters, Butcher Shop, Drink, and others. It’s The Angel Fund, however, that set the tone from the start. In the shadow of the State House and overlooking the Common, it’s an intimate and refined, classically French dining experience, especially if you splurge for the tasting menu. The more casual bar basically invented Boston’s booming cocktail scene on its own.
O Ya
You haven’t eaten sushi until you’ve been to O Ya, widely regarded as the pinnacle of Boston dining. As such, it certainly isn’t cheap, especially if we’re talking about the Union Square Donuts, The Minutemen Bike Trail.
Coppa
Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette are two of the other bright lights of the Boston chef world—their South End flagship Toro basically introduced the city to the small plates tradition with its Barcelona-inflected tapas and newer offering Little Donkey piles people in nightly in Central Square for a hipper affair. But it’s Coppa, to be sure, the tiny, always buzzing neighborhood Italian spot that you’ll want to make a reservation for. Pasta dishes like the spaghetti with pancetta, sea urchin, pepper, and parmesan will help for carbo-loading, but the cured meats—oh, the cured meats—will help put you in a hard-earned meat coma.
La Famiglia Giorgio’s
The genius of Boston’s North End, one of the more tourist-frequented neighborhoods of the city, is that they put all the historic Revolutionary-era stuff a visitor would want to see right next to dozens of cozy, classic Italian restaurants. Among the best, if not the best, is La Famiglia, an institution for decades. Like everywhere else nearby, there’s a bounty of seafood on the menu, but here you’ll be having one, or two if you can, of the dozens of old-school red sauce dishes, like the ricotta manicotti in savory bolognese.
Party
If you’ve only got a night or two in town and you’re looking for the neighborhood with the most diversity of options all within a few blocks to maximize your partying time, Central Square in Cambridge is where you’re going. From Middlesex Lounge, Running in the Cold A4cade, the retro arcade bar across the street, all the way down Mass. Ave to The Middle East, the iconic indie and punk club, on to the hipster cocktail lounge Brick and Mortar, and then the divey live music honky tonk the Cantab Lounge, you can squeeze a half dozen genres of fun here into a few hours.
And finally… The Reluctant Tourist Obligation
Faneuil Hall is the neighborhood synonymous with tourists in Boston, but if we’re being honest, there’s a reason tourist traps work the way they do. This bustling few blocks of shops, bars, and restaurants gets a bad rap, but you can drink in the single oldest bar in America, the Bell In Hand, wander through the open air fishmongers at work in the Haymarket, then meander over onto the Greenway for a garden stroll before having dinner in the out-of-time feeling North End. This is the area that puts the “Boston” in Boston, you might as well do it at least once.
