My husband and I (from California) are spending the weekend in NYC, and we were looking forward to running in Central Park. The forecast, though, is for wind/rain/snow. Would we be the only idiots out there running in that kind of weather?

No, there'll probably be other idiots to keep you company.

the track around the Reservior is one of the best routes in the world. Plus, you'll have lots of company.

You will not be the only idiots. By the way, the appropriate word for it in NYC is "meshuggena" (yiddish for crazy). The track around the reservoir is great, in good weather. However, it is cinder and can be very muddy and wet and even slippery when the weather is NG. I would suggest running the interior roadways around the perimeter of the park, which are a great asphalt, can be much more protected in inclement weather and are closed to vehicular traffic on the weekends. (a perfect 10K around). You might even stop into the New york road runners club headquarters located at 9 East 89th Street (between Madison and Fifth Avenues), less than a block from Central Park, open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. They have changing facilities, lockers, toilets, and water fountains. you may also want to enter a road race.

check out http://www.nyrrc.org/nyrrc/org/home.html

Thanks for the helpful info. And it's good to hear we won't be the only meshugennas out there. The interior roadways sound a little safer, especially without traffic. It'll be a great way to see the park and work on the gajillion calories we'll be happily consuming at the wonderful restaurants. You New Yorkers are so lucky -- guess you already knew that.

The park roads areopen to traffic from 7 to 10 am and 4 to 7 pm. Rubbing lanes are provided. At other times vehicles are not allowed. The track around the reservoir is convenient if staying on the upper east or west side

I love those Rubbing Lanes!

If you finish your run on a Sunday and want a GREAT local place for brunch, check out the York Avenue Grill. You'll need to cab it if the weather is gross. It's on the east side of York bt 88 and 89th st.

They're predicting snow and sleet for this weekend, so don't know how much you want to go running, but just in case I would have other activities as a backup. It looks like it's going to be a messy weekend!

nancy, I am also a runner but NYC is the only place I rarely run when I travel.

The reason is it is so easy to walk 6-10 miles per day without even realizing you've done this.

Well, I was one of the many many idiots running in the park that weekend along with the sledders, telemarkers, snowshoers, cyclists (on a road bike as well) and many, many dogs. It was a great morning and everyone had smiles on their faces.

We managed to get our run in the morning before the storm hit. In fact, we saw our first snowflakes when we stopped at the John Lennon memorial. There were rose petals encircling the memorial in a peace sign, and the first snowflakes were just starting to cover them. Wish I had a camera. The run was a blast. Central Park is truly amazing, right in the middle of such a metropolis. It says a lot about a city that values such a wonderful park.