CHARLES RIVER ESPLANADE

Big-city running isn't for the faint-of-heart. Runners are last on the pecking order behind buses, cars, and bikes, all of which — try as they might to make a full stop at that blind intersection — will, at some point, run you over. Unless, of course, your city provides for some 20-odd miles of scenic recreational sidewalk. As luck would have it, Boston does. A sweet reprieve from the city's mean streets, the ESPLANADE is situated on the storied banks of the Charles River, where the only things you need be wary of are rapid geese and power-walking moms on maternity leave.

CHARLES RIVER ESPLANADE | esplanadeassociation.org