Running the length of Manhattan: the route, the odd stops and the food

I ran Manhattan from top to bottom in one go, starting at its northernmost point, where you can see the Hudson River, and finishing at the Staten Island Ferry terminal. The aim was to eat classic New York food, drink typical New York drinks and visit some of the city’s most niche and unusual sites on the way.

The route and the distance

Most of the route follows Broadway. I’d always thought of Broadway as a downtown thing, where the bright lights are, but it actually runs the entire length of Manhattan.

I expected to run over 30k. With all the detours to the stops below, my Strava said 40k by the time I reached the ferry terminal, which is two kilometres short of a marathon. There’s no official southernmost point of Manhattan, so the Staten Island Ferry terminal seemed as good an option as any.

Weather

There had been severe storm and coastal flood warnings for a few days before I ran. It’s very windy whenever you come out from between the buildings, and when it started pounding down in Central Park, I had to find a doorway to shelter in.

Northern Manhattan: farmhouses, bridges and a lighthouse

• Henry Hudson Bridge and Big C Rock: the bridge is near the start, and the rock across the water is, genuinely, called Big C Rock.
• Dyckman Farmhouse: built in the 18th century, it’s the last remaining colonial farmhouse on Manhattan.
• The Cloisters: notable because bits of it are borrowed from lots of countries in Europe. One 12th-century apse (the curved bit on the end of a church) has been lent by the Spanish government. It was taken apart brick by brick, brought here and reassembled.
• The tunnel at 191st Street: one of New York’s longest underground pedestrian tunnels. You don’t need to get the subway to use it. It’s a bit manky down there, truth be told.
• George Washington Bridge: it was originally designed with stone cladding on the outside. They just never got around to it.
• The Little Red Lighthouse: directly under the George Washington Bridge.

Washington Heights: the most out-of-place street in Manhattan

Sylvan Terrace is a little cobbled street of wooden houses right in the middle of Manhattan. It feels remarkably out of place, and it was used as a filming location for Boardwalk Empire.

Just around the corner is the Morris-Jumel Mansion, Manhattan’s oldest building that’s still standing. It’s only just still standing: there was major reconstruction work going on when I passed. George Washington used it as his headquarters during the Revolutionary War.

Harlem

• Hamilton Grange: Alexander Hamilton’s country house, now surrounded by Harlem. It’s on its third spot, because it’s been moved twice.
• Strivers’ Row: beautiful houses purpose-built for Harlem’s growing middle and upper classes.
• The Apollo Theater: a legendary venue that helped launch the careers of James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and many more, Chaka Khan among them. It was also undergoing reconstruction when I went past.
• Central Park’s walls: they were originally built to keep goats out of the park.

Upper West Side

Pomander Walk is a tiny walking street of really cute houses among the tall buildings of the Upper West Side. It’s private, so you can’t get in, but you can just about see through.

Zabar’s came from a personal recommendation, from a New Yorker I met on the Queen Mary 2. Their knish was $5, so I assumed it wouldn’t be that big. It was quite big, which is worth knowing if you’re planning to keep running afterwards.

Central Park for runners

• The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir: the classic New York running lap.
• The Fred Lebow statue: Lebow founded the New York City Marathon.
• The “Friends” fountain: it isn’t. The fountain in Central Park looks a lot like it and is often mistaken for it, but it was originally a horse trough. It smells like horses around there, but it’s quite pretty.
• Lampposts: if you get lost in the park, check the nearest lamppost. It tells you which street you’re level with.

Midtown

Times Square is busy enough that running through it means dodging quite a few people. Near the Empire State Building, they hold an annual run-up where you climb all 1,576 steps.

Greenwich Village: hidden streets and petty landmarks

• Milligan Place: a row of mews houses around 10th Street, gated off.
• Patchin Place: just around the corner, with very much the same vibe. It could be a street in London.
• The Hess triangle: a tiny triangle of pavement outside Village Cigars. The city seized the Hess family’s land for building work, but accidentally left that tiny triangle off the maps, so it stayed in the family’s possession. They were asked to hand it over and said no, then put a mosaic in the street. Petty, and very New York.
• The Friends apartment building: this one’s real. It’s the building used for the outside shots of Monica’s apartment. The restaurant on the corner is The Little Owl, not Central Perk.
• The narrowest house in Manhattan: 75½ Bedford Street. It even has a plaque.

Lower Manhattan

• McSorley’s Old Ale House: one of the best old bars in Manhattan. It was absolutely rammed when I got there.
• Casey Neistat’s office: where all those videos are edited.
• Mmuseumm: an old freight elevator full of random objects, including rocks from around the world. It opens sometimes, but it was shut when I went, as I’d read it might be. There’s no signage.
• The Woolworth Building: when it opened in 1913 it was the tallest building in the world.

Where I stopped to eat and drink

• Dunkin’ Donuts: a pink doughnut and a small black coffee.
• Zabar’s: a broccoli knish.
• Pizza in Greenwich Village: New York used to be famous for $1 pizza slices. A cheese slice was $1.50.
• The finish: a hot dog and a Budweiser in a bag.

Final thoughts

My word, it’s never-ending towards the end. I was exhausted, but the beer at the finish tasted as good as any I’ve ever had.

Watch the video: https://tinyurl.com/29obschm