Five Miles of Dirt.
The Central Park Bridle Path is one of New York City’s most iconic running routes. Without question, it is also New York City’s most popular trail. But unlike most famous trails, the FKT (fastest known time) on this route had never been established. In August 2020 we set out to change that. Over the course of three weeks nearly 50 runners took on the Bridle Path course, and ultimately Allie Kieffer and Brendan Martin claimed the FKT crowns.
However the thing about FKTs is that they’re always temporary, and that crown can always be taken away. If you think you have what it takes to top them, or add your name to the Bridle Path leaderboard, head out and give it a shot. Full route information and details are below.
Bridle Path Leaderboard
Men’s Top Times
Brendan Martin 24:47
Mitchell Ammons 24:56
David Kilgore 26:10
Ryan Archer 26:10
Stephen Gomez 26:31
Chase Pizzonia 26:57
Jeffrey Weinstein 27:41
Teddy Shum 27:50
Ross Baldwin 27:52
Gerard Connelly 27:55
Mike Harbus 28:36
Arnaud Enjalbert 28:37
Nicolas Shump 29:03
Peter Elkind 29:26
Dughan Ahimovic 30:14
James Allen 30:27
Alex Harris 31:07
Thomas Sullivan 31:28
Rob Zand 31:28
Kevin Romoser 31:42
Cooper Knowlton 31:47
Josh Wessler 32:04
Sammy Gotts 32:09
Colin Campbell 32:59
Women’s Top Times
Allie Kieffer 29:02
Rebeka Stowe 29:50
Sasha Whittle 30:01
Frances Loeb 30:44
Emily Goldsmith 31:00
Amanda Asaro 31:20
Jordan Snyder Cunningham 31:32
Grace Bowen 31:49
Emmi Aguillard 31:53
Morgan Lingar 32:02
Andrea Burdett 32:20
Jennifer DiMascio-Donohue 32:49
Julia Sienski 33:01
Whitney Suflas 36:54
Tessa Pettit 39:42
Aubrey Elstad 42:43
Sam Bail 42:55
Sammy Jacobson 43:24
Liya Kozhin 51:58
Challenge Rules.
Entry Fee: Zero. Just go out and run. The only requirement for participation is that you run the route and submit your time.
Recording/Submitting Your Run: All submitted times must be supported by GPS data synced via Strava or Garmin. All runs must be recorded on “Race” mode or must show elapsed time (as opposed to moving time) and emailed to run@trialsofmilesracing.com or posted on Instagram with the tag @trialsofmilesracing. Our team will verify all results to ensure that details are accurate.
Course Description: The official start/finish is the Dalehead Arch located near the softball fields on the southwest corner of the park. Runners will head north on the path, past Tavern on the Green, and up to the Reservoir. At the southwest corner of the Reservoir runners will head right (counterclockwise), continuing past Engineers Gate and up to the northeast corner of the park. Runners will then take a slight right down the hill, all the way the 102nd Street Crossing. The path then continues along the Crossing until it begins heading South back up to the Reservoir. At the Reservoir runners will continue the counterclockwise loop until they hit the southeast corner of the Reservoir. At that point runners will get back on the same path they started on will continue on that all the way back to Dalehead Arch. (For detailed information check out this Strava Route.)
Rules of the Road: Runners are expected to follow all traffic laws, park regulations, and obey appropriate social distancing requirements during their runs.
Assumption of the Risk: Running may be considered a potentially dangerous activity, and anyone who attempts this challenge assumes all risks associated with participation. If you are not comfortable accepting these risks, please do not attempt this challenge.