I'll be in SF for the next couple of days on business, staying in the Union Square area. Anybody have suggestions for 6 - 8 mile running route through the city (bearing in mind I can't travel to a trailhead, but have to start in Union Square? Last time I was there I just ran along the Embarcadero, but I imagine there must be other places, routes? Extra points for scenic views, etc. Thanks!

If you need to start in Union Sq. you are a bit limited, but if you are willing to take public transport or a cab you have a lot more options. Golden Gate park is of course a classic and can be reached by Muni or cab. If you are willing to extend your run to a little more like 10 miles, one of my favorites is to start at the Embarcadero at the Ferry Building, then run along the Embarcadero, through Ft. Mason & Crissy Fields, over the Golden Gate Bridge, down into Sausalito, and take the ferry back to your start. Bring $7 for the ferry. If you walk down to the Muni station (Powell or Montgomery) you can take the N Judah line to the end of the line at Ocean Beach, which can be a very nice run. You can head south towards Ft. Funston, or North to either the west side of Golden Gate Park, or continue North to Lands End and the Presidio. If you have a car you can drive to the Marin Headlands and knock yourself out on hills and great ocean views.

Totally agree...great route. It will be especially nice now due to the glorious weather. I either turn around at the north side of the GG bridge and weave through the city back to Union Sq. or take the ferry as JHH suggested.

I'll 3rd that route. I ran something similar when I was training for the LA marathon. One mistake I made I'll share is to just hug the water and find the access road that leads up to the Golden Gate from Chrissy Field. I made the mistake of following the HWY 1 signs towards the bridge and ended up in some freaky tunnels that went UNDER the freeway with some sketched-out bums and fresh spraypaint. I actually had to hurdle one bum who immediately shot up like I was going to rob him or something.

I actually ran to the other side of the GG bridge and then returned through Chrissy Field via the access road that I had missed on the way up. It was still dark when I did it, and the access road is NOT well lit (neither is Chrissy Field at night, for that matter). Some weird sounds off in the Eucalyptus trees around there... kind of freaky in the wee hours of the morning.

I want to say from Pier 38, which is somewhat close to Union Square (maybe a little less than a mile?), it was around 6 miles one-way to the opposite side of the bridge. You could always check this site to map the mileage...

Anyhoo, it's an awesome route!

www.mapmyrun.com

Gusto

One of my favorite runs is fairly similar: take the Muni L train and get off at the end of the line by the SF Zoo. Run north along nice flat beach (best at low tide), head up at the Cliff House (water & bathrooms), follow the trail around Land's End. A little bit of street running through Seacliff above China Beach, trails off Lincoln above Baker Beach, under the GG Bridge, down stairs to Fort Point, trails across Crissy Field and Fort Mason next to the Bay. Run on the street into traffic for a bit through Fisherman's Wharf (the sidewalks are packed), then on the path next to the Embarcadero. BART or Muni train home.

If it's windy it will be at your back in this direction. That might be a little longer than 6-8 miles, not much, but you can always bail and jump a bus, like a 30 Stockton, along the way. Beautiful and awesome.

Thanks for the suggestions. Ran today Union Square -> Geary -> Divisadero -> Marina -> Fort Point -> Ferry Building (via Fort Mason and Embarcadero) -> Union Square. Beautiful run on a gorgeous day. Maybe will try to take the muni out to a different starting point tomorrow.

I believe you can take a bus from SF to Mill Valley, and I know you can take a bus from Stinston Beach to Mill Valley. So if you are feeling adventurous, you can try running the Dipsea trail from Mill Valley to Stinson. The Dipsea is the route of the Dipsea race, which is the oldest cross country race in the US and a really nice run when you aren't sharing the trail with a thousand other runners.

I guess you can handle running on streets, that's not for me. Especially around here. Here's some kick-ass stuff via public transit within a half-hour or so:

Muni Bus to the Marin Headlands on Sundays, lots of nice trails out there:
http://transit.511.org/schedules/index. ... 331&cid=SF
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/mmaps/documents/76.pdf

You can get to the same area from the other side via Golden Gate Transit Bus 70 or 101 any day of the week: get off at the Spencer Ave Bus Pad and head up the hill. For schedules, 511.org. Here's a map of the park:
http://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/u ... he-web.pdf

Angel Island is also real cool. I was up there a couple of weeks back, first time since it burned down a year and a half ago. It's actually even nicer now.

Map:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/468/files ... nd_web.pdf

Ferry Schedule:
http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/Ferry/A ... 10no51.cfm

The Perimeter Road is 5-6 miles, real easy, you could spice it up with the Fire Road, some of the other trails or head to the top. Great views.