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Newcomer's Guide to Running in Ithaca
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The Newcomer’s Guide to Running in Ithaca

You’ve just moved to Ithaca, perhaps to start at Cornell or Ithaca College, or maybe you’re just visiting and are looking for a place or a group to run with. Never fear—Ithaca has some of the best running in the country, whether you’re just getting started or are looking to qualify for the Olympic Trials.

If you have suggestions for this document, please share them with Adam Engst.

Clubs

Ithaca has several running clubs, each of which plays a different role in the community.

Finger Lakes Runners Club

The largest and oldest of Ithaca’s running clubs, the Finger Lakes Runners Club was founded in 1968 and has nearly 1,000 members. Membership in the club provides discounts on many races, free entry to the Winter Chill 5K series, participation in our Tuesday night workouts, access to Cornell University’s indoor track in Barton Hall during winter months (check the Barton calendar first), and more.

FLRC organizes a full schedule of road races, trail races, and track meets. The races range from small-town 5Ks, relaxed trail races, and kid-friendly track meets to national-class events like the Finger Lakes 50s ultramarathon and the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile.

The club also acts as the focal point for running in Ithaca, with an active online forum that’s used to promote regular group runs, coordinate the FLRC Challenge open-course virtual series, manage logistics for our cross-country teams, and give local runners a place to ask questions, chat about past and future events, and share gear and injury advice. The forum is a great resource for finding running companions—feel free to post in the Group Runs category with information about what distance and pace you’re looking to run. FLRC also posts announcements on Facebook, Instagram, and Strava, but the FLRC Forum is the canonical source for all club communications.

If you’re new to Ithaca, FLRC should be your first stop. Sign up for the forum, join a group run, run a race, or meet people by volunteering!

High Noon Athletic Club

Another bastion of the local running community is the High Noon Athletic Club. Founded in 1982, it has been meeting at noon every weekday behind Teagle Hall (facing Lynah Rink) on the Cornell University campus. At least that was true in pre-pandemic times. Now it’s safer to ask on the High Noon mailing list (subscription instructions on the page linked above) if anyone is planning to run at noon. Or just show up.

High Noon is extremely informal, although it has historically been rather focused on serious training and racing. Everyone is welcome, though the group primarily consists of Cornell faculty, staff, and graduate students who are already on campus during workdays. Runs generally range from 4–8 miles and take in both road and trail. During the fall, the group often does cross-country–focused workouts on grass, and in the winter, track-based speedwork in Barton Hall lets the group avoid the cold and wet of Ithaca’s winter while training for indoor track races.

Cornell Running Club

Cornell has extremely competitive track and cross country teams in the Ivy League, and as a result, many dedicated student runners have had to find a group running outlet beyond the teams. Their solution? The Cornell Running Club, founded in 2003, meets regularly during semesters on the steps of Goldwin Smith Hall on Cornell’s Arts Quad. Contact one of the officers or message one of the club’s social media pages—all linked on the website—to inquire about the club’s current meeting schedule.

The Cornell Running Club is a member of the National Intercollegiate Running Club Association, which provides those interested in competition with a chance to race cross country and track. Members often run in and volunteer at local FLRC races throughout the year.

Ithaca College Running Club

Spending your time over on South Hill at Ithaca College? Check out the Ithaca College Running Club, founded in 2017. They don’t have as much of a Web presence as the other clubs, but you can find them on Instagram or ask around at IC to learn more.

Ithaca Triathlon Club

Like to break up your running with swimming and biking? The long-standing Ithaca Triathlon Club offers training and social activities for triathletes in the area. ITC traditionally organizes lake swims, morning bike and run workouts, and run/bike/run workouts. Membership is required to participate in ITC workouts.

Cornell Triathlon Club

Cornell students interested in triathlon training have an on-campus option. The Cornell Triathlon Club holds six practices every week, alternating between running, swimming, and biking, and participating in local sporting events. The club also competes at the local and national levels, and several years ago, it sent a women’s team to the NCAA Championship.

Locations

Looking for somewhere to run? Ithaca has it all, though we pride ourselves on our hills. (You know how the New York City Marathon supposedly has hills? Not if you train in Ithaca, it doesn’t.)

FLRC Challenge Courses

A pandemic-inspired innovation, the FLRC Challenge is a series of ten open-course virtual races that let you run each course as many times as you want. Even if you decide not to participate in the FLRC Challenge, you’re welcome to take advantage of the directions to and maps for each course. Along with written directions and basic maps, you’ll find custom RunGo directions for the trail course that provide turn-by-turn voice navigation much like Google Maps.

2021 courses included:

2022 courses included:

2023’s courses included:

2024’s courses included:

2025’s courses included:

Courses include:

High Noon Canonical Courses

The High Noon Athletic Club put together a long list of its “canonical” runs—the agreed-upon routes its runners run regularly so there’s no question about which way to go or where to turn. Sadly, one of the sites that club members used to map out the routes no longer exists, so many of the links on the High Noon wiki page are broken. Hover over any link to preview it in your browser’s status bar. Those that point to gmap-pedometer.com (now milermeter.com) still work; the runningmap.com links do not.

Long-time Ithaca runner Tonya Engst has compiled a write-up of great 5K runs that begin on the Cornell campus. Although these are not specifically High Noon courses, they cover similar, though shorter, routes.

Strava Global Heatmap

You can look for individual athletes on Strava to see where they run, but if you’re looking for popular running areas, check out the Strava Global Heatmap for the greater Ithaca area. You can zoom in and pan around to get a sense of where locals like to run.

Trail Maps

Ithaca has some of the best trail running anywhere. The Strava Global Heatmap might reveal the general location of popular running trails, but for detailed maps and directions, there are additional resources. Don’t have a car? TCAT buses provide public transportation from the City of Ithaca to many of Tompkins County’s trailheads.

Tracks

Please follow posted signs or check with the school administration before running on a track. Avoid high school tracks completely during school hours, and if a track (or the field it surrounds) is in use for any other purpose, don’t run without first asking for permission. We’re researching official school policies now.

Area schools that have tracks include the following.

Races

In a normal spring, summer, and fall in Ithaca, it seems that there is at least one race every weekend. Along with the traditional races that have been run for decades, there are numerous charity 5Ks and other races that aren’t affiliated with any of the local clubs. The best resource for seeing what’s available is the race calendar on the front page of the Finger Lakes Runners Club website (scroll down to see it). It lists FLRC races and events along with those submitted by other organizations. We strongly recommend using the links at the bottom to subscribe to get these events on your personal calendar.

Finger Lakes Runners Club Races

As previously noted, FLRC puts on a full schedule of road and trail races and track meets. The basic monthly schedule is as follows.

Red Newt Racing Events

Looking for longer, more challenging races? Red Newt Racing puts on a variety of races, including a number of ultras, in the Ithaca area and beyond. Their races include:

Happily Running Events

Happily Running is another local race company that focuses largely on trail ultras, many of which are spread around New York State. Their races include:

Gear

Everyone needs running shoes and other gear, and in Ithaca, we encourage runners to shop local.

Finger Lakes Running Company

Ignore the similarity of name and initials. The Finger Lakes Running Company is completely separate from the Finger Lakes Runners Club, although it’s by far the preferred place to buy running shoes in the area. They’re located at 700 Cascadilla Street in Ithaca, which means the other side of the building from Ithaca landmark Purity Ice Cream and across the street from the GreenStar Co-op, a mecca for health-conscious runners looking for natural and organic foods.

Owned by long-time Ithacan and ex-Ithaca College runner Ian Golden (who also manages Red Newt Racing), the Finger Lakes Running Company is staffed by local runners who have significant experience with the shoes they sell. They offer a wide range of shoes for road, trail, and track running, and they can special order anything that’s not available on the shelf. There are plenty of options for clothing, injury prevention tools, and running food, too.

The shop is a great place to stop in to browse, and you’ll often meet other runners there—it’s Ithaca’s physical hub for the running community.

Fontana’s

Although they focus on dress shoes and boots, if you’re in Collegetown, it’s worth stopping in at Ithaca institution Fontana’s Shoe Store to see what they may have in the way of running shoes. (As their slogan goes, “On Eddy Street in Collegetown, Since Before You Were Born.”) The experienced salespeople at Fontana’s know their shoes but aren’t generally runners.

Dick’s Sporting Goods

The national chain Dick’s Sporting Goods has a store at 710 South Meadow Street. Although they carry some running shoes and apparel, Dick’s isn’t a common destination for local runners.

REI

In the summer of 2024. the national cooperative REI opened a store at 742 South Meadow Steet. We don’t yet have a sense of how well they serve the needs of local runners.

Youth Running

Ithaca High School has sent numerous teams and individual runners to state and national championships, a success that has come in part from the area’s encouragement of youth running.

Ithaca Youth Bureau

In the spring, the Ithaca Youth Bureau coordinates a track program for children ages 5–13 that introduces participants to the skills necessary for a lifetime of enjoyment and health from running. Kids will learn basic running skills and techniques, along with some of the different events run at a typical track meet. The group will participate in one or more FLRC outdoor track meets together; parents are encouraged to sign their kids up for meets that take place outside the IYB session dates.

In the fall, the IYB switches to cross-country for kids aged 9–13. The program is designed to build running skills, endurance, and overall wellness. Running will be on off-road terrain, fields, and some pavement. This program is for children who have prior experience running and are able to run 1 mile comfortably. The program will focus on building up to running 5K by the end of the program.

These popular programs often fill up, so if your child is interested in running, make sure you have a Community Pass account and subscribe to the IYB mailing list (at the bottom of the IYB website). You can also follow IYB on Facebook and Instagram.

Scholastic Running

Most local middle and high schools offer modified (for 7th- and 8th-grade kids) and JV/varsity track and cross-country programs. Check with the schools for more details:

Health/Treatment

FLRC does not endorse specific healthcare providers, so please consider this community-suggested list of providers in the Ithaca area merely a starting point. If you have other suggestions, feel free to suggest them, with a link to the person’s bio.

Sports Medicine Doctors

Podiatrists/Orthopedic Surgeons

Physical Therapists

Chiropractors

Osteopaths

Strength Training