r/phillyrunning

I missed the sign up (tears) and the race is sold out. Does anyone know how to waitlist myself/does it work?

Also has anyone had any luck with bib transfers?

Looking for **shorter distance races (5K, 10K, anything in between) in the city that do not run on Kelly Drive, MLK, or in Fairmount Park.

I’ve done Broad Street, I’ve done the Philly Half, a few years back when it was the Rock and Roll 7.6K, that let you run into center city and was a great course. Doing the Philly 10K in August.

Does anything else like those exist? Seems like everything that pops up runs in the same place. Rocky Run, PDR, Philly Run Fest, Rothman Ortho 8K, Labor Day 10k. All pretty much the same route.

I understand the logistical challenge and expense to shut down city roads. This is not a question of why there seem to be none. I understand why. I’m trying to see if I’m missing anything that anyone knows about and enjoys.

I was running past Olney Rec this morning and saw they're about done with the rebuild out there (including a new track!), and I figured it was worth trying to nail down all the tracks and things that at least vaguely resemble tracks in the city.

Publicly accessible standard 400-meter tracks:

• Temple at Broad and Master - hours vary, but it's usually fine in the early morning and some evenings; it's the most accessible track in Center City and can be busy at times
• Temple's fake track around the rec center at 15th and Montgomery (there's a hill the southeast corner, lol)
• Franklin Field at 33rd and South, frequently accessible via the southeast corner, technically only open to the Penn community but generally no one cares
• The track at Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium at 16th and Hunting Park; enter off Germantown Avenue (gate by the shot put)
• LaSalle's track at 20th and Olney
• Germantown Friends and Penn Charter off Midvale (although there are reports lately of security kicking people off the GF track)
• St. Joe's track at Sweeney Field off Overbrook (generally available when college teams aren’t using the field)
• Roxborough High's track at Pechin and Hermitage
• The South Philly Super Site track at 10th and Bigler (this one has really weird availability and tends to be unreliable, although allegedly open at 6 a.m. in the winter/summer and 9:30 a.m. in the spring/fall)
• Germantown Super Site at Sedgwick and Lowber (access via the gate on Sedgwick)
• Bartram Field at 58th and Grays (allegedly open at 8 a.m. when it’s open)
• Edison High at 2nd and Hunting Park (generally outside school hours)
• Olney Rec at Front and Godfrey (brand-new in 2026!)
• Springside Chestnut Hill at Willow Grove and St. Martin’s
• Lincoln High off Rowland
• Northeast High off Summerdale
• Father Judge off Solly
• Benjamin Rush High off Knights

There are also a bunch of weird/disused/funky tracks:

• Hunting Park in the park (narrow turns, long straightaways, concrete surface, but a legit 400)
• Frankford Stadium at Rutland and Dyre (gravel, barely maintained, ~350 meters, usually one gate on Dyre is open)
• PCOM's field off Monument Road (mostly gravel, weird shape, floods in one turn after heavy rain, somewhat long – like 450+ meters)
• Reyburn Park at 21st/Lehigh (asphalt tri-oval, maybe 300 meters)
• Overbrook School for the Blind at 61st and Malvern (concrete, legit 400)
• Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter School at Hunting Park and Torresdale (squished oval, ~350 meters, gravel)
• Prep Charter at 24th and McKean (legit surface, but maybe 150 meters)
• MLK High at Walnut and Stenton (legit gravel 400, but unmaintained, in rough shape)
• The roof of the parking garage at 17th and Callowhill (may require a keycard, fairly sure it’s just painted concrete)
• Olney High at Front and Ashdale (gravel, in OK shape)
• McCreesh Playground at 66th and Regent (asphalt, more like a path, but a legit 400)
• Sayre High/Sayre Rec at 59th and Locust (really just a turf field people use a quasi-track)
• Haddington Rec at 57th and Vine (200ish meters)
• Widener Memorial at Broad and Somerville has a 400-meter gravel track and a ~200-meter regular surface track; access is pretty limited for both
• Cobbs Creek Rec at 63rd and Spruce (gravel, unmaintained, egg-shaped)
• Central Green (marked) and League Island Park (concrete) in the Navy Yard
• The secret abandoned track in the woods north of the old landing strip in the Navy Yard; basically inaccessible except in winter (Tick Central in summer), and even then you’re hacking your way in

And then at least one that's currently no public access:

• Girard College at Corinthian and Girard

I’ve done the Love Run and the Philly Half. This year I’m thinking about trying the Rocky Run in mid-November. It seems a little gimmicky. Has anyone run it? What did you think?

Fiancé and I will be moving next week to Philadelphia. Looking for running location and group recommendations.

EDIT: Well be living in Overbrook on the northwest side of things, I believe