Hi all,

I am a VERY early riser, and like to get a little excercise in first thing in the morning. I put my head phones on and speed-walk/jog for about an hour. Here in the states I go about 5:15 am, but while on vacation it would probably be around 6:30 or 7:30.

I never see anyone else in excercise clothes walking around the city of Madrid like I do here. I was wondering if it is safe to walk around the parks at that hour, or would I be better off sticking to the main streets?

Or does anyone have a good 4+/- (6-7km) mile route suggestion?

Wow! Good for you!!!! I admire anyone who has the energy to exercise so early in the morning!

The question of park security at 6:30am or 7:30am may well depend on the park. And the park may well depend on where you'll be staying. If you know this, take a look on a Google Map and tell us which parks are closest to you and we may be able to "assess" the situation for you.

Regardless of the park, I'd imagine you'd find few persons walking about at 6:30am - except some of the elders. By 7:30am, more, but still few.

And there are few parks big enough to run for an hour. Speed-walking is another story, of course. The Retiro Park comes to mind but it's so big and has so many corners that even I'd feel uneasy walking around there at 6:30am - and even moreso wearing headphones - - until you simply stuck to the route surrounding the lake only. Speaking of headphones, you might forgo the headphones either totally or at least the first couple of days until you feel more comfortable with your surroundings.

But you're right, you never/rarely see people running the streets of Madrid. And when you do, they usually look like Americans/foreigners.

So tell us the area/zone in which you'll be staying first and we can then better recommend places to go. I doubt you'd be willing to "travel" across town every morning to walk/run.

Saludos, MadridMan

I have a park nearby ( Parque Fuente del Berro ) and , i´m sure this will surprise board members , but I did do a couple of early morning runs around it . The only things I had to dodge were the resident peacocks .
´Retiro Park is not far from my apartment and I´ve taken a walk down there in the early morning ... The guys are always there selling drugs ( I get offered them regularly ) , but they´re not agressive . The police and park security are reasonably high profile and Retiro feels , to me , as safe as any city park .
I agree with MM about the headphones .. lose them for a few days .
Also you may want to remember that at this time of year the sun rises around 07:15 am . It would be better to wait until at least sunrise before going out .
Retiro also has a jogging path all around it´s perimeter and it´s very well used all year round .
Also , Retiro has a workout "garden" next to the statue of the Ángel Caído. And to the South of the park there are places to play tennis , football etc... ( Those probably have to be booked in advance )

I will be staying near the Teatro Espanol in the Huertas neighborhood. I could always just follow the main roads (Mayor, Alcala, Gran Via, and the one that runs N&S past the Royal palace) and make a loop. Thanks for the suggestions!

So where do people run/excercise in Madrid? At the gym only?

the Retiro is of course the first one. The parque del Berro is another, but right the Elipa park there is trails and fields to do plenty of running early. My old baseball hangout is there,now seat of Madrid baseball federation.

Just check as I heard they were doing construction on the metro stop Elipa and were using buses.

another nice park is parque del Oeste. My best lately when I have time and there is the parque de la ventilla near Castellana north.

hope it helps

I think so. I passed a couple guys running through my neighborhood just this morning and it was the oddest sight. I think I've seen people running through here maybe once before of my (nearly) 5 years here.

I do sometimes see people running up/down the Cuesta de San Vicente, the hill-road which runs from the Palacio Real to the Príncipe Pío station. People also use the Casa de Campo for running but this is definitely for "cross country" running as they have very few paved/flat paths.

But near/in Huertas, at that hour, I'd just run up and down the streets. There won't be much foot/car traffic (and non in the pedestrian streets) so that may be the best thing for you.

Saludos, MadridMan

It´s crazy busy early morning and afternoon in Retiro Park . Lot´s of people jogging and working out . Personally I think people in Madrid prefer being outside ( Gyms are expensive and salaries here are very low ) .
Pedmar , I´ve been to that Baseball field .. It´s a 30 minute walk for me . Very Strange to see a baseball field in the middle of a Madrid suburb ! Great views over Madrid from the sports ground at Elipa .

glad you check it out, I use to take the P13 bus to get there from Alcala in the old old days, now the route is gone, but the field still there,and plenty of action. Many games there and playing with Rayo Vallecano, Atletico de Madrid, condepols, Piratas, School Abraham Lincoln (also close stay in touch with some in facebook) and the USA base at Torrejon had a team that play in the league but the games did not count towards the championship. Spaniards were learning the sport then.

you touch a nostalgic nerve.
this is the official link of the Royal Spanish baseball and softball federation
http://www.rfebeisbolsofbol.com/principal.htm

and here Madrid tells you what is there now
http://www.madrid.es/portales/munimadrid...idiomaPrevio=es

hopefully MM can shorten this ;sorry ::)