Running in Haifa
Haifa running was hard, not because of the hills but because there weren’t good paths near where we stayed. On my first run, I tried to run along the coast at the edge of German Colony, where the port is located. There’s no promenade and a lot of crosswalks, plus trucks pumping out diesel smoke. On the second run, I ran from Ben Gurion Blvd. up Hatzionut Blvd. to the very top of the Baha’i Gardens. 2 miles up, 2 miles down; total elevation change of 1400 ft. I have that route marked on the map below, starting with the pin on Ben Gurion Blvd. For city running, it wasn’t too bad – very few crosswalks, the sidewalk was reasonably wide and the worst problem was the cars parked on the sidewalk.
Running in Jerusalem
In Jerusalem, we stayed in German Colony. An old train track has been turned into a walking/running/biking path. It starts at the First Station (the old train station converted into basically a giant food court with both sit down and food truck food options), located on Beit Lehem Rd. near where it merges with Emek Refa’im St. and runs past the Pais Arena (take the left fork when you enter the park of Pais Arena) to merge with the Nahat Refa’im path. You can enter the path almost anywhere along its route. It continued further but not clear how much further.
Below is the route I ran.
Running in Tzfat
In Tzfat, I finally got to do some trail running. Plus we were at an altitude of almost 3000 ft above sea level. Most hotels and AirBnbs are located in or near the old town/artists quarter, which is at the very top of Tzfat. So, you run down and then have to run up to return. To give you an idea of what that’s like, I did a 5 mile run with a total elevation change of 1400 feet! There was no flat trail; it was either uphill or downhill. The trail starts at the ‘bottom’ of the artists quarter – it’s shown on the map as Ninio Street. You pass a few abandoned structures and a playground. There are several switchbacks and a variety of offshoots from the trail, including a cemetery. It’s a beautiful run to do especially around sunrise.
Running in Tel Aviv
In Tel Aviv, the best running is next to the beach. (I should note that Hayarkon Park apparently has good running, but it was in the north part of Tel Aviv so I never tried it. One end of the park starts near the Old Tel Aviv Port Area). There is a wide promenade, mostly cement and occasionally wood docks, that stretches from south of Tel Aviv, into Jaffa, and north, through Hertzliya. It’s a very flat course, but the ocean breezes and sun make it a nice place to run. Plus there are tons of other runners and bikers. The route goes further in both directions if you want a longer run.