Facilities
Van Cortlandt State Park
You haven’t lived until you’ve died on the hills of Vanny. Just ask anyone that has ever raced there! Located right off several main highways (Henry Hudson, Mosholu, Deegan) and at the last stop of the #1 subway train (242nd Street & Broadway), Van Cortlandt Park has plenty of wooded trails to run. The cross country course has recently been renovated and is now a well-groomed cinder path, in great shape. The 400-meter artificial surface track, at the stadium on the south end of the Park, was also refurbished and is a good place for speed training. Three courses on the grounds include "the flats" in the middle of the Park (1.38 miles), "the chute" through the woods on the east side of the flats extends it to 1.68 miles, and the short, steep "Freshman Hill" with a footbridge leading to "the back hills" makes the full loop 2.98 miles. Cemetary Hill, home of the Van Cortlandt family graves, also provides runners with a hill of a challenge, climbing 100 feet in about 300 yards before cascading down to the footbridge. Cutting across the south end of the Park, below Van Cortlandt Lake, leads to the Old Croton Aquaduct Trail that you can take north to Yonkers. The NYRRC Cross Country Championships use the same 5K course for races in all age and skill groups.