Arlington, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., are among the best cities in the country for runners, according to a new report released by financial technology firm SmartAsset.
Arlington came first for overall friendliness and safety for runners among 98 cities studied by the company. Washington clinched the third spot. The only city that separated the two was San Francisco at the second place.
As per SmartAsset, Arlington has more races than any other city in the study. Its residents also enjoy the comfort of living within a 10-minute walk distance from a park, and the city has the third-highest number of gyms per 10,000 residents.
Arlington was on the top of the list in 2018, too. Washington, however, rose four places as it was the seventh on last year’s list.
Walk to work? That’s Washingtonian
According to this year’s report, an impressive 12.69 percent of the workforce in Washington walked to work every day. SmartAsset also found that Washington has almost a quarter of its land as parks, which makes it an attractive city for people wanting to stay active outdoors.
“Our data shows that 98% of residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, so there’s plenty of opportunities to get some exercise even if the most common form of running in the nation’s capital is for office,” the SmartAsset said in this year’s report.
“Additionally, Washington, D.C. has the eighth-highest number of races per 10,000 residents. As the city is also one of the best places for women in tech, a jog could be a great way to blow off steam while tackling a demanding job,” it added.
The study found that all top 10 cities have a common feature – widespread availability of parks and high walkability. Among the top 10 cities, walkability and park access are almost twice as high compared to the bottom 10 cities. The pedestrian death rate is also half of what is alarmingly high in the bottom 10.
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