The best running tour in New York City is hands down Fit Tours NYC. This award-winning New York City Tour Company offers a wide variety of active ways to see Central Park and I had a chance to interview the owner, Mike Riordan.
Fit Tours NYC offers tours through Central Park with a fitness twist, including running, yoga, and high-intensity options to ensure that no visitor is left out. You can see the tour schedule here.
I am slightly biased as I did have a chance to work with the company on several runs but I have to say it’s the most memorable running tour in New York City that you can take!
Let’s dive into this interview describing one of the most unique things to do in NYC!
Hi Mike, Thanks for speaking with me! Tell me a little about yourself and your background.
Hi Gina! So happy to do this! So I’m a native New Yorker and grew up spending lots of time in Central Park including weekends as a young child in the playgrounds with my parents, and then my elementary school used Park fields for all of our sports activities and then later throughout adulthood I played in a million different sports leagues.
There is so much to do beyond physical activity, too. From musical concerts and Shakespeare to festivals it’s just amazing, so the Park has been the closest thing I’ve ever had to a backyard, and more! The fact that I now get to use the Park as part of my occupation, is just a dream come true.
I’ve held a wide range of different jobs throughout my life and always remained very active, more for fun than anything else then 12 years ago I was encouraged to take a job as a Personal Trainer and that changed my world. I knew I never wanted another “real job” again!
How did the idea come about to start a running tour in New York City?
It was a combination of reasons actually that led to my “epiphany moment”. I’ve always preferred my outside workouts in the Park to anything in a gym and then when I started to bring my training clients outside, it quickly became their favorite too.
A number of my clients also traveled a lot for work and they always complained that they never got to enjoy anything about the places they were traveling to because they were busy with meetings etc. Now, whenever I travel I always go for a run on the beach or through the streets of where I was visiting to get a real feel for where I was.
On this one trip down to Florida I returned from a beach run and was shocked by how many people were waiting in line for a treadmill. As I was shaking my head in disbelief, it occurred to me that there must be a ton of people doing the same thing when traveling to New York!
I started to learn about the fascinating history of the Park (that I’m ashamed to admit I had no clue about) and started to host a weekly running tour called Sunday Runday for my clients and friends, and that was my first unofficial running tour in New York City began. I did a quick search of running tours NYC and didn’t see any fitness tours in Manhattan.
When I was ready, I got myself licensed as an official NYC Sightseeing Guide, and Fit Tours NYC was born!
What kind of tours do you run through Central Park?
The original “fit tour” is what we call Power Hour. A two-mile “sight-running” tour during which we make stops in really cool locations to add in strength training exercises such as push-ups on benches and stair running drills at Bethesda Fountain.
Next, (for guests who wanted a lower intensity experience) came our 5K Central Park Fun Run, it’s a non-competitive, casual-paced running tour in New York City through the winding paths and rolling hills of the Park. Along the way, we make a few brief stops to talk about the history of the Park and the sights we are passing.
We also offer the 5K Core Tour. It’s more challenging than the Fun Run as the course, which winds through the center section of the Park, contains more hills. We also add in several exercises that focus on core strength, flexibility, and balance.
Finally, for our guests who might not be runners but want to enjoy healthy activity and sightseeing in the Park, we offer our Sunrise Yoga Walk. It’s a brisk-paced walking tour throughout which we stop to enjoy some yoga stretches and poses to work out the stiffness and sore muscles we all deal with while traveling.
This tour has become extremely popular as of late and I wish we had offered it sooner. When you join us, don’t forget to pack those running essentials!
How often do you offer the tours?
We offer the tours every morning at 8 am even in the snow! We may also start doing Summer sunset tours as well. For corporate groups, we also offer super early options to accommodate their early morning meetings and events.
What can a guest expect to receive on a tour?
A really fun and exhilarating time. I wanted to replace something boring and mundane (like running on a hotel treadmill) with an extraordinary and authentic New York Experience to remember forever.
Apparently, we’re doing something right as business is growing rapidly and we just received our second Trip Advisor Excellence award for a running tour in New York City!
I am a slow runner; will the guide stay with me or make me feel left out?
Sorry, if you don’t run a sub 6-minute mile you’re screwed and will be made to feel shame! LOL! We emphasize that “we have fun when we run” and want all of our Fit Tours to be a fun, comfortable, and uplifting experience for all of our guests.
I ask that our more competitive runners focus on the sightseeing aspect of the fit tour and less on the speed. We have found that once they embrace that, even they will have a great time as they get to explore the world’s most famous urban green space!
What kind of reactions do you get from guests?
“Oh my God, it’s amazing!” I figured people would have an enjoyable time (because, how could you not?) but the way they have responded has been overwhelming!
I never knew how much of an iconic event running in Central Park was considered by runners from around the world. I suppose I just took it for granted as it’s what I have been doing my entire life.
People have cried, people have taken pictures with flags for friends and family, people have done Facebook Live, people have filmed TV shows with us, and the list goes on and on!
The thing we have heard the most and it’s truly the most rewarding is that our guests have been able to cross “Running in Central Park” off of their bucket list!
Do you offer group tours?
We do. The very first Fit Tour that was ever booked was for 140 people. I couldn’t believe it! The very first one!
I had to scramble to get a bunch of my fitness trainer friends up to date on their knowledge of the Park very quickly! We pulled it off, and had a great time doing it and it certainly was a proof of concept for this fun little idea of offering workouts in the Park as a NY city attraction.
Since then, we’ve hosted groups of all sizes and we have our largest, a group of 200 Brazilians coming up in August!
What’s the best part of running through Central Park for you?
I grew up doing EVERYTHING in Central Park. My parents (who were native New Yorkers too) made sure to take as much advantage of the Park playgrounds as they could, but mind you, Central Park was a VERY different place back then.
There was graffiti everywhere and grass was hardly anywhere! It was dangerous at night. It’s been amazing to see the transformation of the Park and almost all of the credit goes to the Central Park Conservancy.
Since they were founded in 1980 they have restored the Park to its original beauty and intended purpose as a relaxed naturalistic escape for city dwellers. So now, as I spend a ton of time in the Park, it’s just really great to be surrounded by all of the restored beauty and watch all of the visitors getting to enjoy it as well.
Why should a guest book with Fit Tours NYC?
It’s a great way to get outside and enjoy the best parts of NYC actively and healthily and it’s one of the most unique things to do in NYC. The 5K Central Park Fun Run is perfect for casual runners to stay on track, get off the treadmill, and enjoy an authentic tour of New York City.
For non-runners, the Sunrise Yoga Walk is a great way to stretch the legs (and everything else!) and still enjoy being active outside. The team of guides that we have assembled is also amazing. They are all smart, energetic, and focused on ensuring a great experience for all of our guests.
Moving forward, we will be introducing a few new tour options including a “Brooklyn Bridge fitness experience” which will combine running with yoga or HITT and a walking tour, as well as a “Liberty Run” which will take place downtown by the World Trade Center and also a couple of High Line options so stay tuned!
Don’t want to be stuck on a NYC tour bus all day?
Then book a tour with Fit Tours NYC Experience!
New York City Guides
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About the owner: Mike is a born and raised New Yorker and Central Park has been his “backyard” since before he could walk. A former high school and college athlete, being active has always been a way of life and Central Park has always been the go-to venue.
