This summer I’ve been supplementing my normal regiment of treadmill running at the gym with occasional runs in Van Cortlandt Park on the weekends.  Since I’ve started running in the park I’ve often wondered how far my runs in the park take me and how that distance compares with what I do on the treadmill.  After running today I made up mind to find an answer.

I found my answer thanks to Google Earth.  The latest version of this super-cool software allows you to measure distances.  I plotted out the running path in the park, which measured in at a distance of approximately 1.4 miles (shown above).

Then for kicks I made some other measurements; I discovered that the length of Roosevelt Island is almost exactly the 2 miles I was always told it was.  I also measured the walk I often used to make from Columbia University to the 57th St. stop on the F-train.  No wonder my feet were tired; I was walking nearly 3.6 miles!