I was in Charlotte last week and stayed at the downtown Hilton. Not sure where that is in relations to the Marriott, but I did a 75 minute run downtown, and could have easily gone longer. The town is laid out like a grid and I started at the Hilton and ran the horizontal streets (from the map I was looking at) back and forth across town, then finished by running a vertical street back to the hotel. I couldn have easily doubled the length of my run by continuing on the horizontal street path.

Get an early start, though. Traffic gets heavy pretty early, causing interruptions while crossing roads. Also, lots of construction blocking some roads making it necessary to run in the street, which is another good reason to get an early start to avoid traffic. Also some unsavory looking people around the bus depot. Avoid if possible.

Go to the Dowd YMCA on Morehead St. There is a porch area around back, and there you will find a bulletin board with several loops posted, ranging from 3 to 10 miles. You could string several together to get 2 hours in. From the Y, the "Bootie Loop" is about a 10K loop with water fountain placed throughout. If its even marginally good weather, you'll see lots of runners and cyclists.

You can also call either Run for Your Life or the Charlotte Running Company, both local shops convenient to downtown, for directions. I now live in Winston-Salem, so I'm not in touch with what groups run and when.

Other options: McDowell Park or the old Charlotte Marathon course.

Good luck.

When I travel, I just go out the front door and explore......sometime the runs get a bit longer than I had planned, but that's OK. The bellmen are usually good to tell which direction to go to see a sight or 2. That is the great thing about running - you can do it anywhere and it really doesn't take any advance planning. Have fun in Charlotte!

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Not sure where that hotel is but if it's out by the coliseum then there is Renaissance Park right there for some good trail running. There are two mtn bike loops that you can hook together for a long run.

I did take a look at the park... Are those trails a safe place to run by yourself? (I'm a woman so always cautious about trail running in "urban" areas.)

-DMG

I'm a woman, too, and also try to stay very aware of safety issues, which is why I try to stay on downtown streets where there are more people around, especially if you're running in the early morning dark. Sometimes the hotel concierge can give you good running routes leaving from the hotel. At a hotel in Atlanta, they even had a small map of running routes in the area for different distances. The Charlotte Hilton didn't have that so I made up my own route. I also wanted something I could run without having to consult a map at every crossroad - I don't want to look like I don't know where I am or where I'm going in a strange city.

Go to the Dowd Y on Morehead street...it's close to the Hilton. There are lots of runners there leaving from the back entrance....lots of good routes to run. You're absolutely correct about being careful by yourself, this will give you at least one buddy to run with...just show up there and stretch until someone else comes by to run...it won't be long!

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

Yeah...those trails are okay in terms of safety but they are well hidden and there's not a lot of other runners/bikers there so I wouldn't risk running there alone if I were a woman. Head to the Y as Titan suggests.