Virginia Capital Trail

The buttermilk/North Bank trail would probably be up your alley. It's a pair of trails that stretch around the James River, the southern portion being the buttermilk trail, and the northern the north bank trail. The link says it's 6.2 miles but I usually log about 7 on my watch with ~500 ft of elevation. The trails make for a beautiful scenic run!

IMHO, buttermilk and north bank have too many hazards which can result in a twisted ankle or worse. It’s something I definitely would recommend for hiking, but for distance running (training), it’s pretty risky. The bikers also come through pretty damn fast at times.

It’s definitely worth a visit, but maybe not for a 10 mile run.

If we had been having this conversation 3 months ago I probably would have disagreed with you, but I did twist my ankle running that trail on my birthday. This was during peak leaves on the ground time though, so I guess OP if you do run the trail just exercise some caution on where your feet go. Otherwise the capital trail is much safer terrain wise but also not nearly as fun imo.

When I lived in the museum district I loved running over in the Windsor Farms neighborhood. It’s pretty quiet, hardly any cars, the houses are beautiful and you can find a couple of big hills. The segment on Strava comes up as “rich people loop”

I always enjoy running through the Fan and Museum District. Look at the trapezoid bounded by Monument Ave, Laurel Street, Floyd Ave and Roseneath Rd. That's a roughly 6 mile loop. You can weave in the middle streets if you want to add some distance, or go up Arthur Ashe Blvd instead of Roseneath if you want to make it about 5 miles.

City Stadium Runners meets in the City Stadium overflow lot Saturday morning at 7:30. They have planned routes, a long and a short (usually with options to cut short if that week’s mileage isn’t for you) and SAG stops. Very friendly, all paces participating. They’re on FB - City Stadium Runners “We bRUNch Richmond” - it’s a private group but message the mod and let them know you’re visiting.

I like running laps on Belle Isle. Hearing the river flow past the rocks is a nice vibe.

During undergrad I used to do Monroe Park through the Fan to the end of Carytown/museum district and back. Some stretch of it was down Monument & Blvd, but I just went through the neighborhoods with an endpoint/turnaround spot in mind before heading back.

My favorite 6-7 mile loop starts at Forest Hill Park and then takes the Reedy Creek trail to Belle Isle and then loop back around! Has a nice mix of gravel, trail and pavement! And then if you want more mileage you can take the pedestrian bridge across Belle to browns island.

Enjoy exploring! One of my favorite cities to run in.

I see joggers at Hollywood Cemetery a lot, it’s all paved and there is a river view from one section.

Agreed - from a fellow runner, this is what I would recommend! The group currently gathers at 7:45 AM and the run starts at 8:00 AM. All mileage options and fun people to run with.

The whole city is pretty run-able. Monument, Grove, the museum district, trails on the James. It's one of the nicest features of rva.

You should check out We Off The Couch on Instagram! They’ll be doing a run Saturday!

Just go down to the river anywhere east of Belvidere and you'll find the Canal Walk. Head east and it eventually hooks into the Capital Trail. You can easily do 10 miles or more without motor vehicle traffic (except for a couple of street crossings).