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My family and I are going to be staying on St John the week of November 20. While I was there I was hoping to take in some trail running on the hills. My questions:
Are the hiking trails good for a jogging pace? Are they safe to be on alone?
Any suggestions from other runners are appreciated.
Hello Agave,
Yes some of the trails are good for jogging pace. Leinster Bay trail and Francis Bay Walking Trail are both pretty flat and would be good. If you want more inclines so more challenging, Lind Point Trail from Cruz Bay to Caneel Bay would be good. If looking for a real challenge, Reef Bay would be a workout.
Trails are safe. Alone, would likely stick to some of the more popular trails just in case. The old adage that there is a safety in numbers comes to mind. Concern with jogging alone would be more along the lines of tripping and hurting legs and needing help to limp back to civilization.
Your cell phone (if it works in the USVI) should get service on most of the trails. There are a few drop points. So in case of emergency you could call someone.
Other suggestions on running in St. John... I checked the St. Thomas/St. John running groups website and didn't see any scheduled races on St. John for November. There is a big race on St. Thomas in November, but its the first weekend of the month.
There was the first annual St. John Trail Race this year, see their website at https://stjohntrailrace.com/. Maybe the organizers can give you some feedback if you reach out to them. The race was in February. And if you ever visit St. John in February the big race is of course 8 tuff miles, http://www.8tuffmiles.com/. 21st annual 8 tuff is scheduled for Saturday Feb.25th, 2017.
Thank you for using VInow.com to research your vacation to St. John. If we can help with anything else let us know.
Thanks that's exactly what I was looking for. Yes, I'm interested in more of the challenging slopes as I live in rolling (but mostly flat) grassland. But a jog along the flatter trailer sounds nice too. I'll get in touch with the contacts you mentioned. Thank you very much.
