Running tour · Manhattan

New Year's Day Run: Central Park

5.2 mi run

Open in Stride Stories

The stories on this route

1. The Mall, the Naumburg Bandshell and the Midnight Run

   Look down the Mall, the long avenue of elms. In Olmsted and Vaux's naturalistic plan for Central Park, it's the only purely formal feature. It was designed so a carriage could drop its passengers at the south end, then drive around and pick them up overlooking Bethesda Terrace.

2. Bethesda Terrace and the Angel of the Waters

   Look down at the bronze angel standing above the round basin. She's the Angel of the Waters, and the terrace around her was built during the Civil War.

3. Cleopatra's Needle

   Look through the trees behind the Met for the tip of a pink granite obelisk. It's about 69 feet tall, weighs about 200 tons, and it's about 3,500 years old. It was cut as one of a pair, for a pharaoh's jubilee about 1443 BC.

4. Fred Lebow and the Marathon

   Look for the bronze man in a running suit and cap, glancing at his watch. That's Fred Lebow. He was born Fischel Lebowitz in Romania in 1932, survived the Holocaust, and founded the New York City Marathon.

5. Seneca Village

   Look into the trees toward Central Park West, between about 82nd and 89th Streets. This was Seneca Village.

6. Strawberry Fields

   Off to your right, toward Central Park West, is a round mosaic with a single word: Imagine. There are usually flowers on it, and often a busker nearby. This is Strawberry Fields, the memorial to John Lennon, named after his song.

7. USS Maine Monument

   Look up at the tall marble pylon on the corner. On top, a gilded Columbia rides a seashell chariot, pulled by three sea-horses. Her model was Audrey Munson.

Stories researched October 2026 · every fact checked against a source