Cardiff and Swansea make top 10 list of best running cities

Feb 29 2008 by Sarah Miloudi, Western Mail

TWO of Wales’ cities are among the best in the UK for running.

Cardiff and Swansea were singled out for praise because both were among the safest and most pleasant places to pound the pavement.

The analysis put Britain’s 20 largest cities, including London, Bristol and Manchester, head to head in terms of the numbers of reported assaults, air quality, green spaces and levels of participation in the sport.

The Welsh capital came second in the league table overall after Nottingham, and first for safety. Swansea was seventh overall.

Former Olympic athlete Marc Jenkins, a 31-year-old triathlon competitor from Bridgend, said yesterday, “Our cities are not industrialised to the same extent as others, and both have good, clean air probably due to their positions close to the sea.”

Their proximity to off-road running havens such as the Brecon Beacons and Gower also drew them credit in the report featured in this month’s Runner’s World magazine. It is based on feedback from organisations certified with the sport’s governing body, UK Athletics, and several sport insiders.

Dr Rhys Thatcher, an Aberystwyth-based physiologist accredited with the British Association of Sports and Exercise, said, “It is easy to see why both Cardiff and Swansea were ranked highly. They are both within easy reach of wonderful scenery – something also true of other parts of Wales such as the North and Mid Wales – and the air quality in both is also good.

“Safety and air quality are big aspects for people wanting to take part in sport.

“It seems logical people would want to be outside in nice surroundings, as shown by the high levels of participation in the sport in each city.”

Members of the largest athletics clubs in Cardiff and Swansea said the recognition was “good news” for the sport in Wales.

Amateur runner Phil Cook, who has competed in long-distances races across Wales and the UK, also stressed the importance of air quality, and said Wales’ fresh air and appealing environment may have contributed to the sport’s mainstream acceptance and boom in recent years.

Research has linked carbon monoxide emissions from vehicles to respiratory problems and poor air quality can lead to the development of exercise-induced asthma in some individuals.

Mr Cook, 38, who captains Cardiff’s largest athletics club Les Croupiers, said, “When you look at places like Hyde Park in London, running has always been popular. It has only been in the past few years that the number of independent runners has increased here, perhaps due to changes in lifestyle and people becoming more health conscious. Until recently, people would have looked at you as though you were from a different planet if they saw you out running.

“You still get the odd joke now – like people shouting ‘118, 118’, at you, or ‘Run Forrest, run’ – but the number of average people out running on the street has increased.”

Roger Chamberlain, of Cardiff’s Run and Become athletics store, also said running was an accepted sport in the two Welsh cities.

He said, “There are a large number of running clubs and networks, some for women only, and these can help anyone who doesn’t want to run on their own.”

Wolverhampton was ranked bottom in the league table. Runners there reported five attacks in the last year, and the city’s air quality was ranked in the bottom of half of those considered by experts. Nottingham was named the best running city in the country, mainly due to Sherwood Forest’s scenery, and another estimated 250 acres of lakes and trails at Colwick Country Park.

Cardiff – a resident runner’s verdict - page 2
Two running routes out of the city - page 3