Orlando ranked first in Vitals Index ranking of America’s Best Running Cities. That was followed by San Diego, Las Vegas and Miami.
The latest Vitals Index rankings are based on quality ratings and access to sports medicine physicians and orthopedic surgeons. It also considers the number of full and half marathons hosted by a city, the number of participants for the largest race and the number of runs per person.
Orlando not only has an impressive number of sports medicine specialists who practice there, but it also hosts the Walt Disney Marathon which drew 65,523 runners last year the largest race in the nation. San Diego hosts much smaller races, but holds 11 full or half marathons per year, plus several other shorter-distance events.
Cities known for their prestigious marathons, like Boston, Chicago and New York, surprisingly did not qualify for the top ten. These cities host fewer long-distance runs and tended to have fewer sports specialists per capita.
The top cities for the Vitals Index Best Running Cities Rankings are listed along with key data.
