Annapolis Is Fourth Best U.S. City For Runners: Report

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A new study has ranked Annapolis the fourth best city in the United States for runners, in part because it has the most running events per capita out of every city nationwide.

The study was produced by Runners Need, a United Kingdom-based specialist running retailer. Its No. 4 rank means that Annapolis fell behind only Santa Fe, New Mexico (No. 1); Madison, Wisconsin (No. 2); and St. Petersburg, Florida (No. 3).

Not only does Annapolis host more running events than any other U.S. city, but it has over twice as many as nearby Baltimore, the study found.

Runners Need also ranked Annapolis No. 9 in the U.S. for access to green spaces and public parks, with over 89 per capita. That ranking was based on the Trust of Public Land's data on the number of public parks and gardens in each city.

However, the study did find that the city has some of the worst air quality in the United States – it ranked 46th, behind Boston, Las Vegas and Houston.

The city also ranked No. 24 for traffic (based on 2020 data on population and delays attributed to congestion) and No. 22 for crime (based on all crimes, excluding fraud).

A full infographic of the findings can be found below, searchable by city, and a full list of criteria used for the rankings can be found on the Runners Need website here.