Parks and recreation: The man who plans to run and review all 455 parks in Montreal

On his 32nd birthday two weeks ago, Montreal runner Vlad Davidescu launched a project called Run in Montreal to run and review every one of the 455 parks in the city. Using the Runtastic app, Davidescu, who just started running three months ago, is creating routes for other runners, rating them and uploading photos of each of the parks he covers.

Canadian Running caught up with Davidescu to ask him about his park-running project.

How did this idea come about? Can you describe the moment you dreamed up the Run in Montreal project?

It was a warm, sunny day in the beginning of summer, one month into my couch-to-5K program. New ideas often pop into my head when I run, some weird some cool. I was in a small park next to my house that had a 1.2K path, and I said I should try more parks. My Runtastic app on my phone enables me to go to the website and create routes, rate them and compare stats. So I said to myself, wouldn’t it be cool to actually run in all parks in Montreal? Then I said, wouldn’t it be cool to actually share them with other runners? The sun was beginning to set, and I found the view so amazing, I took a few pictures with my smartphone. The park was Félix-Leclerc and the sunset photo in the park that started it all is in the review here.

What do you enjoy about running in parks?

I like that it’s a piece of nature right in the city, sometimes in suburbia. Parks are very accessible to beginner runners. If you have a few nice parks where you live or close by, it will give you more motivation to go out and run. Parks give people lots of services like playgrounds, sports fields, pools and community centres, but they also provides fresh air and a nice view for runners. If a park is well designed for runners, it’s really a joy to run in it, measure your speed, distance and lap times and improve them.

How many parks have you covered so far in Montreal, and how many do you plan to run and review each week?

So far, 14. I calculated that if I run three parks a week on average (sometimes I combine a few small parks to make a big one), then I should be done in about 2.9 years. I haven’t experienced winter running yet, but I’m motivated to run all year long. I’m looking now for a sponsor so I can get more winter gear.

What’s the best park so far?

I haven’t run in Mont Royal yet, but I have a feeling it would be a winner. For now, definitely Park Maisonneuve. It’s a 2.8K route overlooking the famous Olympic Stadium, a big symbol of Montreal. It’s full of beautiful trees, flowers and huge grass fields. It has a lot of water fountains, and has lockers in the main park house. Plus, the pavement is well maintained and laid out – there are no cracks or deformities in the asphalt and there’s a separate track for runners next to the bike lanes.

What’s been the response from other runners?

I ran with a group of five runners last weekend, and as my first group run, I enjoyed it a lot. It was an eclectic group: an experienced half-marathon runner who gave me tips, two older ladies –beginners – who were super motivated, a 16-year-old Haitian kid who finished without breaking a sweat, and a Romanian pro photographer who took nice photos of us and ran with us half the way. We missed a local politician who wanted to join us as well – maybe next time, he said. I loved the diversity, and took time to run with and talk to each one of them.

What kind of runner would you like to be known as?

I thought about it and I like to call myself an urban runner explorer. I love the sense of discovering a brand new park I didn’t know existed in my city.

Follow Davidescu on Facebook at www.facebook.com/runinmontreal and Twitter at www.twitter.com/runinmontreal.