Every time 26-year-old Vinay laces up his shoes for practice runs, he knows the road ahead… is going to test his athletic skills by making him jump over potholes or open drains with missing concrete slabs, dodge garbage piles, and ace speed runs at times when chased by stray dogs.Listen to Vinay and scores of other athletes in Bengaluru, and you realise that running outdoors in Bengaluru is more like a steeplechase — you have got quite a few hurdles to run past.”Whenever I go running, I need to plan around traffic, toxic puddles from leaking trucks, and of course, the infamous ‘killer medians’ that appear out of nowhere on Hosur Road,” says Vinay, who lives in the Electronics City side of Bengaluru. He recalls how he once tripped over a drain that was left half-open, and sprained his ankle. “It took weeks to recover. As a runner, my wish is to be able to run freely and effortlessly at any open space or on roads in the city, without having to constantly look over my shoulder for bikes on the footpath or packs of street dogs.”Travelling a distance to just runOne of the biggest challenges runners new to Bengaluru face is finding running tracks nearby. “You’d think it’s a big city, and there could be lots of options — but no. Most roads aren’t runner-friendly. Either there’s no sidewalk at all, or the pavements are so uneven, you risk twisting your ankle. And then there are potholes — always potholes, sometimes big enough to swallow your whole foot,” says Sreehari Thakral, a techie who lives in HSR Layout.Roads are the only reasonable bet, something close to a running track. But roads are understandably inaccessible throughout the day barring this tiny window in the early mornings, between 5.30am and 7am, when traffic is mostly nil. “Miss that, and it’s chaos. There’s real risk involved if someone runs outside of those hours. Running in the evening feels like an extreme sport. You’re dodging cars, people, street dogs, and fighting for a slice of footpath. It’s exhausting, and honestly, a little dangerous,” says Sreehari.Parks and lakes are a real blessing for Bengaluru runners, but not for all of them. Here’s the catch: not everyone lives near them. Most people have to travel quite a bit just to get there, and that’s not always practical if you’re trying to squeeze a run into your daily routine.Need better access to parksRunners in the city say they are totally fed up with the constant game of cat and mouse with the authorities. “Every time we try to host a run—especially in Cubbon Park—security guards show up and tell us we can’t gather in such numbers. And this is despite the fact that it’s a free, open-to-all fitness run. We’re not charging anyone. We’re just trying to build a healthier community,” says Aravind, founder of 56 Run Club. He says people travel from as far as Sarjapur and Whitefield just to run in Cubbon.Runners argue Cubbon Park is a chosen spot because there are barely any safe, uninterrupted spaces to run in the city. Long-distance runners especially prefer tracks that offer a decent distance to practice. “The footpaths are often broken, blocked by parked vehicles or street vendors. That’s why we prefer parks to practice, and we’re told to disperse! We’ve also been told to limit our gatherings to just 15–20 people—but that’s barely a group. In a global city, that’s unreasonable,” he says.Aravind wants the managers of Bengaluru city to expand their horizons and look at cities like New York, London and Paris, where people run freely in public spaces all over.”Cities like Mumbai or Chennai have beaches where people have free access any time of the day and night. We don’t have that luxury here. Perhaps Cubbon Park is our version of Central Park. If we’re not allowed to gather there, then where can we go?” he asks. If Bengaluru wants to be seen as a world-class city, we need to fix these fundamental, on-the-ground issues to actually get there, he adds.Several run clubs based in south Bengaluru say they face similar hurdles — access restrictions to public space, including BBMP parks.Social runners hit a roadblock”I’ve lived in more than 15 cities, and Bengaluru is hands down the most runner-friendly city I’ve seen so far,” says Sidharth Yadav, founder, Stride Run Club. Sidharth identifies three key factors that make Bengaluru a great city for runners. “Running isn’t seasonal here. The weather lets you run throughout the year. The tree cover is fantastic, and because of that you’re not restricted to running only during certain hours of the day. The fitness culture in the city is so vibrant that you find your community almost instantly.”Yet, space and infrastructure remain a problem. New-age run clubs like Sidharth’s face greater challenges than legacy clubs, which usually have pro runners, people training for marathons etc. “They’re fewer in number and don’t mind running alone. But clubs like ours — the ones you see popping up on Instagram — are about community. We’re social run clubs. The idea is to run together, to grow together,” says Sidharth. That brings the hard part. Where do you gather 100 to 150 people? That’s a challenge in itself. “Then, how do you actually run as a group? These aren’t individual runners just clocking kilometres — we’re running together. And finally, how do you end the run somewhere social? Most of our runs end with a coffee meetup — sometimes we call it a coffee rave — so designing a route that finishes at a café becomes another logistical issue.”Sidharth says there’s a huge social run club wave happening — not just in India, but globally — and he wants Bengaluru authorities to recognise to the aspirations of the city’s runners. “We need an urgent change in the way we operate our parks. State-run parks are generally open all day, but BBMP parks are shut in the middle of the day. That doesn’t work for most people in tech, who don’t have fixed fitness hours. They run when they can — it could be noon, it could be late evening. And we don’t have a single public park that stays open till 9pm. I’m not asking for midnight access, but there should be some flexibility in timings.”Night runs too are becoming popular in Bengaluru, but they’re not really feasible, especially for women. “We’ve done a few night runs, but it’s mostly men who turn up,” says Sidharth. “The safety issue isn’t just a Bengaluru thing — it’s a country-wide concern.”