Tampa Bay Area Hill Training Options

Hillsborough County

New Tampa: Sidewalk along I-75 overpass. For reference, from Flatwoods, north along Bruce B. Downs to west on New Tampa Blvd to where it crosses over the interstate. That’s about 2.8 miles from Flatwoods, but there are many other places to park to access the hill.

Downtown Tampa: Incline along the Riverwalk adjacent to the Sykes Building and just north of the Kennedy Bridge over the Hillsborough Rive; Eugene Holtzinger Bridge, spanning the Hillsborough River between Blake High School and Armature Works; Platt Street and Borein Bridges across the Hillsborough River offer short uphills, but sprinting up still offers a great workout. Courtney Campbell Causeway Pedestrian Trail is excellent and completely separated from the adjacent vehicular bridge. Park there or park at Ben T. Davis Beach and run west to the bridge.

Citrus Park: Pedestrian overpass over Gunn Highway. Easy to get there via the Gunn Hwy exit of the Veterans Expressway.

Pinellas County

Safety Harbor: The Ream Wilson Trail goes over the McMullen Booth Pedestrian Overpass. Note that there are public restrooms just below the overpass. Short but steep hill over the Indian Burial Mound in beautiful Philippe Park, north of Safety Harbor on the water. Access either from Bayshore Blvd from Safety Harbor or via Highway 580.

Clearwater: The Clearwater Causeway is a great option, a long uphill with a fun corkscrew at the east end to get the runner from the street level (Coachman Park) to the Causeway. A couple miles away is the Sand Key Bridge, easily accessed from Sand Key Park. Not far from there is the Belleaire Bridge.

Pinellas Trail: This asphalt-paved trail runs from downtown St. Pete all the way to Tarpon Springs. Many pedestrian overpasses along the way. Many images and maps here.

Dunedin: Dunedin Causeway Bridge

Pasco County

San Antonio: For decades, runners and cyclists have headed out to the area near St. Leo College to train on hills. There are some great ones, but the runner may be forced to run on the road. Many people park at the San Antonio Sports Complex.

Hernando County

Croom (Withlacoochee State Forest): Plenty of great off-road hills in this area. Park at Tucker Hill Day Use area.

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