Cocoa Beach Insider

We run this town! Whether you know it or not, I bet there is a big running community in your town or city. You see us running in the early mornings or in the evenings. Sometimes solo or in a group. Here in Cocoa Beach, our running group is the Cocoa Beach fun runners & Walkers. They formally meet every Wednesday evening at 6:30 for a fun run either at Juice-n-Java or Longdoggers for a 3 or 4 mile run. (Then there is food and drinks after). The location will vary, but the CBFR&W’s also meet for a Sunday long run and various races throughout the county & state. The current Wednesday running schedule can be found at http://www.runningcocoabeach.com/

I started running 7 years ago and have learned to love a good run. But I know what it was like in the beginning. Where should I run? How often? I don’t want to run alone. Where is the next 5K? If I happened to be traveling, where do I run? These questions are what prompted me to put together some great places to run in Cocoa Beach. So, if you are new to the area, just visiting, or wanting to get started in running, here are 10 of my favorite go-to parts of the Cocoa Beach area I love to run in no particular order:

1)-Minutemen Cswy- If you start near Coconuts & head west it is easy to put in 3-4 miles. Turn around at the far end of the Cocoa Beach High School for about 3 miles or continue around to the Cocoa Beach country club near the aquatic center for about a 4 mile run

2)-Triangle to Triangle run-if you start at Kelly Slater park at 4th St North (the triangle Chevron) and run south along Orlando ave to the south end Triangle Chevron and back around on Atlantic Ave. This is a 5.5 mile loop. Of course, you can start anywhere on the loop. I personally like to run on Brevard ave heading south until the road ends at 11th St South.

3)-520 Causeway-if you start at the Cocoa Beach Longdoggers and head west on 520, you have a few different options. Bicentennial Park is about a mile out (2 mile run) you can head out to just before the bridge for a 3 mile run or (my favorite) run to the top of the bridge for a 4.4 mile run.

4)-Dropped at the Port run This is one of my favorite runs. You will either need a driver to drop you off or an Uber to start this one. There is a boat ramp & parking lot on the west end of Port Canaveral under near the drawbridge. The run starts here by the cruise ships, goes east on George King Blvd to old North Atlantic Ave East on Central Ave south on Ridgewood (which becomes ocean beach Blvd to A1A 3nding at Minutemen Causeway. This one-way run is 9 miles.

5, 6, & 7)-Three Beach runs-If the tide is at or near low tide, hit the beach for your run! From Minutemen Causeway to Sidney Fischer Park is about 3 miles. Minutemen to SR520 is about 6 miles. Minutemen to the Cocoa Beach Pier is about 7.5 miles. Of course, you could always do any of these along the bike path on A1A if the tide is not right for you. (which could be 8, 9 & 10)

 

8)-The Turkey Trot 5k Course-If you have been here visiting family or just getting away to enjoy the beach and attend the Cocoa Beach Art Show, you might have run this course before. This run will take you through the Cocoa Isles and Convair Cove subdivisions of Cocoa Beach that starts and ends at the Bailiwick Mall in Cocoa Beach.

9)-The Tri-City Run-Starting at the Cape Canaveral Library, head south to Cocoa Beach and then west on SR 520 to Merritt Island and back. I use the 7-11 as my turn around point. Depending on how far you want to go on the island, this is a good 10-11 mile run.

10)-My go-to run is from 13th St South Cocoa Beach to Minutemen and back which is 3.5 miles. I mix it up on either N Atlantic going north and Brevard Ave coming back, I stay on Brevard Ave both ways or I might run back on the beach if we have low tide.

Some things to keep in mind. If you are running north and south in Cocoa Beach, about 8 blocks is a mile. We do have bike paths and sidewalks throughout the city. You can actually run from Port Canaveral to Patrick Air Force Base (That would be about 12 miles one way). Remember that beach runs are great, I recommend doing them near low tide to have the packed sand to run on. I love it when sunrise and low tide align! I keep up with the local tides on the Surf Guru website https://www.surfguru.com/florida-surf-reports/cocoa-beach-pier

Check in and get to know the Cocoa Beach Fun Runners. They really are a great group. Besides the website I mentioned above, they also have a Facebook page that we use to coordinate runs in Cocoa Beach and throughout the area. https://www.facebook.com/groups/cocoabeachfunrunnerswalkers/

Another great local running group is the Space Coast Runners. Besides helping other running groups throughout Brevard County, they host some of the best 5k’s, 10k’s, half and full marathons in our area. The link below will take you to the fun-run groups in Brevard County and you can also access the running series they are responsible for.

https://spacecoastrunners.org/cs/spacecoastrunners/weekly-group-runs

So get up, lace-up, and hit the streets (or beach). Show your community who runs this town!

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About the author:

Eric Larkin is a Broker Associate with REMAX Aerospace. He lives, works, and plays in the Cocoa Beach area. Eric has been helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since becoming a real estate agent in 2003. His focus is always on helping, answering your questions, and doing everything possible to make certain you have a smooth transaction from beginning to end.

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