Three Texas Cities Ranked Among the Worst for Runners

As if getting into the habit of running isn’t hard enough.

I’m not going to sit here and lie to you by saying that I love to run, because the fact of the matter is that I do not. I hate it with a bloody passion.

But I’ll be the first to admit that running, along with a reasonable diet, has been the fastest way for me to shed a few pounds. There’s just something about getting the entire body in motion that burns calories better than any other exercise I’ve tried.

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So, whenever I start to feel my clothes getting a little tighter, I break out the running shoes and bite the bullet. And it works.

If I can get in the habit of running two or three times a week, I’ll typically start to feel my clothes start to get a little looser after just a couple of weeks. But, it’s just so hard to get motivated to run.

The key to consistency for me is to run early in the day. Because for me, my willpower drops with every passing minute of the day. If I convince myself that I’ll be better off if I put off running until after work, you can bet money that I will not be running that day.

But when it comes time to get yourself into the habit of running, it helps to live in a city that is friendly to runners. Unfortunately for many Texans, three of the worst cities for runners are located right here in the Lone Star State.

According to a study conducted by Arris, Houston, San Antonio, and Fort Worth are among the 10 worst running cities in the United States.

Researchers ranked each city according to pedestrian fatality rates, air quality index, the percentage of residents living within a ten-minute walk of a park, and annual average rainfall.