wayan

I'm glad you all are finding this route helpful. I love how so many European airports have running trails (well, walking and biking trails that I can run on) right from the terminal doors, and showers in their lounges.

If only we had the same at US airports...

totti

Excellent thread. Luckily, I usually do not have to run at FRA because it is my final destination and I can start in town. But I did some runs on long layovers in the past. So just one thing to add to your first post: I would not bother to take the bus to get the the hotel and start from there. You can directly step out of the terminal and start running. There are excellent pavements that will get you to the forest north of the airport in no time. If you start from T1, it is best to turn left, run past the FCT, LH aviation center and LH flight training and turn right onto the bridge (Moerfelder Str.) and you will find a nice trail on the right hand side once you come of the bridge. Its about 2k (a bit over a mile) from T1.

From T" just step outside, take Kapitaen Lehmann Strasse until you get to a large roundabout, take the exit northwest (Unterschweinstiege) and voila! It is about 1k or 0.6 miles from the Terminal to the trail.

Running directly form the terminal will save you some time depending on your fitness and your starting point you will hit the trails in 4 to 10 minutes.

endrond

Thanks for this route!

I'm going to have a 5 hour FRA layover in a couple of months. It's just a bit too short and a bit too early in the morning to head into Mainz. A nice ~10K run through the woods will be perfect.

wayan

5 hours is plenty of time. I ran into Frankfurt proper, took the train back, and showered during a 4 hour layover. Starting out early can be a deal breaker though. I only run during daylight hours.

endrond

I just went on the first bit of this route. Unfortunately, due to some achilles trouble I can't run right now, but I walked from T1 over into the woods using totti's suggested route for around 6k total. And I'm looking forward to doing a real run next time I have a substantial FRA layover.

Fwiw, I found the luggage storage service between A and B baggage claim to be quite convenient. It felt a bit pricey at first (4.5 Euros for my rollaboard for <2 hours) but when I compared it to the overall cost of my flights and the enjoyment I get from getting outside it was well worth it.

One other thing: if you have access to the LH arrivals lounge, I think that's a great place to shower & get food. (I've never been to FCT so I can't comment on that, but obviously it would be better if you do have access).

Thank you again for providing the information about how to do this!

wayan

https://www.strava.com/activities/12...S&v=1510909540

I tried to start at the terminal, but I got lost for 30 minutes trying to find a non-existent bike trail that Google put in the middle of a highway, and so I took the hotel bus to start at the forest.

Still the best way to spend a Frankfurt airport layover!

gobluetwo

This is SO helpful. I was wondering what I should do on my 3-4 hour layover in FRA next month and this clinches it. Given the map you provided, looks like I should have enough time (and energy) to make it to the Main River, enjoy the scenery a bit, and then head back to FRA through the woods. Hopefully, it won't be too dark when I venture out at 6am.

SunshineStay

Sunrise in March is around 7AM at the beginning of the month and then moves to 06:16AM on the 24th. Then DST comes into play and the clock is turned one hour ahead. So it should be fairly dark at 6AM in the morning, especially in the woods on the northern side of the airport.

andrewwm

What a useful thread. I had a 5 hour layover and got out for a very nice run in the woods to help me get over my jetlag. I made the semi-mistake of deciding to base myself out of the Lufthansa arrival lounge (named the Welcome lounge). The problem is that they are not allowed to keep unattended luggage unlike the inside-security lounges. So when I left for my run I had to store my carryons at the left luggage facility (total charge of 13 Euros).

Otherwise the route from the terminal is pretty straightforward if you do a bit of Google maps recon beforehand; turn right out of the terminal for about 500 meters until you reach the FRAPORT hq building, take a left and then you will quickly join the bicycle path that takes you to the woods.