Stretching from Jánoshegyi Road all the way up to the Erzsébet Lookout Tower, a brand-new and top-quality rubberized running track awaits joggers at Buda’s Normafa parkland for some fresh-air fitness, providing an uphill path for slightly more calf-strengthening workouts than the smoother and straighter terrain of the beloved Margaret Island track. With various recent refurbishments at Normafa, the Budapest hilltop is becoming an even more picturesque part of town, where joggers can get lost in their thoughts amid the fascinating flora and fauna and beautiful scenery of the Buda side.
Pretty much everyone is happy about it when another rubberized running track pops up around Hungary’s capital. The newest path is almost two kilometers long, and stretches across one of the most splendid parts and highest points of the city, Normafa, where the air is truly crystal clear. “Normafa, its surroundings, and the new running track provide opportunities for local schools to hold several sports events and PE lessons here, to popularize sports and exercise among children,” said Gábor Balogh, a former pentathlete and the president of the Hungarian Sport School Federation, at the facility’s opening.
Not only the running track, but also the nearby section of the repaved Jánoshegyi Road and its surroundings underwent thorough refurbishment: rebuilt trails, benches, drinking fountains, restrooms, bins, and playgrounds are proof of comprehensive renovation works everywhere.
According to János Váczi, the deputy mayor of Hegyvidék, we learned that one of the most essential tasks during Normafa’s renovation was a complete reconstruction of the path between the Normafa Síház (a former ski hut that now houses the Normakert restaurant) and the upper station of the Chairlift, including the construction of a 1,740-meter-long and 1.5-meter-wide running track, and the refurbishment of the 300-meter-long running track that was already stretching between the upper station of the Chairlift and the Erzsébet Lookout Tower. Running on the latter feels like a real calf-strengthening workout.
From the second half of autumn, running here will be made more comfortable and safer by motion-sensor LED lights. The former road width has been narrowed down in order to leave the edge of the forest intact, so the now-narrower asphalt road is suitable for bikers, skaters, and families with baby trolleys. Car traffic is strictly regulated, and cars are only allowed here with a licence, and only if absolutely necessary, like for area maintenance.
