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Vienna Loop in Karen is one of Nairobi's best-kept running secrets: a quiet, safe 3.5km public road circuit that grew organically from one runner's practical route into a venue for organised races.
GPX courtesy of Evans Muthuri
If you ask most Nairobians about places to run, many will recommend forested areas like Karura, or stadium tracks such as Nyayo or Kasarani.
Running on the streets, while viable for short distances or keeping fit close to home, rarely makes the list. And for good reason.
Nairobi's streets tend to be crowded, both with pedestrians and with often undisciplined motorists, sometimes jokingly referred to as "watu wa Prado" (Prado Drivers), a phrase many Nairobians use to describe the kind of entitled or careless driving that makes running on public roads stressful.
The county government, with national support, has begun adding dedicated lanes for pedestrians and cyclists, but these efforts concentrate almost entirely in the CBD, specifically along Kenyatta Avenue and other "uptown" corridors that seem designed more as facades for outsiders than as useful infrastructure for ordinary people.
However, one public road area stands out as both safe and genuinely ideal for runners: Vienna Loop in Karen.
Vienna Loop isn't a park, a trailhead, or a formally marked running circuit. It's simply a loop of roads that runners began using because it works well.
The route circles through Karen Plains Road, Begonia Drive, Farah Road, and Forest View Road, forming roughly a 3.5-kilometre loop; long enough to get into the flow of a run, but short enough to repeat several times depending on your training.
David Thuo, the CEO of Dathon Ace Limited and a dedicated recreational runner, is widely credited with mapping the route and giving it its name. According to Evans Muthuri of the Early Birds running group, Thuo discovered the circuit while training for the Vienna Marathon, and the name stuck.
Thuo is no casual jogger. As reported by Nation Africa, he runs 140 to 150 kilometres a week and in March 2024 joined the exclusive Six Star Club of runners who have completed all six World Marathon Majors: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York. He has also run the Comrades Marathon, the 90-kilometre ultra-marathon in South Africa, multiple times.
Unlike Karura Forest or the Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary, Vienna Loop doesn't compete on scenery or shaded forest trails. What it offers, however, is practicality.
Karen is, of course, one of the wealthier neighbourhoods in Nairobi, and that comes with its own set of advantages for a route like this.
The roads are relatively calm and have a spaced-out suburban feel, with houses set back behind live fences, so the environment is quiet without feeling isolated.
When you're running, familiarity often helps, especially with pacing and timing. For example, if you're pressed for time, you know exactly how far you need to run to complete your usual distance. On Vienna Loop, you will begin to recognize turns, driveways, patches of shade, and the subtle slopes that only reveal themselves after a few repeats.
Another reason you might like Vienna Loop is psychological. When you run a straight out-and-back route, you commit to the full distance immediately. A loop gives you options.
After one lap, you can decide whether to stop, continue, or pick up the pace. On days when motivation is low, that flexibility makes a real difference.
A practical starting point is Karen Oasis Restaurant on Karen Plains Road, which also serves as the base for organised events on the circuit.
Early mornings, roughly between 5:30 and 7:30am, tend to offer the lightest traffic. Street parking is generally available along Karen Plains Road.
The route has no signposts, so your first lap is best done at an easy pace, or follow the GPX file below to get your bearings from the start.
A GPX file of the route, courtesy of Evans Muthuri, is available to download here.
The Vienna Loop has hosted several organised races over time and continues to attract new events.
Among the upcoming ones, the nearest is the Karen Vienna Loop Full Marathon on 28 February 2026, organised by Gen. Nyaruai and One4One.
Later in the year, the Night Run Twist 4 returns on 11 December 2026, organised by Fit Flex Sports Adventures, where runners aim to complete as many 3.5km laps as possible in five hours starting from Karen Oasis Restaurant.
For runners new to Nairobi, Vienna Loop offers something a little different. It is not a tourist spot, and you won't find signposts pointing you there. The route was never formally planned or designated; instead, it grew organically from one runner's practical circuit, shared and repeated by others.
As more people adopted it, the name stuck. Today, it exists as part of Nairobi's informal network of running spaces.
In a city where finding a safe and reliable place to run is not always straightforward, sometimes the best routes are the ones nobody officially planned, even if the organisers eventually catch up.
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