Is it permissible to run through cemeteries?

Many runners, as well as non-runners, believe that cemeteries should be reserved for the deceased.

Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York, has the distinction of having the most bodies of any cemetery in the United States, with more than three million interment. It also happens to be one of my favorite places to go for a run. One of the cemetery’s undulating hills allows you to turn and look out over a long row of gravestones, until a horizon of stone slabs meets the Manhattan skyline, creating a visceral, visual collision between life and death. It’s just stunning. The header image above was taken while I was out for a jog in between drafts of this post.

But every time I go for one of my graveyard jogs, I’m reminded of a moment from Fleabag in which Fleabag’s sister informs her that “jogging about a graveyard, flaunting your life” is “very improper.” You or someone you know may have been reprimanded, if not screamed at, for dashing through a graveyard without seeing where you were going. And I can’t help but wonder whether I’m doing anything incorrectly. Is there an underlying snobbery against those who are struggling to regain their breath among the exhausted?
I’m not the only one who enjoys running past cemeteries, and I’m not the only one who has concerns about the ethics of doing so. There are a plethora of Reddit threads devoted to the proper way to run through a cemetery. Ceremonies in cemeteries, particularly in urban areas where open space is scarce, provide an opportunity for rare moments of seclusion and mindfulness. A looming sense of disdain hangs over many people, making them feel like Fleabag’s sister. I asked around on Twitter and received responses from some people who work in cemeteries in order to find out what people thought about the ethics of jogging around your local graveyard in order to find out what they thought.

Cemeteries have a long and illustrious history.
Cemeteries and parks have a rich and intertwined history that dates back thousands of years. Cemetery grounds were actually some of the first public parks to which Americans gained access. However, somewhere along the line, cemeteries evolved from serving a public function to establishing a private reputation. For a more in-depth look into the intriguing history of the death industry, I highly recommend reading Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory, written by Caitlin Doughty.)

Take note that cemeteries are currently running out of room, which may seem morbid. This means that they’ll need more resources to remain open and justifiable in the future. According to Mark Tresken’s article for the Urban Institute, we should abandon our notions of cemeteries as intrinsically reserved spaces and instead consider their function as gathering places for the living:
The majority of people in the United States regard cemeteries to be private places for peaceful thought and grieving. However, as cities look for new ways to maximize existing infrastructure for the benefit of residents, cemeteries are increasingly playing a role…by opening their doors to the public, graveyards are “justifying their continued existence and relevance in the public realm and seeking additional resources to remain viable,” according to the American Cemetery Association.

So, may cemeteries be used by the living as well as the dead? It appears that a large number of runners and non-runners agree with this statement.
Cemeteries are being given a new lease of life.
Similarly to Tresken’s confidence in the ability of cemeteries to adapt to the needs of the living community, one of the participants in my little Twitter thread on this issue gave a passionate perspective on the purpose of cemeteries. The author Ben Silver holds the belief that “space is for the living” and that every cemetery should be converted into an urban park. Silver agrees that it is important to memorialize life, but he believes that holding a piece of land hostage so that the living can’t enjoy it is not a good way to go about it. People who run through cemeteries, according to Silver, “are (probably unknowingly) participating in a tremendous reclamation of space…in a conversation about re-centering human life as the most essential way to respect the deceased.” This is probably what Fleabag wanted to tell her sister, if I’m correct.)

Perhaps Emma Stern, director of programming at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, explained it best in an interview with Runner’s World when she stated that her cemetery is “as much for the living as it is for the dead”: “Laurel Hill Cemetery is as much for the living as it is for the dead.”
Experts believe that the most important thing is to be respectful.
Another respondent from Twitter, who requested to be identified only as A. Slinger, had been in the funeral business for ten years, having worked for a number of different funeral homes as well as the state medical examiner’s office in his hometown. Slinger graduated from mortuary school in 2007, lived above a funeral home for a year, and continues to maintain connections with people in the profession.

In response to the question of the ethics of running, Slinger states that he has “never heard of using graves for exercise being considered forbidden.” A graveside service is in progress, they say, and they wouldn’t jog past one if it was going on. They wouldn’t even walk past one, they say. People not cleaning up after their dogs was the only thing that came to Slinger’s mind when it came to joggers respecting the area.
I also spoke with a clerk at Calvary Cemetery in Queens (who asked not to be identified), who informed me that, while running is “technically against the regulations in virtually all cemeteries,” the popular consensus is that it is generally condoned in the cemetery. According to her, joggers are not subject to a significant ethical taboo as long as they behave respectfully.

It was also pointed out by the Calvary Cemetery clerk that size does matter; because Calvary is so huge, it’s possible to go for a run without passing another (live) human. There’s plenty of room to avoid interfering with any services or anyone visiting a gravesite in the area.
What should you do if you find yourself running through cemeteries?
Check the guidelines of your local cemetery to make sure you are following them. Jogging is not permitted on the grounds of many privately owned cemeteries, as the Calvary Cemetery clerk pointed out (for example, Brooklyn’s famed Green-Wood Cemetery, which has a sign stating that running is not permitted). However, it appears that it is the accepted practice to turn a blind eye to those rules. Despite the fact that many cemeteries don’t have official stances (at least, they don’t post them online), that doesn’t mean you can assume you have the right to jog through them, especially if they are privately owned.

Make an effort to be courteous. Stern also stated in same Runner’s World interview that “all of the runners stay on the asphalt road.” Then again, they aren’t exactly rushing through the graveyard. A visit to a cemetery does not have to be fundamentally disrespectful as long as you are mindful of your surroundings and respect the deceased’s wishes. This may include altering your route in order to avoid passing through the path of mourners; but, if you are forced to travel through one, consider taking a walking break as a mark of respect.
And my final piece of advice is to take off your headphones while you’re surrounded by the dead, so that you can concentrate on your running as a testament to still being here.