Best place to run: New York. Cycle: Yorkshire

Best place to run

New York’s Central Park has been voted the best place to run in the world – but Yorkshire is the wheel deal on a bike!

British Airways polled 2,000 people, to find the best and worst places abroad for sporting activities. The Manhattan landmark is already a favourite jogging spot for celebrities including Ricky Gervais , Madonna and Jake Gyllenhaal. It beat Sydney Harbour, Australia and London’s Richmond Park for first place. Death Valley, USA was named the worst place to run, due to its gruelling terrain and stifling heat, in the results unveiled for Sport Relief, the airline’s charity partner.

Douglas Blonsky, President & CEO of Central Park Conservancy, said: “Central Park plays an important role in the health and happiness of so many people, welcoming more than 40 million visitors every year. Ten per cent of those visitors are runners! Central Park Conservancy is proud to be responsible for the Park’s restoration and maintenance, and thankful to the many supporters who make our work possible.”

best place to run

In cycling, England’s Yorkshire Dales – where Olympic Triathlon brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee train – triumphed over California’s sun-kissed Venice Beach and the country lanes of the Isle of Wight, as the best destination.

With its turquoise waters the Maldives was voted the best place on the planet to swim, followed by Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and Singapore’s dramatic Marina Bay Sands rooftop pool, towering 650ft above street level.

Sport Relief is encouraging the public to make every mile count by running, swimming or cycling to raise cash, including landmark events at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, where BA hosted ‘Park Live’ during the London 2012 Games. BA  hopes to add to the £6.5 million it has already raised for Comic Relief through its ‘Flying Start’ partnership. See www.ba.com/flyingstart

Claire Bentley, BA Holidays’ MD, said: “There’s a number of customers that travel with us for sporting breaks – from competing in marathons to golf breaks and skiing holidays. Overall, New York is one of our most popular destinations, with Central Park attracting visitors from all over the world.”

The least popular destinations to take part in sport were those with intense climates – from the chill of Antarctica and Alaska, to the intoxicating heat of Death Valley and Al’Azziyah in Libya – one of the hottest habitable places in the world.

With 3,274 miles of deadly waters, the Amazon in South America topped the worst place to go swimming, with a quarter of all votes. Additionally, the extreme conditions of Tibet’s altitude – 16,000ft above sea level, and Delhi – one of the busiest intersections in the world, were voted the worst places to run and cycle.

For information on Central Park Conservancy’s restoration and maintenance, see www.centralparknyc.org To take part in the Sainsbury’s Sport Relief Games from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 March, which invites the public to run, swim or cycle at over a thousand venues, see www.sportrelief.com

Go New York: British Airways offers return economy flights and three nights room-only at the five-star ‘The London NYC’ hotel in New York, from £799 per person. See www.ba.com