Let’s look at what happens when you’re a stranger in a strange land. A lot of beginning runners, no matter how committed they are when at home, blow off their running when they’re traveling for business or pleasure. That’s a shame. You know how running is such a stress reliever in your day-to-day life. It’s that much more of one when you’re away from your usual routine. Plus, running in a new town or city allows you to experience it in a way that you can’t if you confine yourself to meeting rooms, tour buses, and restaurants. Finding good places to run when you’re traveling can be difficult. Most inactive people don’t have a good sense of distance. If you ask them where to run, they might mention a local park and not realize that it’s not quite going to fit your running needs because it’s only 100 yards across. Or they might know of a large enough place to run, but because it’s a mile or two away, they’ll think that it might as well be on Mars as far as being accessible.
As with other aspects of travel, a good solution is to do some investigation before you leave home. Contact the local running clubs or running stores. If you can, do this before you make lodging reservations. When I’m in New York City, I always make sure that my hotel is no more than half a mile from Central Park, which is really the only place in Manhattan to get in some unimpeded miles.
These days, most cities have set aside some land for recreational purposes. It might not be great running, it might not be more than a mile or so of ground, and it probably won’t be as beautiful as Central Park, but it can be the difference between being able to run and not. Besides parks, one common place to run is along waterfronts, such as along Lake Michigan in Chicago.
Don’t forget that one of the keys to successful traveling is adaptability. This is as true with regard to running as it is to plane departures. If no good running options present themselves, make the most out of the hand you’re dealt. When I was in postwar Vietnam a few years ago, the only place I could find to run without being overrun by traffic was a 600-yard loop through a zoo. This was hardly ideal, but circling that loop seemingly endlessly was a lot better than not running at all. In this country, if nothing else, you can usually find an outdoor track by looking for the nearest high school or college.
As with other aspects of travel, a good solution is to do some investigation before you leave home. Contact the local running clubs or running stores. If you can, do this before you make lodging reservations. When I’m in New York City, I always make sure that my hotel is no more than half a mile from Central Park, which is really the only place in Manhattan to get in some unimpeded miles.
These days, most cities have set aside some land for recreational purposes. It might not be great running, it might not be more than a mile or so of ground, and it probably won’t be as beautiful as Central Park, but it can be the difference between being able to run and not. Besides parks, one common place to run is along waterfronts, such as along Lake Michigan in Chicago.
Don’t forget that one of the keys to successful traveling is adaptability. This is as true with regard to running as it is to plane departures. If no good running options present themselves, make the most out of the hand you’re dealt. When I was in postwar Vietnam a few years ago, the only place I could find to run without being overrun by traffic was a 600-yard loop through a zoo. This was hardly ideal, but circling that loop seemingly endlessly was a lot better than not running at all. In this country, if nothing else, you can usually find an outdoor track by looking for the nearest high school or college.
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