In today’s episode we talk about running and keeping fit. I’m not as much of a runner as I once was, but I still run. My goal at the moment is three days a week. Hopefully on vacation I have time and energy to run five days a week. When going on a cruise the reality is I run on the treadmill or on the promenade deck, if it is allowed, on sea days and then I also run in port about every third time in port. Well, this has not exactly happened, but on our upcoming travels I’m hoping we run in port three times. There is a strategy for this.
The strategy for running on vacation in general is to do your research ahead of time. You need to find running routes. Often these are obvious and self explanatory, such as along a beach or on a rail trail. Sometimes it is as easy as the river walk along the Thames in London (I’ve done this, on the South Bank, and it’s easy, although it’s broken up in spots). Other times you have to get creative. In Avignon I attempted to run in the old city along the wall but that ran out after about a mile and a half; as I was training for a marathon I needed to find a longer distance. I crossed a bridge and ran on country roads on an island in the river for fourteen miles.
So, my recent cruise-related running. Let me describe.
In 2022, we took a transatlantic cruise from Fort Lauderdale. We flew in the night before the cruise and woke up in the morning and ran from the hotel to the beach and to the point along the river where you could usually see ships heading out to sea.
That same vacation most of my running, consisted of running on deck on the ship although I did visit the treadmills a couple of times. One morning as we were at dock in Ponta Delgado it was quite beautiful. Sometimes, though, at sea the conditions are horrible for running, yet we soldier on anyway. In December 2023 I took a trip where half the time the promenade would permit running but half of it would be closed; I ended up doing circuits back and forth down one side of the ship.
Tips for running on vacation or when cruising? When traveling, pack neutral colored running shoes; you can still wear them to dinner if they are grey or black or maybe a pleasant brown color. Trail running shoes will double as hikers. Always plan in advance.
Review the port requirements; if you need a tender and a bus between you and a run it probably is not easy for running. Logistically, especially in warm weather, you likely want to head back to the ship to shower before doing any sightseeing and any barrier to leaving the ship twice makes it harder. For us, though, in retrospect, we could have run along the river park in Valencia and ignored the reports that the marina “was not safe.” There was actually a 5k taking place in the marina when we were at port there.
Bring a wallet and identification of course when you run – everything you need in case for some stupid reason you get stranded.
Plan ahead for weather. Look on Great Runs to see if people actually run where you are going. In some areas, as was my experience in Avignon, they laugh at you and holler at you; in January in Avignon on a windy day I was the only person running.
If there are beach bars it’s perfect. Go run a few miles down the coast, turn around and run back, stop for a cerveza.
Cadiz was perhaps my favorite holiday running. Five miles around the bay and ocean along the outside of the old town followed by a walk through the old city to get back to the ship. The beautiful thing was the ship was docked 15 minutes walk from the old town area so we could go back on the ship and shower and then head out to go sightseeing, have lunch, and go shopping.
Best sizzling gambas al ajillo ever.
Other places I’ve run include along the Solent in Southampton; eight miles out into the bush and back on Stewart Island, New Zealand; Siesta Key, Florida; and Paris, New Port Richey, and Chicago.
The next interesting place? Perhaps Ushuaia.
You never know when you’re going to find something interesting, such as Riverside, California, on the mountain overlooking town at 5:30 in the morning in the summer, when everybody is out getting their steps in because the high temperatures are well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit…
In Retrospect 