Running Tours: why they rock!

IMG_0879I was recently in the lovely city of Lisbon and had the opportunity to do a running tour with Pedro from Lisbon City Runners.  It was fantastic!  After having been lucky enough to be on the receiving end of three running tours in completely different cities, I thought I’d let you know why running tours are so amazing …. 😉

My first ever running tour was in London with Nikki from Love London Running, in July 2016.  Nikki is super friendly and a treasure trove of cool, interesting & quirky facts about London, both ancient & modern.  We saw the tower of London, the London Eye, ran across the Tower Bridge and we even got to run along a stretch of beach alongside the Thames – who knew that was possible in London?!  She kindly gave me a lovely Love London Running buff which has come in handy on many a chilly morning run – thank you Nikki, I can’t praise your running tour through London highly enough!IMG_7898

Next I did a running tour in Marrakech with Jonathan from Running Morocco, in April 2017.  I organised the tour for the afternoon I arrived in Marrakech, to get an intro to the city, & I wasn’t disappointed!  Jonathan took us through this fascinating, bustling metropolis and again told awesome stories & facts about the city & country of Morocco.  In a country where I wasn’t sure how I would be received as a woman running by myself, Jonathan was able to provide local insight and knowledge on the customs of running in Morocco as a foreigner, and gave me the confidence to head out another day by myself, to explore another route he suggested….Jonathan ends his tour with a delicious, cold, freshly squeezed orange juice in the “Jemaa el-Fna”, highly recommended!

IMG_0904The most recent tour was in Lisbon with Pedro from Lisbon City Runners, in October 2018.  I met Pedro at Cais do Sodre early, 7:30am, to avoid the heat of the Lisbon summer and to enjoy quieter early morning streets with fewer tourists.  He took me on a wonderful tour pointing out facts & fun stories about Lisbon & some of its slightly suspect statues…. AND, much to my initial horror, eventual delight, he took us up to the “Santa Justa elevator”, a 19th centure Neo-Gothic lift, which is usually crowded with tourists and you pay a pretty euro fee to experience, on foot, FOR FREE!  We also ran along the “pink street” and enjoyed wending our way along a couple of the winding alleyways of Alfama … THANK YOU Pedro, and well done on completing the Iron Man in Hawaii recently, by the way  😉

So as you can see, doing a running tour provides you with an invaluable, authentic experience: getting to see a LOT of a city, with a knowledgeable and fun local guide, whilst enjoying some exercise, soaking up the sights, sounds & vibe of the city you find yourself in.  Next time you travel somewhere chuck in a pair

waterfront shotof trainers and book YOUR running tour, you won’t regret it!

And after all that gallivanting we are back, in the Mother City, business as usual, offering running torus 7 days a week!  Come run with us:

www.runcapetown.co.za

www.runningtours.net

www.gorunningtours.com