Running Abroad

Before I left, I reconciled myself to the fact that I probably wouldn't run as much as I normally do during the three weeks I was gone. In fact, the trip itself got in the way of something else I thought I would accomplish this year, which was running another marathon. I knew I wouldn't be running 20 mile runs while I was abroad, so I decided that Life Goal: Visit the UK was more important than Life Goal: Run a Second Marathon, a life goal that has fewer logistical difficulties and can be more easily postponed.

But I also didn't intend to put my running completely on hold, and so in preparation for the trip I acquired good, sturdy, durable walking shoes that could also double as running shoes. And it turned out to be easy to get up and go running out there because the sun rises so early that waking up and dragging myself out of bed to hit the road was never an ordeal.

I had some amazing runs. I ran twelve of the twenty-one days that I was out there (days off included Sundays, early travel days, and Dublin, which seemed like a scary place to go running). Here are my top five:

5. Oxford
This was my last run in the UK, and the first time I got lost. It happened because I was trying to follow a map, but I missed a turn, doubled back, then went the wrong direction and suddenly had no idea if I was running north or south or west (though I was pretty sure I wasn't running east). And then it started to rain. But it turned out to be kind of fun to get lost in Oxford in the rain. It was full of interesting architecture and nice green walkways through parks and along the canal, and it had a very college-town feel, which I always like. I did find my way back to a familiar part of town eventually, and didn't complain about having run longer than I'd intended.


4. Castleton, Peak District
Thinking I was running up the road we'd come into town on, I reached an overlook, a roadblock, and a sign that told me I was actually on the old mountain pass, which had been closed due to landslides back in nineteen-seventy-something, and was now just a hiking trail. That made for a lovely, secluded run, with great views, lots of sheep, and a little bit of history posted at intervals along the way.


3. Bath
Running in unfamiliar places can be hard because you don't want to make too many twists and turns and be unable to find your way back (Ref: Oxford). So a lot of the time I just picked a road that climbed up a hill and followed it. That's what I did in Bath. The road I picked was pretty and there was a little park. Then I ran back down and encountered an opening in the trees and I suddenly had a spectacular view of the entire city - and it's a great city for panoramic views. At that point, like many others along the trip, I wished I had a camera small enough to carry with me on my runs. I borrowed this picture from the internet.


2. Holyrood Park, Edinburgh
Edinburgh is a really cool city, especially in the old part of town where we were staying with Jessica's sister Kirsten. I ran down through the city on my first morning, but after awhile the really cool, old, stony architecture started to all look the same, so I turned around and suddenly found myself staring at a mountain, rising up right in the middle of the city. The next day I didn't even bother with the side streets and ran straight to Holyrood Park. I loved running on a secluded, mountain trail that I knew was right in the middle of a city.


1. Great Orme, Llandudno, Wales
My absolute favorite run of the whole trip. The weather was drizzly, and I picked a street and started running up it, like I had in Bath. Ten minutes later I found myself in a national park, on a peninsula towering over a stormy Welsh sea, with jutting rocks, an old cemetery, a Roman copper mine, and acres of wild, beautiful, green terrain. I also had the chance to run out along the shore down below (we were there for two days), which was just as pretty in a sort of wild, stormy, secluded way.


This trip really reinforced why I love running so much. It's not just because it's a nice way to get exercise (or work off those full English breakfasts). It's also because it's a great way to explore a place, new or familiar, in a way that is difficult to accomplish by any other means. When I run, I can cover a lot of ground by foot and see things up close. I can turn down streets that don't lead to anywhere in particular, because I don't need to have a destination. First thing in the morning, the world is quiet and cities and towns look and feel different than they do in the middle of the day. Running opens up a world for me that I wouldn't see otherwise.