Make running on holiday work for you and those around you.
Firstly, I don’t do too much travelling but I do get away a few times a year so do enjoy running on holiday. Secondly, to put this post into context my travelling is usually with my young family who are not runners. I am writing from a point of view of what has worked for me but will try to ensure my tips cover other types of travelling runners.
1. Be clear on the purpose of your holiday running
My travelling plans are usually leisure-based, time away with the family to relax and see new things. With children though, this means more national trust locations :-) I’m aware I’m more likely to be eating richer food and having a few drinks so prefer to get any running done earlier in the day.
Be clear on the purpose of your running holiday. Looking to relax or explore? Travelling alone or with others? Travelling party fellow runnings or family. These factors will determine how much running you can plan. After all, a family holiday with non-runners is the opposite of travelling with fellow runners.
2. Research, research, reserarch
No matter what your purpose, make sure you research where you are going. You want to make the best use of your time whilst away so having a route in mind and/or popular running routes will help massively. Are you travelling to a major city or the countryside? What is the terrain like? Are the pavements suitable for running and is there street lighting? What are the sunrise and sunset times?
All of these factors will impact where, when and how far you can run on holiday. In my case I use several tools to better understand my environment, namely:
- Google Maps Street View to browse the virtual world I’ll be heading to. From here I can better understand the terrain and running potential.
- Strava Heatmap to understand the popular running routes. This is an excellent tool for scoping off-road runs and knowing possible out-of-bounds areas.
- Onthegomap.com to map routes. Once I better understand better my environment from points 1 and 2 I build some custom routes from where I’ll be located. See my post on how to use this tool.
- Head to Google and lookup running advice, Great Runs, Strava and Run Map to name a few are great resources.
3. Download running routes to your watch
Did you know you can download routes you find online (GPX or TCX files) and upload them to your watch? I found this great when I went to Venice. I found a 10-mile route around the island which when on my watch was able to alert me where to go. Without this, I would have probably got lost in the vast alleyways! I’ll write a guide on this but for now, you can see the official instructions here.
A simple Google for “{location} running routes GPX” should point you in the right direction. I’ve used Run Map and Strava Local previously.
4. Find running on holiday tour groups
Enjoy running with others? Do you want to really explore and use local knowledge? Running tour groups are a thing! Save the route research I’ve bashed on about above and if your plans allow it find a running tour on Google. You can find running tours in most cities so a great option to look at!
For example a quick Google search for running tours in Venice gave me this.
5. Pack for your environment
Make sure you pay attention to your environment. What will the weather be like? Will you need a head torch? These factors will affect what you pack. Aim to keep it simple though, just pack what running you plan to do. I would recommend taking a lightweight jacket even if it’s warm so you don’t get caught out by the weather. If you can travel in your running shoes and avoid taking your lightweight racing shoes for that quick session you won’t be weighed down by kit.
Unless you’re on a specific running holiday that is, then I’m sure everything you pack will be valid :-)
Remember the purpose of your holiday. If you’re on holiday to relax and spend time with the family, remember that and don’t commit to running a marathon every day.
6. Offline music and maps
If you’re not in the UK or can’t guarantee you’ll have a phone signal (particularly data) save your music and maps offline. Spotify and YouTube (premium versions) allow you to save your favourite music offline easily. Google Maps also allows you to save map areas to your phone which has saved my bacon a few times!
7. Planning around a family
Travelling with your family is great, exploring and learning about new areas. However, if you also want to run think best about how running on holidays can fit into your day. I find it useful to get our early (whilst they sleep) and be clear with others on your running intentions. This sets expectations and will ensure everybody remains friends unless you get ‘lost’ and go for twice as long as planned.
8. Layout your kit the night before
A big recommendation from me if you want to make life easy for yourself with an early run. Lay out your kit the night before! This is particularly relevant if you’re sharing a room with family and want to minimise noise and not wake them! Last thing you want to be doing it running around your accommodation trying to find a pair of socks.
This is also a top tip for running in the morning, on holiday or not. Reduce that barrier for getting out in the morning. Once you’re done your run you can bask in glory and enjoy the rest of your day guilt free :-)
9. Fueling
Make sure you’re fuelled for your run. As with most of this post, plan ahead! If you plan to run in the morning will you go before or after breakfast? Can you just get up and out on an empty stomach? You know your body best.
I like to have a coffee before an early morning run so try to make sure the accommodation has a kettle & coffee supply. It also gives me 20 minutes to warm-up! I don’t enjoy running on a full stomach (who does?) so I always need to give it a few hours after eating. This makes it more difficult to get out as the day goes on.
A good tip if you do need to eating something before a run, be armed with a snack bar or banana. You’ll need to wait less time for it to be digested so can still fit in a pre-breakfast run. If I’m heading out for a long run coffee and banana will get me through. I only need to wait 30 minutes before heading out.
And one final point, if you’re in a hotel room or have limited access to water, ensure you have bottled water with you :-)
10. Lastly, don’t force it
Remember, you’re on holiday for a reason. So, you can plan and research all until the cows come home but be prepared to dial your running plans down if other activities or priorities crop up. I’ve used running on holiday to great effect, often finding interesting sights and areas to come back with the family later in the day. As the day goes on for me though it gets harder to get out, with the lure of rich food and drink lurking :-)
It’s also nice to get out and see the world from a different perspective. I remember running around Venice at sunrise to see lots of unusual sights, sounds and goings-on while it was quiet. This is something I would have never experienced walking around the crowded streets later in the day.
Lastly, remember that whilst you can prepare ahead don’t force it at the risk of upsetting people around you. You want everybody to enjoy their holiday and all return as friends!
