Running on the Road

I write this from 33,000 feet over the Nevada desert, two hours into a five-hour flight. I was going to go for a run once I checked into my hotel, but I can tell already that my body has other plans. I travel for work frequently enough that I’ve been able to log miles in a several US cities, and I like to think I’ve learned a little bit along the way.

I always have the best intentions when it comes to running while I’m traveling, but it can be seriously difficult to get out there and log miles away from home.

Packing

If you are anything like me, there are more pairs of running shoes in your closet than anything else. I rotate through shoes like a madman, wearing different shoes for different runs and giving each pair ample time to rebound after I’ve put some miles on them. I’m afraid to count how many there actually are.

But when I travel I have to balance this against my strong desire to not check luggage whenever possible. I’ll spend $150 on a pair of shoes, but I’ll be damned if the airline is getting $15 to put my suitcase on their plane.

So there I stand, staring at my shoes. Which ones get to go with me? How many pairs should I take? And what about running clothes? Jackets? Hats? Socks? I have to go minimal. For a one-week trip here is what I pack:

• 2 pairs of shoes. Usually I wear one of them on the flight and pack the other. This means only one pair of regular shoes get to go along. And this means that all of my clothes need to work with the same shoes. Sorry colleagues, but fashion takes a back seat here. Get used to the brown loafers.
• 4 pairs of socks. No reason to scrimp here. Shove ‘em in your shoes to save space.
• 3 running shirts. Check the weather to make sure you’re packing the right ones, but three will let you rotate them around for the week and do the old rinse-out-in-the-sink trick. Technical fabrics dry faster than cotton.
• 2 pairs of shorts. Admittedly, these are pretty funky by the end of the trip most times, but they can be rinsed out as well.
• GPS Watch. I don’t always run with mine at home, but I do love having GPS tracks in new cities. I’m a geek. What can I say?
• Sunglasses and hats.
• Body Glide. Never forget the body glide. Very little else will act as a proper substitute and outside of actual running shops, it is very hard to find. I’ll save my “attended a conference with severe chaffing” tales for some other time.

Getting Where You’re Going

I don’t care how often you do it or how accustomed to air travel you are, it takes a toll on you. Even short flights in the same time zone can be murder on the body. The seats are cramped, the air is dry, the food is terrible and/or non-existent (Hey thanks for offering, but I’ll decline the $12 sandwich option). And I dare you to stay hydrated. On a flight you have to be able to perfectly balance your fluid intake: Just enough water to keep you from shriveling up, but not so much that you have to get up and use the lavatory. The competing forces of Hydration Needs and Lavatory Hatred battle it out on every flight.

Lavatory Hatred usually wins.

Even if you are lucky enough to be able to drive to your destination, your running experience when you arrive isn’t going to be great. Driving is actually a lot of physical and mental work, and getting the body to take those first steps when you get out of the car? Rough sledding.

But you travel. You get there. Maybe your flight was even one of those increasingly rare experiences where there is an empty seat or two in your row, the air is turbulence free, and the flight attendants are handing out free food. Lucky!

Or, if your flight is anything like the one I am on right now, you are wedged against the window in economy class with a former college lineman in the center seat claiming more than his fair share of the available space. Going to be a loooong day at 33,000 feet.

Knowing Where to Run

It takes a long time to get to know a city well enough to just lace up the shoes and hit the streets, so you have to do some research. I once took off on a nice run from the front entrance of my hotel in Baltimore, only to find myself transported into a post-apocalyptic nightmare of burned out cars and broken glass storefronts in the span of two blocks. Woops. Turns out if I had run the other way it was beautiful shoreline running for as long as I wanted to go. Probably should have asked.

So while you probably can’t get into any real trouble in a US city if you are out running in the daytime, it’s a good idea to have a plan.

In my experience, the hotel concierge is your worst option. Save them for last. Unless they are actual runners, they will send you to a park or somewhere they think people might possibly be able to run. A concierge in Philadelphia once advised me to run through a park near the hotel. “It’s probably at least a mile!” she proudly proclaimed. Great…I’ll just do seven laps.

The best bet is a friend in the area who is a runner. It’s a rare but beautiful thing.

Somewhere in between just winging it and having a personal running guide, there are usually local running clubs who are happy to host out-of-town runners. On a recent trip to Fort Meyers, Florida I looked up the local running group online and got some good route suggestions from them. They even invited me to join them for their usual Sunday morning long run. Pretty much any city that hosts a race of some sort has a running organization, even if it is based in someone’s basement and managed part time as a hobby, they will have running route advice for you.

Short of that, you can hit the web and do some research on your own. There are several good mapping sites (favoriterun.com, mapmyrun.com, etc) that allow users to post GPS generated maps of their runs. GarminConnect allows you to search for routes by region. Handy info there.

Actually Running

If you’re really lucky, you are traveling with someone who is a runner. After a meeting the two of you can lace ‘em up and head out together. Or, more likely, you’ll be heading out into the streets of a new city by yourself.

I find early afternoon to the best time to run when traveling. It negates any time-zone issues and it doesn’t require you to retire early the night before, when all of your colleagues are heading out for dinner and cocktails. And everyone knows that the best office gossip starts after your co-workers start throwing back the Cosmopolitans. You don’t want to miss that. Which does actually bring me to another point. My exhaustive research tells me that people, including you, tend to drink more when they travel, be it for business or pleasure. And my exhaustive research has also taught me that martinis and running aren't best mix. Take it easy on the booze. I know the guy from accounting is buying, but still. At the very least, alternate water with your cocktails. You want to have some hydration plan, right? And chances are very good you are already dehydrated from traveling. Pound that water! Chug chug chug. (Side benefit: It is always a good idea to be the sober one at an office cocktail hour. Just sayin').

You're ready to run. Slip away in the afternoon when you can. Make a plan and scout your route ahead of time, but be ready to alter it if you have to.

One of the interesting things about the sort of sight-seeing running I like to do when I travel is that the miles add up fast, and it is very, very easy to get caught a long way from “home.” In San Francisco once, I was happily jogging along the Embarcadero when I looked at my watch and realized I was 11 miles from my hotel. Woops. No way I was running 22 miles that day. So I had to get a cab back to the hotel, have the cab driver wait out front, run up to my room, rifle around for cash, realize I didn’t have any, grab my ATM card, find a cash machine, and pay his fare. By the time I got back to pay him, he had given up and left. Woops.

So ALWAYS carry at least a credit card with you. But I also carry some ID and a few small bills with me, just in case. My friend Cap’n Ron once got stuck on a long run in Honolulu needing a drink of water, and had to buy a bottle from a local store. He was 8 miles or so from his hotel and was badly dehydrated. Without that water he would have been a mess. More so than he usually is! Lesson? Carry at least 2 bucks. 2 bucks will also get you on a local bus, or buy you a candy bar in even the most expensive city.

I also like to occasional carry a camera or at least my phone so that I can snap some photos if I come across something worth capturing on my run.

Like this, for example:

Or this:

Running Cities

Any list of “best” anything is a can of worms. But let’s give it a try anyway. Here are some of my favorite and least favorite running cities to visit:

Best: San Francisco, San Diego, and Pasadena, California (Pasadena is, for me, running paradise). Austin, Texas (beautiful college town with runners everywhere). Chicago, Illinois (running along the lake is as good as it gets). New York, New York (the Central Park loop is worth the visit). Miami, Florida (do I need to explain this? South Beach). Honolulu, Hawaii (great long run potential, beautiful views). Spokane, Washington (Centennial Trail is great). Missoula, Montana (trails trails trails. Also Trails.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (great trail system along the river).

Worst: New Orleans, Louisiana (confusing, dirty, and downright dangerous in places). Detroit, Michigan (unless running from gunfire is your thing). Phoenix, Arizona (hot, flat, and ruled by the automobile). Newark, New Jersey (is in New Jersey). Seattle, Washington. Sorry Seattleites. I know for runners who live here this is a great place. But imagine yourself a tourist in Seattle. Where do you run from your hotel downtown? Mmm Hmmm.

So Real Runners, what do you say? What are your best and worst running destinations? What are your horror stories? Let’s hear from you.