Despite Covid restrictions, I managed to travel quite a lot the last two years. Every where I went, I added a run or two. I ran out west when I visited the Grand Canyon and Utah’s national parks, I ran at the beach, I ran all over Europe when I spent the month of July and December there, and I most recently ran in New York City while on a school trip. 

For me, running has become an essential experience to any vacation or trip. In order to best experience the places I go, I want to get out and run through them. Sometimes running is even more convenient than other forms of transportation. For example, in January I was visiting Paris. I had taken the train there from Cologne, Germany and I was relying on the Parisian subway system to explore the sites around the city. While there, I really wanted to visit Versailles. Versailles is about six miles from where I was staying in the south of Paris. This was out of the subway zones that I had paid for (in other words, the metro was not an option). So, I decided to make a run to Versailles. I packed the only snacks I had, three snack size Haribo gummy bear packets, and headed out. I used my phone to direct my way there. I ran over the bridge on the way out of Paris, through old French neighborhoods, sometimes on clean walking paths, and sometimes on narrow and hilly streets. About six and a half miles in (my phone would only read in kilometers for some reason, so I’m approximating), I arrived at the Palace of Louis XIV. I ran up to Versailles, golden studded and absolutely massive. I jogged through the guarded gateway to the palace grounds, saying bonjour to the attendant. I stopped for a picture and then ran left of the central palace finding my way around back. I could not have imagined what awaited me. I cornered the palace and looked out at the gardens of Versailles, stretching far out to the horizon. The man-made rectangular lake took up the center of my view. I looked as far as I could, barely seeing the final edge of the lake, where I could see little black specks of people moving. I had already run seven miles, but I was on vacation, so I had to go farther. I ran on into the Palace gardens, going all the way to the end. There were lots of other walkers and bikers, even some other runners. The main path forms a cross shape around the gardens, however, there are numerous branches farther on and throughout the property. I looped the whole area, stopped to eat my gummy bears, and used one of the public restrooms. I headed back to Paris on the Ave. de Paris. I ran into my metro zone and then took public transport to my Parisian lodging. I had great weather for the run, and it was relatively easy to run through the city. I would highly recommend running in Versailles. The Palace grounds alone could give you a 10 mile run. 

When I’m not thinking of Europe, however, my favorite place to run in the USA (so far) was in Arches National Park. I, also, ran there in the Winter. While you might think of running in a park as trail running, there were several good well trodden paths in Arches that are as easy as a road run. Nonetheless, the main road through Arches is also good to run on. I ran on both the Sand Dune Arch Trail and the Devil’s Garden Trail. These were beautiful paths with soft ground to run on. The only problem was that I wanted to stop and look at the nature every other minute. The Devil’s Garden Trail was longer and formed a loop, so I enjoyed it more. I ran it right at golden hour when the already red rocks appear to alight like fire. 

Running is the best way to experience a new place. Whether I visit a beach, a mountain, or a metropolis, I try to get a run in.