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Running while on vacation

Running on beach

As a runner, you’re probably a lot like us as the Memorial Day holiday approaches and you’re making plans to get away for vacation: You’re wondering how you’ll maintain your training during a week at the beach or some other location. It’s true that we runners can be obsessive and insistent that we get in a good workout, even if we’re away from our normal routines.

Here are five things that we’ve either found helpful or plan to do as we travel this summer and in the future.

Map out routes on your favorite app

We use MapMyRun to log our running and workouts. As soon as we have plans for a vacation, we do a search of our location’s address and look at the satellite images of the streets and roads. We’ll map out routes of varying length and make plans to run accordingly. We have found this approach especially helpful when we’ve gone camping at Pennsylvania state parks that sometimes have a nice network of roads, trails and paths. That said, the app didn’t show some nice unpaved paths at one campground, which we only discovered while out for a walk the next morning with our family.

Take advantage of the hotel concierge

Many hotels have maps of running routes nearby. Just check in with the concierge. Westin has an active program called RunWestin that not only provides maps and routes, but true concierge services specific for runners.

“Every city has a feel to it,” said Chris Heuisler, head of RunWestin, recently in The New York Times. “There are so many little details to a city that you would not see if you had not gone for a run.”

Run with local running clubs or specialty running stores

If running by yourself is intimidating, especially in an unknown area where you might not know what’s safe and what isn’t, locate a local running club or check out the local specialty running store for its schedule of group runs. If anyone knows the best routes in a specific area, it’s local runners. And they may be able to turn you on to other restaurants, sights and activities that aren’t part of the typical tourist areas.

Seek out the November Project

If you’re traveling in one of 30 cities in North America, Iceland or Serbia, you can always seek out the early morning workouts of the November Project™, which offers absolutely free outdoor group workouts. All you have to do is show up. According to its website, NP encourages people of all ages, shapes, sizes and fitness levels  to get in shape.

Our members vary from Olympic medalists, professional athletes, marathoners, triathletes, current and former collegiate athletes all the way to complete fitness rookies and recent couch potatoes just looking to kickstart their healthy life choices. If you think that you’re not fit enough to join the group, stop thinking and come see what the fuss is all about.

Workouts are tough, and include stairs, interrupting runs with strength exercises like burpees or push ups and more. They typically start at 6:30 a.m. We recommend this recent podcast from Runner’s World to get a feel for the November Project.

Don’t run

It sacrilegious to say it, but one of the easiest solutions to running and working out on vacation is not to do it. Yes, we know that running is a great outlet for you, as it is for us. And, yes, we know that you might be in the midst of training for your half marathon,. But the chances are slim that you won’t lose fitness or any ground.

A few years ago, some of us took our family to Disney World for a week. It was not for one of their running events, just a trip to experience Disney. We thought we might be able to sneak in a run or two, but after two days of walking miles and miles through the Magic Kingdom and then some, the last thing we wanted was to change into running shoes and pound out 5 more miles. We probably gained weight thanks to Disney’s meal plan and some fabulous restaurants, but we (somehow!) managed to survive without running for a week.