Between my running, my job, and my wanderlust, I'm a frequent traveler. Subsequently, I often find myself running in new places and exploring new routes - which is sometimes awesome (I found a sweet trail, yay!), other times disastrous (this neighborhood is sketchy... strike!).
To avoid those ruinous runs when I'm on the road, I typically rely on a few resources to guide me to good routes:
- Local tips (give the local running store a call for recommendations on safe places to run)
- Localeikki (crowd-sourced routes from fellow active folks)
- Strava's Route Planner and heatmap activity (Strava aggregates the most popular running and biking routes and highlights them in red)
Providence's heatmap on Strava
I used Strava's heatmaps to plan runs while on vacation in Puerto Rico, to map out a tempo loop while traveling for a wedding in New Hampshire, and to compare my Kilimanjaro trek to others' via aggregated GPS activity. I definitely geek out here quite a bit!
Technology is great to help you plan safe, scenic runs while you're traveling, but there's something to be said for personal recommendations. I also frequently scour runner blogs to find people's rave runs. So without further ado, I'm happy to introduce a new blog series on Running Joyfully -- "Best Places to Run." Stay tuned for running recs that I've picked up during my many travels.
If you have trail tips you want to share or a favorite route you'd like to plug, drop me a line in the comments or at runjoyfully [@] gmail [dot] com!
Happy adventuring!
