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Where do you run?

Hi everybody. Just wanted to try to inspire anybody who finds running tedious, as I do sometimes. I've started squeezing runs into my daily commute from Essex into London, and did the most amazing route on the way in yesterday.



Liverpool St down to London Bridge: Bit boring and too many bankers getting in the way!



London Bridge to Westminster Bridge: Amazing Thames River Path. City opens up before you, and it's the most inspiring view. Loads of other runners to nod at. Big Ben chimed 8am as I was trudging along past London Eye. Fantastic.



Westminster Bridge to Buckingham Palace: Crossing Thames is great, then over Parliament Square and along Birdcage Walk, next to St James' Park. Beautiful wide path, and the only other people about were fellow runners and cyclists. Dropped in for a Powerbar with Liz, Phil and the corgis!



Buckingham Palace through Hyde Park: Up Constitution Hill, through archway at Hyde Park Corner and north through the park. Lovely.



Hyde Park to work: Over about 100 pedestrian crossings, following back streets parallel to Oxford St to my office near BT tower. Bit boring again, and getting tired by this point, but moving much faster than most of the jammed traffic.



All in all, a brilliant run, just over 10k according to my Garmin.



Anyone else got any thoroughly inspiring routes, running, cycling, even swimming, wherever in the world?

Comments

  • BlinkybazBlinkybaz Posts: 1,144
    Both my cycle and run routes are pretty good asthetically!



    The run is out Street Somerset towards Glastonbury on the by pass then up weirall hill to the thorn and on towards Glastonbury tor. When I get o the tor its up and down with a nod to the hippy's or druids depends who's up there. Then down onto the moor/somerset levels for a bit of fantastic landscape and some wildlife before a canter back home.



    Cycle is nearly the same but longer without going up glastonbury tor as that would be crazy on a road bike.



    For the swim, well I cant tell you as the pool is dull and its all in my head!
  • i live in the south west of ireland so the ring of kerry,healy pass, etc are my training grounds for long cycle-cant get much more beautyful

    long run on sundays done on quiet back roads-bliss

    swimming with seals & dolphins in the bay[:)]
  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    Well, I think the British Isles (and, without wishing to appear as as an imperialist/colonialist, I would include Ireland in that disscription) have, mile for mile, the best scenery in the world. I don't mean that the mountains are the highest, or whatever, it is just that where ever you live, you are not far from some breath taking scenery - you don't have to spend days treking through some post-industrial wilderness, looking for a bit of green, as you have to do in other parts of the world. And the other key thing is the variety - from cost and estuary, to hills, to rolling pastures, woodlands, thick forest, open moors, it all changes in a flash. I love it all.



    And our cities are pretty good too - lots of iconic landmarks in most of them. I love running round London - it's always warmer and less windy - and lots to look at - and the path along the Thames in the centre is great fun. And running, you get to see so much - especially if you set of early in the day.



    I've had some particularly enjoyable runs through York at about 6am on a bright summers morning - round the walls then out along the river - having a GPS really helps to get you out.



    At home, I am fortunate to be living in the middle of "Bronte Country" - the South Pennines, think of a nice climb up "Wuthering Heights" for example. Running is great - I can have a woodland run along some beautiful river side paths, or head out across wild and breathtaking heather moors. And now so much round here is access land, you can just go where you fancy - some parts are wild enough that you need a compass or GPS to avoid getting lost.



    When it comes to cycling, things get better and better. The scenery is such a distraction that it's hard to concentrate on your training plan sometimes. And the climbs are really spectacular - it doesn't take too long to find your MaxHR. You see so much more on a bike than in a car, and can cover so much more distance than you can running or walking. We have masses of bridleways - the Aire-Calder spur of the new Pennine Bridal Way goes past my front door - so it is mountain biking heaven. Most times I wish I had a camera attached to the helmet to record the trip to show to those not fortunate/fit enough to get out and take it all in,



    Of course Yorkshire has some great food, and the best beer in the country. A log fire, a pint, and some good food - that you've really earned after a good session, be it run or cycle - is a great way to end the day.



    I grew up near the sea on the Somerset coast - and I do kind of miss that! But otherwise, this is a great place to be if you like the outdoors.



    Oooh - I should be out there now, not playing on the computer!
  • julesojuleso Posts: 279
    I live a couple of miles from the middle of Oxford, so when I'm in a place training-wise where I can run for an hour, I can do a route that takes me past the Sheldonian, Radcliffe Camera, Bridge of Sighs and a whole lot of other pretty things. To get there I can run up Cowley Road, which is usually quite random. Occasionally I get to run with a friend at Blenheim, which is beautiful.



    I'm off now, to run round my local muddy field.
  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    The British Isles is a geographical term and not a political term! Therefore you can include Ireland in the phrase "British Isles" with impunity!
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    Where do I run? In a world of pain, that's where.



    Despite living in quite a built up area (Hedge End, near Southampton) I only have to run for a few minutes before I'm in the green stuff.



    I really should motivate myself a bit more to jump in the car and get to one of the many country parks (or indeed the New Forest) for a bit of trail running, though.
  • I used to run pretty much the same route as tri_tri_again (Thames path from Lambeth to Tower Bridge), with the occasional Hampstead Heath thrown in. Cycling was mostly the route to Richmond Park from Westminster and then a couple of circuits of the park.



    Now, my normal run is along the Caspian sea front in Baku. It's 3-4 kilometres long, all through a 100m wide park, with a steep rise for the last km up to the Martyrs cemetery that overlooks the city. You get to the top, see a great view over the city and out to the oil rigs in the Caspian, and then hurtle back down the hill and back along the seafront. Combines a fair bit of the natural beauty with industrial wilderness that a couple of the above posts mention!

  • GGBGGB Posts: 482
    At the moment I just run round the block .. its 1 mile from my house back to it in a circle and just keep running round ... I am just starting out so don't want to stray too far .. mainly because we live just on the edge of a small valley and until I am fit enough I don't want to run back up hill on the eway home ;)





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