Runcation ideas

Iten

Blowing Rock - you can run in Moses Cone every day and not be bored. Not much to do there outside of running though.

I was supposed to do Napa Ragnar relay. It got canceled due to wildfires. Our team still flew out to SF and ran across the Golden Gate and several trail runs on our way up to Napa

Finished the trip with some nice dinners and a couple winery tours.

Even regular Ragnar races are cool trips. We do teams of 8 (instead of 12) and get 2 Yukons/Suburbans instead of vans for more comfort (4 people per SUV). End with a nice resort and do some group runs and nice dinners after the race.

UTMB Lavaredo. Run in the Dolomites mountains in Italy.

You got this. Idiot.

https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/1fmce74/runcation_ideas/

My wife picks out a marathon (somewhere in the US) for me to BQ. It's the first thing we do the night after the Boston Marathon. The timing of this 'run-cation' coincides with my training schedule. We make a week-long trip of it with the marathon at the midway point. And since my wife is NOT a runner, her event selection is most often a 'grab-bag' for me. Some easy, some hard, some beautiful and some 'not so' beautiful. But we have fun.

Moab would be my current pick for this time of the year. It's too late for the Dolomites in Italy at this time of the year.

In Moab you can run on spectacular road in or outside of National Parks like Arches and Canyonlands. On trail or just on roads. It can't get more scenic that that.

Depends on what you're looking for....there are many good options. My running experience is mostly limited to the western US, so take this for what it's worth. In order (for this time of year, September-October)

1. Central coast of CA. This is the best weather of the the year on the central coast. From Santa Barbara to San Francisco, you can find cool runs, cool hotels and eateries, and beautiful beaches

2. Colorado / Northern Utah. Probably shouldn't lump these together because they are in 2 different states, but you've got interesting cities surrounded by majestic mountains with tons of running opportunities. It's just starting to get cold there, and you might get some unexpected snow, but the fall colors can be spectacular (Never been to the northeast in the fall, I'm sure that has more spectacular fall colors). Special recommendation for Logan, UT. I went to grad school there. Check out the Crimson trail and the Narrows trail in Logan Canyon. I was in Denver this summer and the variety of both running options and urban amenities was great.

3. Southern Utah / Northern AZ. During the summer, it's pretty dang hot there, but there is a wide variety of terrain to run. Although there is a lot of desert, it can be beautiful. AND, there are some pretty beautiful forested areas as well. Get some 9000' elevation running in on the Kaibab Plateau outside of the Grand Canyon north rim before it gets snowed in.

I'm not super familiar with the PNW or the upper Rockies, but I'm sure there's some great running up there as well.

I'd be interested to hear about cool places to runcation on the east coast, as we're probably going to be doing some traveling there next year.

Stay in Bar Harbor and run the Acadia carriage roads. Bonus if you're there mid/late October when the leaves are changing color and they run the MDI marathon and half, but any time other than winter is great.

It gets inundatef with tourists, esp in summer. If you run at dawn, you'll be ok, but if you go back to hike expext lines on some trails and expect a crowd anywhere on MDI you go. Off season, before the snow/after the mud dries is great.

The northern Rockies are beautiful and have some really great running trails where there are lots of animals that can eat you.

Switzerland is pretty nice

Great idea! I love it.

Can you tell us where (generally) you would be willing to go? Europe, Africa, USA, a certain region in the USA... what is realistic for you?

Also, are you taking anyone with you? If you have a spouse or girlfriend/boyfriend who is just waiting around all day while you run, that matters as well.

And finally, how much running do you want to do each day?

BTW, I just read this this morning... I would run 20 miles out there!

nytimes.com

At a Remote Scottish Pub, a Pint Worth Hiking 20 Miles

By Isabella Kwai

The Old Forge on the rugged peninsula of Knoydart is a community-owned meeting point for locals and visitors — at least those willing to trek across the wilderness.

Open link

Just to reiterate, this is why I suggest Moses Cone. It only really gets busy in the fall. Blue Ridge Parkway gets a lot of summer traffic, but most only stop at Moses Cone for a day if at all.

Other suggestions:

Pocohontas State Park in VA - lots of smooth fire roads, but there isn't a vacationy town nearby and its a bit out from Richmond

Asheville - bent creek experimental forest is another site right off the brp. You have to really look at a map and trial and error the forest road system there though.

road trip through central ca or any part of the coast north of san fran - you might have to identify running sites in advance and plan accordingly.

Denver area seems to have bike trails all over.

Monterey CA would be a nice choice. Great weather year round, no altitude adjustment concerns, plenty of hotels, good dining options, decent amount of local non-running entertainment and yearly festivals, and Santa Cruz or SF are within day trip distance. They have a few big races every year (Big Sur Marathon, Monterey Bay Half) and some smaller ones. Plus there are some great road/trail runs- Pebble Beach, Monterey Rec Trail, Fort Ord trails, and Big Sur trails (too many to name, but Old Coast Trail is a cool 10 mile point to point trail run). Plenty to go in a week.

Charlottesville, VA is a good pick. Lots of good running around. The town has a nice center, as well as UVA campus. Plenty of historical sites to visit, too.

+1 for Blowing Rock / Boone

Running Locations:

• Moses Cone, within 20 minutes of Boone - 25 miles of trails, most of them very hilly, but there's also a flat, fine gravel 1+ mile loop around Bass Lake that's very pleasant. I highly recommend running up Flat Top and climbing the fire tower for a great view
• Watauga River Road, within 20 minutes of Boone - 7 miles point-to-point, 5 miles of which are dirt. Rolling hills, very pretty views but some smells from nearby farms. In the summer you can cool off in the river after.
• Boone Greenway + Don Kennedy Trails, for when you don't want to drive out of town - about 4 miles of paved greenway, plus the App State XC course trails right next to it. Very easy to get 8-10 miles here.
• Virginia Creeper Trail, within an hour of Boone - mostly flat (slight slope), soft surface shaded trail. Essentially unlimited mileage, great for an out-and-back long run. I like starting in Damascus and heading east.
• Brown Mountain Beach Road, within 45 minutes of Boone - another great long run option. About 7.5 miles out, starting just past BMB Resort, almost entirely soft surface. Same with Watauga, wash off the dust in the river afterwards, if its warm enough out. The Resort also has a nice little coffee shop with great smoothies

Contrary to what Kvothe says, I'd argue there's plenty to do outside of running.

In the summer, you can find plenty of blue holes to go swimming in. In the fall, the colors are gorgeous and there are so many hikes you can do: Linville, Grandfather, and much more. If you don't want to hike you could just drive the Blue Ridge. App State has a great football team (maybe not this year) and the games are super fun. In the winter there's skiing at App Ski and Beech Mountain.

The town of Boone itself is awesome. Espresso News has some of the best coffee I've ever had. Venture is a nice wine and chocolate bar. Lost Province makes great pizza. Several good breweries in town. When school is in session there's a food truck on Howard Street that makes loaded biscuits.

Blowing Rock is more touristy, but is also pleasant.

If the beach is your thing, maybe Nantucket? I've done some great runs on the trails in the cranberry bog.