One of the things I miss the most when I’m away at school is running. Yes, I know I can go to the gym and run a few miles on the treadmill or take the subway to Central Park to run around the water. But the thing is, nothing compares to running through the hilly trails and the woods in Washington when I’m home. I enjoy running outside and looking at a changing scenery as I find a variation of hills and flats areas makes for a more satisfying run.
This makes me even more excited to go to Italy because I know rolling cobble streets and endless attractions will await me on my run. However, I have never heard anything about the Italian running culture. Do Italians even work out? Where do they like to run? Will I scream American tourist if I roll by a cafe with my sports bra and iPod on?
Here’s what I’ve learned so far about the running culture in Florence:
- though Florence is a beautiful city to travel to, it is not a good city to run in-if you want to run after 8 am
- this is due to the hordes of students, tourists, and locals that swarm the streets during the day making it difficult to run (though I might be used to this coming from New York)
- in spite of this, there are in fact popular running routes:
- along the Arno River and the Pizaelle Michelangelo are two that came up a lot
I’ll have to wait until I get there to see if these routes are practical for me. If anything I’m hoping that through running I’ll be able to explore the city and the surrounding while still being able to indulge in all the food and not feel guilty.
Tanti Baci!
monieonthemove 