Monday, November 28, 2016

Paris by Night + Romania


This past week I had the honour of speaking at a dinner event hosted by US Ambassador Crystal Nix-Hines in Paris. Since my flight had me arriving several hours before the event, I reached out to Marie-Amelie Serre who I had met earlier this year at UTMB to see if she was available for a quick early evening run along the Seine.  Marie's response was that she had a commitment, but asked if I would be interested in a "Paris by Night" run after my event. My initial reaction was "no" given my phobia of not getting enough sleep. But after a bit of reflection, I realised this was a unique opportunity to see Paris by night guided by a Parisian ultra-runner. A few pictures from from a 15 mile route that captured many of Paris' great monuments and sights.





And if that was not enough fun for an entire week, the weekend brought a quick excursion to Brasov, Romania and some great end-of-year trail running in the Carpathian Mountains. Good fun!!



Sunday, November 20, 2016

Sights and Street Art - Running in Rome


Mile .15 - Piramade & the Old City Wall (where we live)

I’m often asked, “can you run in Rome?” Many runners think of Rome and imagine gridlocked streets, crazy drivers, and errant motos. While some of this is true, there is something magical about Sunday morning runs when Rome is slow to awake. Let me take you on tour of sights and street art during a spectacular 10 mile run this past Sunday. 

Mile .3 - 'Silvio's House' by MTO (right), Untitled by Lex (left)
Mile 1.3 - Palantine Hill
Mile 1.9 - The Forum
Mile 2.6 - The Colosseum
Mile 3.6 - Baths of Caracalla

Mile 5.1 - Caffarella Park
Mile 7.7 - 'The Weight of History' Jaz
Mile 7.7 - 'The Redeemer Child' by Seth
Mile 9.5 - Painted Building by Blu
Mile 9.7 - 'Planet Earth' by Baglioni