Travel Tips for Runners

Mar 2

Whether you’re traveling for work or planning a vacation, you can stay on track with your running with these travel tips for runners. Running coach Marnie Kunz gives the breakdown here on our Runstreet YouTube channel.

For traveling runners, it’s important to stay hydrated. Planes are very dehydrating so take a water bottle with you (an empty one) to the airport then fill it up at the water fountain after you go through security. This way you won’t have to buy $6 airport water and you can have unlimited water before your flight. Don’t forget to fill up before boarding. Staying hydrated will help prevent cramps and soreness in your running and keep you healthy while you travel.

The next running tip is to plan ahead for your training. Look for hotels or Airbnb locations near parks or running paths, or with gyms. Bonus for both! I usually look up running in the city I’m going to ahead of time to find out about popular running paths and parks. I also like to have gym access so if the weather is bad, I can still hop on a treadmill and get in a strength workout. You can check out different weightlifting workouts for gym inspiration - read full article.

Also, be realistic in your running plans for your trip. It’s easy to get overzealous when planning a trip, thinking you will have so much more time than you actually do, and forgetting you will need some extra rest time. Traveling can be tiring because of new schedules, jet lag, different food, getting lost, etc. So plan some rest days and flexibility into your running plan during your trip. Your objective is to stay in shape and get in most of your workouts, not to come back trained for the Olympics, so be flexible.

My favorite travel tip is to find a local running tour guide! If you’re in NYC, Runstreet offers lots of Art Run tours and NYC running tours, and we would be happy to have you! Check out our Art Run events around the U.S. or email marnie@runstreet.com to book a running tour. For international tours, check out our friends at Running Tours.Net for a directory of running tour groups around the world.

Running with a tour group makes you accountable to get your run in while also seeing parts of the city you wouldn’t know about on your own, and offers safety if you don’t know the neighborhoods and culture.

What are your best tips for traveling runners? Comment below, and don’t forget to follow us on YouTube for more running tips and running travel videos!

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach, avid traveler, Akita mom, and founder of Runstreet Art Runs. She is based in Brooklyn, NY.

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