I was reading some of Nigel's archive today. I particularly enjoyed his descriptions of and feelings for the City of Paris. He says that running a city or town is by far the best way of seeing the heart of it, experiencing the essence of the place as no regular tourist can hope to.
I experienced this for myself the other night when I ran through the streets of my home town. I realised that I was seeing the place in a whole new light, and it was good.
This made me think; how cool would it be to organise the occasional RC 'Down Your Way - in a running style' ? I would love to take a group on a 5 or 6 mile lope around Lewes, a kind of breathless guided tour of my town. OK, don't all rush at once . . . perhaps something for apres tapas, post Almeira half
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
I could be persuaded - perhaps when I'm down at my in-laws in Crawley some weekend. Definitely post-Almeria though.
The only place I think I could 'offer' in this respect is some parts of London - particularly the area around Fleet Street/Blackfriars/Temple where I once worked as a courier, and where I got to know a lot of the nooks and crannies. Hmmm. Yes, there may be an idea brewing here, no?
I agree that running is a great way of truly discovering a place. The marathons in Copenhagen and Chicago showed me bits of those cities I'd never have seen as a casual tourist.
El Gordo
Great things are done when men and mountains meet.
Oh yes, I like the idea of the London Tour.
Would have to be a weekend - too high a risk of brolly/ briefcase collision damage in the week. So long as it's kept as a casual, now-and-again thing I think this could be a lot of fun.
I agree, definately post Almeira and probably even post London/ Hamburg/ Paris. Lewes could be a weekday evening, including sampling local delights such as Harvey's Best (our local brew) and our finest Ruby. I suspect the latter may lure one or two interested parties out of the woodwork, eh SP?
Depending on numbers we could sort out some overnight accomodation.
Food (and drink) for thought
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Before you start booking flights, I should point out that this is a riverside pub in Guildford. Route is up a hill or two, Chalk and Greensand (note the geological theme) and past the Cernow Stone. This marks the spot where 100 000 marchers of the Cornish Revolt caught their first sight of the capital as they marched on London in 1497. They duly selected their site for massacre as Blackheath, in uncanny forecast perhaps of those London Marathon starts five centuries later.
And as for Crawley - I'm organising next year's summer hash run out of the Plough at Ifield one Tuesday evening in July. More details later.
Maybe not as exciting as the other suggestions - but I could do a guided run of Shoreham beach /the local river - esp. good when the airshow is on and there are a few excellent pubs around as well
