I was on a course in Leipzig on Thurs and Fri. I've been there before but not as a runner. So research was done beforehand on where there are bits of green to run in close to the hotel and on arrival the question was asked whether it was safe to run in said bits of green. On the first morning I walked part of the route (it was a rest day anyway). Phew, lots of traffic, pavements very uneven, tracks in the park really rutted. Plenty of potential for a spectacular JSS fall. Not happy with my first route I strolled around in the evening as well, got my bearings well sorted out and looked forward to my run this morning.
I had a slight headache this morning, I definitely don't drink enough when travelling. But it vanished pretty quickly in the cool morning air. I trotted along, senses sharpened by the unfamiliar territory, very careful to pick my feet up on cobblestones, flitting down side streets to avoid the main roads, aware that the parks had more inclines than I'm used to. So many traffic lights as well, although I'd chosen a route to avoid them. I sprinted across some roads in a blissful burst of speed. It felt very good. Then the sudden awareness that the next patch of green should have turned up by now. Somehow I had taken a wrong turning. But that was part of the fun - I love exploring new places and lets face it, I wasn't going to be miles away from anywhere in such a short time. Then a building popped up that I recognized from my explorations yesterday. How on earth did I get there? I was well off course, but also well-chuffed that I knew how to get back on course. In the end the actual run in the park was shorter than I'd intended but I really enjoyed the whole thing. I felt light, my breathing was great, I sprinted easily over the roads feeling like a real runner in front of all those cars. I got lost but I found myself again and I got back to the hotel after about 35 mins to find I'd run at about the same speed as my last run in Munich - which was without traffic lights and stops. Yet it felt so much easier today.
Oh and I took runswithdogs with me as well, because she enjoyed our run in Berlin last week!
Written by
JaySeeSkinny
Graduate10
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I was thinking about Hamburg this evening. Running round the Binnenalster maybe? Don't know how far that is. I think the Aussenalster would be a bit much before breakfast though! Next stop is actually Cologne next month (and maybe Stuttgart).
It's 7.5 k so probably a bit too long for a run in the morning (would be for me). I would probably just run along the Binnenalster for however long you like and go back the same way. The Außenalster is nice to look at from the Jungfernstieg but it's nowhere near as nice as the Binnenalster
I live near the Stadtpark which is great for running too!
Have fun in Cologne and let me know if you need a route in Hamburg
Thanks for the information! Many years ago I was in Hamburg and a colleague who was on the same course had taken up running and told us how much he was looking forward to running round the Außenalster. I was so impressed! Not being a runner at the time. That stuck in my mind as real dedication and totally impossible for me at the time. Now I know how he feels!
Running hones your orientation skills! Cycling actually started it for me. Many years ago I explored the area round Munich to a radius of about 30km and discovered I loved going down roads/tracks and seeing where I came out. I never got lost, even though I often didn't exactly know where I was! Always had maps with me anyway. These days googlemaps solves most problems. I still love exploring new areas.
Very cultural, it has some lovely old buildings and a very compact, pretty town centre. It might be difficult to fill up a weekend though! If you could combine it with Dresden over a long weekend it would be perfect. I wouldn't travel far just for Leipzig though (sorry if there are any German Saxons reading this!).
Lovely report, thanks for the visit of Leipzig! I love running tourism - we have even turned it into a family weekend, renting an air bnb flat and discovering somewhere new at the same time. I ran in Athens in February (along the sea front so that I didn't get lost). THere's something so exciting about running in unknown places
Beautiful photos JSS and that sounds like a lovely run! I think your running tourism is great and wish I had a chance to do some myself. Mind you, I do have some lovely runs where I live so can't complain!☺
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It's perfect for running tourism!
Seemed impossible a couple of months ago.
week3run1 ✅. 3 x 17 mins with 1 min walks. 
How did your parkrun or (not)parkrun go?
