Historic Runs...

When I visited Rome a couple of years ago my early morning run took me through Parco di Traiano and around the Colosseum, in Lisbon I manage a few circuits of Parque Eduardo VII and in Madrid last year I scampered through Parque del Oeste every morning. A run through a foreign city helps ground me in that city's culture.

And now, I think I've finally worked out what my running route in Istanbul will look like. I mentioned in a an earlier post that you can never be too sure the route is going to work until you actually get there in person. Planning a run in a strange city via Google Earth is fraught with danger. I still have some uncertainty about this route; I know that parts of this run are up and down hills (how steep, I don't yet know) and I know that this route will be dependent on access to certain areas, such as Gülhane Park, first thing in the morning.

This 4km route takes me through one of the most historic areas of Istanbul; through Sultanahmet Square, past the Hagia Sofia, the length of Gülhane Park and back, around the other side of the Hagia Sofia, past the Blue Mosque, around the Roman Hippodrome and the around the back of the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum. Click on the map for a closer view.

Plan B is a few circuits of the Roman Hippodrome!