Running in San Benedetto del Trento, and around

It was my second visit to this seaside town on the Adriatic. Last time was for the wedding of close friends. This time, one of their daughters, 34 years later. 34 years ago, I was barely an occasional runner... This time, after not running much while zipping through Rome and the Vatican on my way, I managed to squeeze in two 25K runs between celebrations and social gatherings, not bad.

One of these was straightforward, literally and figuratively. Literally because the beach is a straight line of almost 10 miles. Figuratively because it's the safest place to run, on almost uninterrupted side walks. My other run was in the country side, on roads, and that was a completely different endeavor.

The nearby hills are amazing: at every turn, or rather every high point on ridges, you'll find a medieval village with castles, churches and houses in pristine conditions, 10 to 7 centuries after they were built! While there are so many ruins in Rome, this area has avoided most wars, hence the level of preservation. Way to transport you in the Middle Ages!

From a running standpoint, that means quite some climbing to go from one of these villages to the other, and to cross valleys. But the real challenge, security wise, is of course to avoid cars on the winding and narrow back roads. Many people live in these villages and commute to San Benedetto so the traffic is quite important. While I trust Italians for their driving address and agility, it's the blind curves which are dangerous. Even running on the left to see the incoming traffic. In many turns, the road is so narrow, there isn't even a shoulder to escape to. Just sayin', I decline any responsibility if you follow my track on these roads, chasing these worthy views, visits and hill training.

Here are the two fly overs, with pictures, to give you a sense and feel of these views (click on each image below, or the links. And there is a toggle to switch on the music if you want.).

Beachfront run:

Countryside run:

Cheers and long life to the newly weds, their families and friends. Arrivederci!

PS: so many hills filled with olive trees, that reminded me of my olive tree encounter on Black Mountain in August.

More pictures.

Running in Rome: sightseeing is another sport!

I spent 2 nights in Rome, on my way to a wedding on the Adriatic. I spent the second and full day at the Vatican, from 8 to 5, kind of a day at the tourist office! The museums and the Sistine Chapel of course, in the morning, a brief sighting of the Pope's car as he was leaving the public audience, the Saint Peter, with a climb to the very top of the its dome, by the stair case, the ultra way! (There is an elevator option.) I had planned on running through Rome to come back to my hotel but it was hot and I was toasted. It might be embarrassing to admit, I've always found easier to run for hours, than visiting a museum! The slow pace, the incessant stopping, not my sport! But, once in a while, you have to absorb such a wealth of history and culture, it would be a shame to miss that place.

It was also my 71th country visited to date. I have to say that this was a bit special. First, no border to cross, I was wondering and I was carrying my passports, in case. Second, I prefer when I stay at least one night in these countries, as an eligibility minimum. Like I'm not counting countries I just changed planes. But getting a room at the Vatican is something better suited to cardinals, occasionally!

So, no run on Wednesday but a short tour of Rome upon arrival on Tuesday afternoon, before work meetings through the evening.

It wasn't my first time in Rome but it had been years and for work meetings. I had seen on Google Maps that the Coliseum was open until 7:30 pm, that was my first target. I arrived there around 6:15 but they weren't taking any more visitors, just letting those in finish their tour.

From there, I hopped on the huge cobblestones of the Forum, then continued toward the Pantheon.

It was the first week of September: slightly less tourists than May-August but still quite a crowd to navigate through or around on the sidewalks. Plus locals as the weather was great and kids are still on their summer break. Hence the title, this is quite a sport which requires high focus and many stops to take the street traffic into account.

Enough words, a video fly over with pictures is worth a million, in a much more compact and convenient way, there you are (click on this link or the picture below).

As usual, that does not replace a real visit, I hope you have the opportunity if you haven't been to Rome and the Vatican already. As they say, all roads lead to Rome!