Ithaca, NY (Cornell) in the winter :) Getting out the door at -4° (F) was brutal but 4 min in was exhilarating, and training on those hills made running back in NYC a cakewalk! I'm training for my first NYC Marathon in November after a lifetime in the pool, and the biggest upgrade was engineering the playlist to the effort curve instead of my mood — happy to send you the free BPM-mapped one if it's useful to your readers.
Chicago's Lakefront Trail, as it was a dream of mine and my mum to visit (from the UK) - and I took her for her 70th birthday. The sight of the city on the lake coming into view did not get old every day of the holiday I ran it
Rural Vietnam, on a beach in the Hue province at sunrise. Just me and the waves, so far from everything I ever knew
Great question—I would say running the Las Vegas marathon in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was the best. Our UNIV OF NEW ORLEANS loosely formed and unofficial running group enjoyed the adventure—some of us ran another 14 together—and then Katrina happened and everything changed. . .
I remember Katrina very, very well. I wasn't in New Orleans, but I have close friends who did (and still) live there, so I remember hearing their stories. Are your friends from UNO still running today?
I ran the Las Vegas Rock in Roll half marathon one year. It was at night and up and down the strip. I was also able to check out a local ER afterward. Spent the night there.
I finished the race, went and took a shower, changed into street clothes, went with my son to get dinner, and passed out while waiting for the food to arrive.
They ran a chemical stress test and fed me IV. It was dehydration. The stress test showed that I was in excellent shape for someone undergoing chemo for mantle cell lymphoma. I am currently in remission for the MCL, and then we found out I had acute lymphoblastic leukemia because of the chemo drugs for the MCL. I am now in remission for that too and had a stem cell transplant later.
For sure the Zagori Mountain Running courses of various lengths, but especially the incredible route of the 60km I ran this past Saturday, from the village of Tsepelovo, Greece, up and over and back down the Timfi massif, traversing a side gorge of Vikos Gorge, and finishing down two "stairs" made of cobblestone paths winding down mountainsides to link villages, all with 13,000 feet of elevation gain!
The trails I frequently run around Round Rock, Texas are fantastic. They’re full of birds, deer, rabbits, armadillos, occasionally skunks, and much more wildlife we can only hear. Lady Bird Lake Trail in Austin is fantastic too. Running in Juneau, Alaska was beautiful. With eagles all over the place, mountains, and views of glaciers make that place especially beautiful. Havana was not necessarily beautiful to run at, but neat in the sense that the local folks thought I was a bit nuts. The idea of running for the fun of it was strange to them. I liked running in Wisconsin Dells in November. Pumpkin patches all over the place, they looked so amazing, delicious too. Central Park was wicked and so is South Padre Island, Texas. Running in Santorini and Athens was exciting. I’m thinking, for me, just running anywhere is exciting and beautiful since each place has so much to give. All we have to do is lace up and go.
i went to the maldives a few years ago and ran a 5k around the island. that was the entirety of the island. then i went to the gym to get a bit more of a workout. there was a nice flat sandy path and, while warm out, the entire path was at least shaded. i loved hearing the sounds of the fruit bats and always having a view of the water.
you know when you travel and you heard a weird bird call or chirp, because that bird doesn't live in your area and you never heard it before? thats what it sounds like:)
1) Once, before an early morning flight, I ran 15 miles through Rome from 2am to 4:30am in the morning. All the monuments were lit but very few people were around. I went down the Apian way out of town to the south by the Baths of Caracalla and the southern city walls before turning around and heading back to the Vatican. Tivoli fountain was the only place I encountered many people, and still it was sparse. A few laps up and down the Spanish stairs finished of the run.
2) In Romania, I did a 40 mile trail run from Brasov up the Carpathian Mountains to the summit of Mount Postuvarul. I descended the back side of the mountain toward 'Dracula's Castle' near Bran before returning by the citadel in Rasnov.
3) I have spent many years traveling to Vieques Puerto Rico where my mother retired. After she died we had to sell the house. It was then end of an important chapter in my life. One day, I took a break from prepping the house for sale and did a full day run across the breadth and width of this Caribbean island. I traversed both sides of the national wildlife refuge, ran along the old military post roads with their warning signs of unexploded ordnance among the palm trees. I visited the old Spanish fort overlooking the town of Isabell Segunda and ran out to the point were the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. As shadows grew long I made one last climb up to my mother's house.
Charles, these all sound just wonderful -- places where you can really soak up the essence of what they're like. Reading your descriptions, I'm incredibly jealous!!
I actually created a couple of cool relive videos of several of the more. Happy to share. Also have a blog charles.zuckerman substack where i tell some of these stories if you are interested.
100% Kona Coffee Half (Hawaii) or Bridge of the Gods (OR-WA), even Hatfield and McCoy in W VA/KY. Each state has a beauty to it and I'm sure for those that do international races can cite wonders to behold.
It is phenomenal! And you're running over that bridge at the start so no fear of heights is good but enough people that you'll be over it in no time. I may do that one again to cover WA or OR as I have 5 states that I'll actually commit to the full half and not just a foot which was my previous plan lol!🏃♀️🐢🤣🤔
Three places come to mind (two of which have already been mentioned below).
1) Grand Canyon (Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim) - It's difficult to describe how stunning it is: the sunrise on South Kaibob trail; the drop into the canyon from North Kaibob; crossing the emerald Colorado in the late afternoon; watching headlamps bop into the night heading up Bright Angel.
2) Running across Death Valley during Badwater 135 - The desert is unforgiving, but surprisingly bountiful and full of life -- you just have to look for it. And, let's not forget the wild climb from the town of Lone Pine to the Mt. Whitney Portal.
3) The Ray Miller Trail and the 30k/50k/50M race course (Santa Monica Mountains) - For as crowded as Los Angeles is, millions of Angelenos are unaware that world class trails exist just outside of city limits. Ray Miller is no exception. A steep single track that seems to shoot straight up from the Pacific, and it feels like it just might toss you into the sea. When I ran the race last December, we were experiencing signature SoCal fall weather: sunny, crisp but warm, low humidity (in a word, stunning). It was sensory overload, and my mind melted taking it all in.
I have a tradition that every five years I do something ridiculous as a stretch goal. I am planning the rim to rim to rim to celebrate being 60. So sometime in 2028. Most likely late March when the light is getting longer but the crowds and temps are still manageable.
When traveling, it's a bonus to find a wide open path that's pedestrian and bikes only, closed to car traffic. Some of my favorite places for that are Rio De Janeiro and the miles and miles long path running in front of Copacabana Beach to Ipanema Beach and beyond. The amount of FIT people along the path is also inspiring and at the beach. Next up, Nice in the South of France on the Promenade Anglais, in Paris along the Seine, in Puerto Vallarta on the Malecon. Water views + no car traffic + mostly flat paths = LOVE
Believe it or not, I've been to Rio! (Though it's been a long time -- my trip there was 26 years ago.) It's incredibly beautiful, what a blast you surely had. And running through Nice -- I've never been there, but I've seen photos and it looks INCREDIBLE. How fun.
I spent a month in Rio during the pandemic. I work remotely and decided to go real remote :) A little dangerous due to extreme need/poverty/lack of tourism/lack of everything but it was great nonetheless! South of France is worth it, totallyyyyy worth it!
At 78 degrees North on Svalbard from Longyearbyen to one of the mines and back. Basically an Arctic desert it was 32 degrees and foggy - almost like The Twilight Zone. No noise - just the sound of my breathing and my footsteps. The next day going in the opposite direction I ran past a herd of reindeer. Two runs to remember for a lifetime!
I really enjoy the Revel races. I have run Mt Lemmon (In Arizona), the Rockies (in Colorado), and White Mountain (in New Hampshire). It's nice going to areas you haven't been to before and seeing the beautiful scenery. There can be a big difference from the top of the mountain to the bottom.
My twin brother and I were in Paris in 1972. We ran from our hotel to the Arc de Triomphe, but we got lost on the return trip and almost missed our tour bus.
Ithaca, NY (Cornell) in the winter :) Getting out the door at -4° (F) was brutal but 4 min in was exhilarating, and training on those hills made running back in NYC a cakewalk! I'm training for my first NYC Marathon in November after a lifetime in the pool, and the biggest upgrade was engineering the playlist to the effort curve instead of my mood — happy to send you the free BPM-mapped one if it's useful to your readers.
Chicago's Lakefront Trail, as it was a dream of mine and my mum to visit (from the UK) - and I took her for her 70th birthday. The sight of the city on the lake coming into view did not get old every day of the holiday I ran it
Rural Vietnam, on a beach in the Hue province at sunrise. Just me and the waves, so far from everything I ever knew
Chitwan forest Nepal but Vegas was pretty awesome too. Easier to answer where would you not like to run
Great question—I would say running the Las Vegas marathon in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was the best. Our UNIV OF NEW ORLEANS loosely formed and unofficial running group enjoyed the adventure—some of us ran another 14 together—and then Katrina happened and everything changed. . .
Some are still running long distance’s, some have passed away or moved away like our family (Oxford, MS).
I remember Katrina very, very well. I wasn't in New Orleans, but I have close friends who did (and still) live there, so I remember hearing their stories. Are your friends from UNO still running today?
Probably Iceland in the spring. . . a run behind the waterfalls. Not a measured run. . . just for fun!
I ran the Las Vegas Rock in Roll half marathon one year. It was at night and up and down the strip. I was also able to check out a local ER afterward. Spent the night there.
Oooooh great race I did it a few years ago but sounds like my ending was better
I finished the race, went and took a shower, changed into street clothes, went with my son to get dinner, and passed out while waiting for the food to arrive.
Wow that’s crazy did they figure it out?
They ran a chemical stress test and fed me IV. It was dehydration. The stress test showed that I was in excellent shape for someone undergoing chemo for mantle cell lymphoma. I am currently in remission for the MCL, and then we found out I had acute lymphoblastic leukemia because of the chemo drugs for the MCL. I am now in remission for that too and had a stem cell transplant later.
For sure the Zagori Mountain Running courses of various lengths, but especially the incredible route of the 60km I ran this past Saturday, from the village of Tsepelovo, Greece, up and over and back down the Timfi massif, traversing a side gorge of Vikos Gorge, and finishing down two "stairs" made of cobblestone paths winding down mountainsides to link villages, all with 13,000 feet of elevation gain!
Just the description sounds amazing, Henriette! I can picture it in my mind... wow.
The trails I frequently run around Round Rock, Texas are fantastic. They’re full of birds, deer, rabbits, armadillos, occasionally skunks, and much more wildlife we can only hear. Lady Bird Lake Trail in Austin is fantastic too. Running in Juneau, Alaska was beautiful. With eagles all over the place, mountains, and views of glaciers make that place especially beautiful. Havana was not necessarily beautiful to run at, but neat in the sense that the local folks thought I was a bit nuts. The idea of running for the fun of it was strange to them. I liked running in Wisconsin Dells in November. Pumpkin patches all over the place, they looked so amazing, delicious too. Central Park was wicked and so is South Padre Island, Texas. Running in Santorini and Athens was exciting. I’m thinking, for me, just running anywhere is exciting and beautiful since each place has so much to give. All we have to do is lace up and go.
You've really run in a wide range of special places, Carlos!! What a sense of adventure -- I love it.
i went to the maldives a few years ago and ran a 5k around the island. that was the entirety of the island. then i went to the gym to get a bit more of a workout. there was a nice flat sandy path and, while warm out, the entire path was at least shaded. i loved hearing the sounds of the fruit bats and always having a view of the water.
Okay, I've gotta know -- what sounds do fruit bats make? 🦇
you know when you travel and you heard a weird bird call or chirp, because that bird doesn't live in your area and you never heard it before? thats what it sounds like:)
A few places come to mind:
1) Once, before an early morning flight, I ran 15 miles through Rome from 2am to 4:30am in the morning. All the monuments were lit but very few people were around. I went down the Apian way out of town to the south by the Baths of Caracalla and the southern city walls before turning around and heading back to the Vatican. Tivoli fountain was the only place I encountered many people, and still it was sparse. A few laps up and down the Spanish stairs finished of the run.
2) In Romania, I did a 40 mile trail run from Brasov up the Carpathian Mountains to the summit of Mount Postuvarul. I descended the back side of the mountain toward 'Dracula's Castle' near Bran before returning by the citadel in Rasnov.
3) I have spent many years traveling to Vieques Puerto Rico where my mother retired. After she died we had to sell the house. It was then end of an important chapter in my life. One day, I took a break from prepping the house for sale and did a full day run across the breadth and width of this Caribbean island. I traversed both sides of the national wildlife refuge, ran along the old military post roads with their warning signs of unexploded ordnance among the palm trees. I visited the old Spanish fort overlooking the town of Isabell Segunda and ran out to the point were the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. As shadows grew long I made one last climb up to my mother's house.
Charles, these all sound just wonderful -- places where you can really soak up the essence of what they're like. Reading your descriptions, I'm incredibly jealous!!
I actually created a couple of cool relive videos of several of the more. Happy to share. Also have a blog charles.zuckerman substack where i tell some of these stories if you are interested.
I’d love to have you do one of our interviews — have you seen/read any of them?
Here’s where you can see what they’re like: https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/s/interviews
I’ll take a look and I’d love to have an interview why the heck not?
100% Kona Coffee Half (Hawaii) or Bridge of the Gods (OR-WA), even Hatfield and McCoy in W VA/KY. Each state has a beauty to it and I'm sure for those that do international races can cite wonders to behold.
Bridge of the Gods looks AMAZING. I've only seen photos, but that bridge must be breathtaking to run across.
It is phenomenal! And you're running over that bridge at the start so no fear of heights is good but enough people that you'll be over it in no time. I may do that one again to cover WA or OR as I have 5 states that I'll actually commit to the full half and not just a foot which was my previous plan lol!🏃♀️🐢🤣🤔
Three places come to mind (two of which have already been mentioned below).
1) Grand Canyon (Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim) - It's difficult to describe how stunning it is: the sunrise on South Kaibob trail; the drop into the canyon from North Kaibob; crossing the emerald Colorado in the late afternoon; watching headlamps bop into the night heading up Bright Angel.
2) Running across Death Valley during Badwater 135 - The desert is unforgiving, but surprisingly bountiful and full of life -- you just have to look for it. And, let's not forget the wild climb from the town of Lone Pine to the Mt. Whitney Portal.
3) The Ray Miller Trail and the 30k/50k/50M race course (Santa Monica Mountains) - For as crowded as Los Angeles is, millions of Angelenos are unaware that world class trails exist just outside of city limits. Ray Miller is no exception. A steep single track that seems to shoot straight up from the Pacific, and it feels like it just might toss you into the sea. When I ran the race last December, we were experiencing signature SoCal fall weather: sunny, crisp but warm, low humidity (in a word, stunning). It was sensory overload, and my mind melted taking it all in.
All of these sound so fantastic, John -- wow!
I ran from the south side to the river and back. Got out too late to do the Rim to Rim to Rim but have in on the schedule.
I need to run it again. It is stunning down there! When are you headed back?
I have a tradition that every five years I do something ridiculous as a stretch goal. I am planning the rim to rim to rim to celebrate being 60. So sometime in 2028. Most likely late March when the light is getting longer but the crowds and temps are still manageable.
Seems like an ideal way to celebrate this milestone.
When traveling, it's a bonus to find a wide open path that's pedestrian and bikes only, closed to car traffic. Some of my favorite places for that are Rio De Janeiro and the miles and miles long path running in front of Copacabana Beach to Ipanema Beach and beyond. The amount of FIT people along the path is also inspiring and at the beach. Next up, Nice in the South of France on the Promenade Anglais, in Paris along the Seine, in Puerto Vallarta on the Malecon. Water views + no car traffic + mostly flat paths = LOVE
Believe it or not, I've been to Rio! (Though it's been a long time -- my trip there was 26 years ago.) It's incredibly beautiful, what a blast you surely had. And running through Nice -- I've never been there, but I've seen photos and it looks INCREDIBLE. How fun.
I spent a month in Rio during the pandemic. I work remotely and decided to go real remote :) A little dangerous due to extreme need/poverty/lack of tourism/lack of everything but it was great nonetheless! South of France is worth it, totallyyyyy worth it!
I loved running in Rio.
Sooo much natural beauty everywhere!
At 78 degrees North on Svalbard from Longyearbyen to one of the mines and back. Basically an Arctic desert it was 32 degrees and foggy - almost like The Twilight Zone. No noise - just the sound of my breathing and my footsteps. The next day going in the opposite direction I ran past a herd of reindeer. Two runs to remember for a lifetime!
Wow, Ken!!! Running past a herd of reindeer -- how cool!!
Someday when you have a moment, give me a call and I will relate the story of the polar bear!
I really enjoy the Revel races. I have run Mt Lemmon (In Arizona), the Rockies (in Colorado), and White Mountain (in New Hampshire). It's nice going to areas you haven't been to before and seeing the beautiful scenery. There can be a big difference from the top of the mountain to the bottom.
They do look like a blast, I agree. Have you run them all?
I have not. Just those 3 for now. I hope to do more in the future.
My twin brother and I were in Paris in 1972. We ran from our hotel to the Arc de Triomphe, but we got lost on the return trip and almost missed our tour bus.
Love this one!!!