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Looking for a getaway that brings you home feeling both fit and recovered? Do you feel demotivated without a fall marathon on the program? Not all trips have to be racing destinations. You can also travel to train. While most running camps cost between $1,500 and $5,000 (without airfare), you can easily organize a long weekend of restorative training for less than $1,500.
Why not get a few friends together or go solo for your own do-it-yourself wellness retreat? After all, Science says we get as much (or more) happiness from planning a trip as from taking it. Forget the usual racing meccas of Boulder, Flagstaff and Eugene. We’ve rounded up four amazing race locations with a variety of possibilities for you to start exploring.
Mendocino, California
This historic and enchanted seaside town is an ideal hub for trail adventures along Northern California’s rugged coastline or through acres of nearby redwood forests filled with fern-covered canyons and tree-lined trails. streams. Mendocino was eco-conscious before it was fashionable.
To run
Easy: Run through towering redwoods to a 30-foot waterfall on the 3.9-mile Russian Gulch Waterfall Loop. Or for stunning coastal views, cruise the 4.2 mile round trip Mendocino Headlands Trail.
Moderate: The Fern Canyon Trail in Van Damme State Park is an 8.5 mile lollipop route along a creek bed, through lush vegetation (including the lovely Pygmy Forest).
Rest
Splurge: For a cozy moment, book one of the 11 rooms at the Brewery Ravine Inn, a bed and breakfast, made of eco-reclaimed redwood and perched on the bluffs overlooking Smuggler’s Cove. Don’t miss the wine hour or the guided forest swim (shinrin yoku) round! Add the North Coast Adventure package for a guided horseback ride on the beach, followed by a kayaking trip through the sea caves.
Modest: take your running buddies on a glamping trip to a slightly rustic location Mendocino Grove, just minutes from the Big River Beach and Estuary trails. Your heated bed in a spacious tent will welcome you after a day on the trails. The public bath comes with organic bath products and a designated shower for your canine hiking buddy.
To eat
Splurge: For the ultimate dining experience in plant-based meals, check out Ravens Restaurant at Stanford Inn by the Sea, a restaurant known for its locally harvested sea palms and chanterelle mushrooms.
Modest: For fresh seafood caught by an all-female crew, travel a few miles north to princess seafood at the port of Noyo. Or for California vegan cuisine with southern accents, try Fog Eater Cafe.
Balance
After a long day on the trails, step into the clothing-optional redwood hot tubs to Sweetwater Inn and Spa. If you like the healing benefits of cannabis, visit the bohemian chemist for its fine selection of lotions and potions in a vintage apothecary.
Asheville, North Carolina
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville attracts trail runners year-round with mild temperatures, but most often during its spectacular leaf-showing season. This artsy, foodie town is so supportive of its community of runners that its visitors’ office has created a guide to running asheville.
To run
Easy: Beaver Lake Trail (and Bird Sanctuary) has been called a “hidden oasis in the city”. It can be a flat recovery run or the perfect loop for doing 2 mile reps.
Moderate: One of the most popular routes for locals is the 6-mile Hard Times Trail Loop located in Bent Creek Experimental Forest. The hilly path offers great views of mountain ridges and Lake Powahatan.
Stay
Do crazy things : The Grand Hotel de Bohemia is a luxurious living room designed to look like a plush 19ehunting lodge of the last century. It is an ideal base for runners as it is just a few minutes further 20 miles of forest trails on the Biltmore Estate.
Modest: Cabins the wrong way combine the nostalgia of a campsite with the amenities of a hotel. The sixteen A-frame “Scappalachian” (Scandinavian design meets Appalachian) are conveniently located just across the French River Greenway, a 3.5-mile paved path.
To eat
Splurge: Located in the historic area called The Block, Dumpster on Eagle is known not only for his “Afrilacian” cuisine, but also for the way he preserved the memory of African Americans who had a professional impact on The Block.
Modest: If you’re looking for quality comfort food made with local ingredients, check out Home made, whose slogan is “slow food right quick”. It’s a perfect pit stop just two miles from an interval run at Beaver Lake.
Balance
stop lean beats for a group or private sound healing session or book a Mountaintop Vortex Yoga Experience from Sunset to Namaste Nature.
Las Catalinas, Costa Rica
This car-free beach town, an hour’s drive from Liberia Airport, is designed for the wellness-conscious traveler. Las Catalinas is sandwiched between two of Costa Rica’s most beautiful Pacific beaches and cradled by 1,000 acres of protected tropical dry forest that are intertwined with expansive trails. Las Catalinas, described as “physically moving”, is also home to the Tri Catalinas triathlon in February.
To run
Easy: For a short run of about 5 km, start from Principal at the public entrance trailhead, then take the Punta Guachipelines trail along the coastal cliffs. The short but steep climbs through the forest will reward you with some of the best scenic coastal views and a quick dip in the ocean, if desired along the way.
Moderate to difficult: “The peaks, the jungles and the beaches, oh my!” You might find yourself singing along the challenging 8km McHenry-Punta Guachipelines-Punta Penca Loop.
Stay
Splurge: Gather a group to share your Catalinas Trail adventure a multi-bedroom villa steps to trails and beach. Many include plunge pools where you can rest your tired legs.
Modest: designed as a tribute to the mansions of Havana and Cartagena, Hotel Santarena will take you back in time and place in all the right ways. It is only a 5 minute walk from the main trailhead.
To eat
Splurge: Gather your friends for a barbecue on the beach at sunset where you will watch your private chef prepare your meal by the light of tiki torches.
Modest: have a fresh smoothie or an organic dish at Pots and bowlsor pick up picnic supplies at the deli in Copper and stone market.
Balance
Outdoor gyms with Flintstone-type wooden weights are hard to find, especially a few steps up your trail. Join a yoga or strength training class at CORE by Chakfitness to address muscle groups that runners often overlook. Restore your mind and body with a sound bath, massage or red light therapy session at the center of joy.
Maui, Hawaii
Maui is an adventurous runner’s paradise that offers challenging trails ranging from lava rock paths and crushed coral to muddy tree roots and white sand. In this wellness innovation center, you’ll find nurses who administer IV therapy drops at the Four Seasons the resident evolutionary astrologer at the Grand Wailea offering birth chart readings.
To run
Easy: The stunner Haopili Trail to Hanamanioa Lighthouse is a 3.6 mile round trip through lava fields that follows the shoreline of La Pérouse Bay. You’ll pass the ruins of an ancient Hawaiian temple and kaleidoscopes of yellow butterflies playing near pools under natural arches.
Difficult: Some travel to Maui just to perform the epic Haleakala Crater Loop Trail. Runners say the views on this 17.7 mile loop (6 of which are on the road) make them feel like they’re on Mars. The weather can be quite changeable and there is little to no shade, so be prepared.
Stay
Splurge: For a treat for all your senses, treat yourself to a night at Fairmont Kea Lani. restore your mana (life energy) after hiking the nearby lava fields with traditional Hawaiian style lomilomi massage at Willow Spaor meet the hotel’s Energy Ambassador for a personalized wellness program.
Modest: Although it is unlikely that you will be able to book one of the three highly sought after cabins in Haleakala National Park, you are more likely to book a wild tent permit. Either way, you can’t go wrong.
To eat
Splurge: The Kula Lodge Garden Terrace Restaurant looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Perched high above the lush green hills of Kula, the outdoor dining experience with locally sourced ingredients offers stunning panoramic views of all of Maui.
Modest: After a run on Haleakala, treat yourself to sweets at Komoda’s century-old store and bakery in Makawao. The line forms early for its guava-filled malasadas or macadamia-encrusted donuts on a stick.
Balance
To experience the water like the ancient Hawaiians did, contact the historic Lahaina Canoe Club for a canoe lesson or Hawaiian paddle sports for surf lessons. Come during peak humpback whale season (February) and you might find yourself paddling alongside the gentle giants.
