Rowan’s premier running family enjoyed a very special vacation, and the details are worth sharing. Mom, Rebekah, is owner of the Lazy Five Vets and a lifelong runner. Here are excerpts from her family’s travels for 10 days in June 2023. Other family members are dad, Scott; daughter, Hope; and sons, Noah and Eli.

Rebekah said, “Running is always a part of our lifestyle, even if on vacation. We may be at different levels with mileage and workouts but being a running family, we have enjoyed some great memories and experiences running in other places. I always find it intriguing to see how other people truly live and even what type of exercising they love to do when on vacation in other areas of the United States or now a tiny piece of Europe. I have often struck up conversations with people that we would never have until they see our family running together. I honestly was quite anxious and apprehensive about us getting in good runs in Europe. We were in countries whose languages were foreign to us, places that I did not know anyone, and was just unsure if it was normal for their culture to exercise in parks, on trails, etc. I was pleasantly surprised to find some great runs, some that will give our family memories forever.”
  
The family was looking for trails because they prefer soft surfaces. They often use trail maps, not always the best option for the running. Rebekah also used the Strava app, Google Maps and topography sites. She found another app call Wikiloc, used more in Europe. Various concerns included how busy with traffic, how hilly or flat, how large are the trails and was the area part of a park.
    
Rebekah said, “Safety is always a top priority when looking for a place to run. Noah and Eli are old enough now they can go on their own and we all need to feel comfortable. Hope and I typically stay with Scott, or we run together. I am now the slowest runner in our family so Noah or Scott would run with Hope on her workouts.  Oftentimes we will choose areas that we pass each other so out and backs are typically how we plan the run out. We always know where each other is planning to run and stay in the same area. I always carry my phone and have international capability just in case. I also really pay attention to others around me, runners, cyclists, are they alone and are women running alone. I never run with music in unknown areas due to safety concerns. We typically try to run in the mornings as well, with less traffic and typically the people around us are those exercising in early morning hours. We did some afternoon runs but never at night.”

The family started in Munich, Germany, and during the ride to the hotel, they saw lots of cyclists riding along trails that connect city to city called “Redwig.” “We thought it so wonderful to provide countryside and city options for exercise without the car. Similar to our ‘greenways’ but all on tiny gravel, these trails went miles and miles from one city to another.” The family’s first run the next morning had to be along the city paved bike paths to a large park they found, an absolutely beautiful place to run.

Rebekah added, “I was amazed at all the walkers, runners and cyclists we passed, many with dogs. The trails were very wide and offered lots of different options to cut through and repeat what you previously ran. We could easily get 10 miles or more in this flat park. Eli did some mile repeats, Noah just enjoyed running, while Hope and I did a fartlek (a type of speed training). I will say this park was one of the quietest and cleanest city parks I had ever seen, even though there were many people and dogs. We just all took in the beauty that morning.”

To be continued next week…

Look for the One in 5K and Fun Run at Knox Middle School on April 13, benefiting the Family Crisis Council along with other events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org.