Where To Run In Shanghai

I love running along the Suzhou River (Wasong River) when in Shanghai! It is only 1km from the Park Hotel where we stay and once you get there you can run easily in either direction. The south side of the creek has wider paths and sections where cars aren’t allowed. If you turn right when you get to the creek it is only a few kms until you are at The Bund. I love the road leading up to The Bund. You get to see plenty of others out running as well as scooters whizzing along.

The Bund is an interesting place to run. I had forgotten how many people walk backwards along it. You have to keep your wits about you to dodge the other runners as well as the all the people flying the amazing kites. Not sure who gets the right of way, the Kite Flyers or the runners.

The sun comes up early in Summer in Shanghai so you can get out nice and early so that you can avoid the heat. The later you leave it the busier the roads also become. It is great to see the city come to life as you are running. They start early you will see people out welding, or moving dirt around at 6am. You also see the different forms or Thai Chi, including the group that dress in their nice white robes Shanghai People Yingxiong Memorial Tower (start of The Bund). Whilst I don’t normally take my phone with me running, you can’t help doing it when travelling so you can stop and take a few quick snaps.

Of course there is the smog, but I didn’t find it too bad and I’m and asthmatic.

Camping on the Mighty Murray

When to go camping along the Murray River?    

For years we have had our traditional camping holiday over the Christmas break. We head up to Torrumbarry on the Murray River. It is a tradition that my wife’s family has done for around 30 years and even before that they lived up there. Often we would go up just before Christmas and get ‘our spot’. We’ve been lucky and had the same spot for every year for the last 11 years, bar one.

Camping is not a poor person’s holiday as it used to be described. Yes you can do it cheaply but over the years we have seen huge changes in peoples camping habits (even ours). Nowadays the size and expense of the boats has exploded. Our little Sleekline 1800 is now dwarfed by the huge Malibu’s and Wakesetters.  Once you get a few of these on the River it can get chaotic and our boat struggled.

Then there are the caravans, whilst ours is a modest little 1986 Roma van it’s not uncommon to see vans in excess of $80K, and of course you then need a vehicle capable of towing these toys!

This year we went up a little later than in the past. Most of the traffic up on the river is from Boxing Day until just after New Years. Whilst the in-laws headed up before new year we went just after and it was a lot quieter.

This proved to be a great move, there were times we had the river to ourselves and when you have kids trying to ski it is a relief to get empty water to help their confidence. Of course, on the last ski of the trip my wife fell, the ski hit her in the head and she spent a few hours in hospital getting her head glued up and staying under observation. In the end it was all good, although it took a few days to get back to normal.

Running Home!

Growing up in Mooroopna I spent a fair bit of time in the bush and hanging out on the banks of the Goulburn River. Whislt I hadn't started doing much running when I first moved away from there, years later when I returned It became my favourite place to run. Back then there was as sealed bike path from Mooroopna to Shepparton through the bush. As a person who liked the solitude when running I can remember being a little disappointed as more and more sealed bike paths went in around the bushland.

Despite seeing more people whilst out bush it is still is a great place to run and of course there are still many dirt tracks to get into it. My favourite run had to be leaving near Princess Park in Shepparton and straigh across the bridge where you duck under the bridge and head off along the river towards Gemmill Swamp. Eventually you end up at the back of the Mooroopna Golf Club. If your feeling brave you can duck through the golf course and end up at the old Mooroopna Hospital. From here it is back on the bike path to Shepparton.

(Map says 11.3 but it is a bit further as I couldn't get it to show the path under the bridge)

As my parents have now moved to a different part of Shepparton I now get out on the tracks behind the Shepparton Golf Club. On a recent run there I had forgotten about the recent rain and found a billabong full and being short on time it was going to be quicker to cross it rather than back track. It made for an interesting last few KMs with wet shoes.

One thing I love about the bush tracks in Mooroopna/Shepparton is that they aren't as rocky as the ones around Bendigo and just feel a bit softer under foot.

Mt Tarrengower Maldon

It’s become a bit of a tradition at our Grade 3 camp at Maldon to run up to the lookout on top of Mt Tarrengower. The whole run from the camp is a 9km return run. Mt Tarrengower is quite well known for the Mt Tarrengower Historic Hill Climb. The climb itself is listed as a 2km climb with an average gradient of 9.8%. Of course getting to the start of the climb is nearly all uphill from the Bluelight Camp where we stay.

Each year the plan is to get to the top ready for sunrise (and then to get back down before the kids wake up). In the past I have forgotten to take my phone with me to capture the beautiful sunrise that comes up over Mt Alexander. This year I remembered and I made it to the top just after the sun had come up. Maybe I left a few minutes later than in the past, or more likely I am just slowing down.

The lookout tower provides some great 360 degree views. Pity I don’t have the time to stay there and really take in the views before the quad smashing descent. The worst thing about the way down is that when you reach the bottom of the climb you have to run up a short sharp hill that brings you back to Maldon-Bridgewater rd. Your legs are gone and you feel uncoordinated running back up the hill.

Lago Maggiore

Lago Maggiore and in particular Stresa, would have to be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Stresa is just over an hour train trip north of Milan. This video was shot the day I ran up to Levo. Round trip of 13kms. 6.5kms straight up and then quad smashing 6.5kms down. I took this little video on the way down.

Victoria Peak Run -Hong Kong

A trip to Hong Kong wouldn't be the same without a trip up to Victoria Peak to see the spectacular views across the harbour. Most people take the tram up (it is a cool trip) but I enjoy running up Old Peak Road.

The Peak is 552metres high and climbs up to this height in only a few kilometres. To put it plainly, it is brutal both on the way up and the way down.  For this run I caught a train from Tsim Sha Tsui where we were staying. I got off at Admiralty and proceeded along Cotton Tree Dr. As with every time I have ran up here I get confused with all the different overpasses and stairs but finally found my way to Old Peak Rd. 

It is just steep steep steep and it is a battle to keep moving forward. This particular morning it was hot and sticky just adding to the punishment. Just after Hillsborough Court Tower 4 you move off the road and onto a small path. A lot of the path is covered by trees offering some protection from the early morning sun, but nothing saves you from the humidity.

As you run there are plenty of others, both locals and tourists, out exercising which is great to see. It is a great relief to see the Peak Lookout up above you signalling you are almost there. If you get to the lookout and haven't smashed yourself you can keep climbing up Mt Austin Rd or you can take the flatish route around Lugard Rd. 

The way up challenges the aerobic system, the way down just smashes the legs and ensures a few days of sore quads. Make sure you take your phone to grab a couple of pictures from the top or on the way down. Unfortunately the camera doesn't capture how steep it is. I tried to take a video of cars coming up just to try to give a sense of how steep it is. 

One the way down I went via the Mid-Level escalators. Must say the weren't as good as I was expecting. I finished off by catching the Star Ferry back across the harbour. Thankfully it was early and there wasn't too many on the ferry because I was getting some strange looks because of the pool of sweat I was leaving on the floor.

Hyde Park Running.

 

It’s funny that of the times that I have been to London over the past 23 years, I hadn’t actually been running in Hyde park, until this years trip. There had been different factors why I hadn’t done so in the past. But after finally doing it, it lived up to its reputation of being a great place to exercise.

I headed from Earls Court where we were staying and went down Cromwell Rd until Gloucester Rd and then headed into Hyde Park at the Broad Walk. I headed across passed Kensington Palace.  Despite being early in the morning it was a hive of activity.

Why I loved it? Well it had something for everyone. You had sealed paths to run on, but if you wanted there are plenty of grass tracks to lessen the vibration on the old knees. You could even run on sand along North Carriage Drive.  With a wide variety of runners getting about you could bring out the competitive beast inside and try to catch runners ahead as you went along. If you were wanting a more relaxing run then you could criss-cross through the park where is was less populated with runners.

The Serpentine was quiet on this morning and quite pretty, although you did have to weave around the duck poo. As a tourist you could run with your phone and stop for a quick pic of some of the sight around the park including Kensington Palace, Marble Arch and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.

If you are staying a bit away from Hyde Park then catch to tube to one of the many nearby stations. Oh one thing I did notice was that I looked out of place with my blue running shorts and bright red top, everyone seemed to be wearing Black.