Canada: Vieux Port de Montréal Running Tour
My transition from Person Who Despises Running to Someone Who Is About to Run a Marathon has been pretty well documented on this blog. And three years ago, when Jen and I went on our first trip together to Paris, I scoffed at her when she said she thought we should go on an "easy" 3-mile run along the Seine. She said she "had" to. It was part of her training for one of the half marathons she was going to run. I reluctantly packed my gym shoes, but I was dreading it, and to be honest, I rolled my eyes. It wasn't like if she didn't do this run in Paris she wasn't going to finish the race.
Well, we never went running in Paris. Or Barcelona. Or London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Madrid, and especially not hilly AF Lisbon. Our days abroad are always jam packed, our ankles and hips are sore from walking miles around each city, and...well...#jetlag.
Since that trip to Paris, the roles have reversed. Jen has since become a lot more chill about running, and me? Although Jen says I'm zen about it, fuck me, I'm running a marathon, a sentence I swore over and over I'd never say. While Jen was perfectly capable of finishing her races despite skipping training runs in Europe, I was pretty certain that I needed to at least run once or twice this year on our trip in Canada. Especially since, you know, I'm still not entirely convinced I'm capable of finishing the big one in Chicago.
So I told Jen I was planning on running in at least one city, maybe both, and if she wanted to pack her running shoes, I'd love to have company. She wasn't sold. Knowing how these trips go for us, she didn't think it would happen and she was reluctant to waste precious space in her suitcase on running shoes. But I told her I'd be running regardless, and compulsive planner that she is, inside of 10 minutes, she found and booked a running tour for us to do in Montréal.
She came across Coureurs Montréal, a woman-owned (holla) startup in their first year of business. Co-owner and our guide Fanny, a French expat, spoke English for us pretty damn near impeccably, and she took us on an easy run around Montréal's Old Port, one of its prettiest spots. She was adorable and bubbly, it was a different way to see the city, and it was great to learn about it from a local. Plus Fanny's post-run coffee shop recommendation was on point. AND, I think I safely speak for Jen when I say we felt marginally better about the way we ate knowing we got a little workout in.
Take a look!
-Staci
