Sprint for fun

We had vacations. Then we had ‘staycations’. And now we have ‘runcations’. For those who missed the memo, runcation means planning a vacation or holiday around a race or a running event. This mix of running and sightseeing is the new trend when it comes to millennials and youngsters in the city are going gaga over it.

“I have been running for three years now and what initially started as a new way to explore Bengaluru quickly turned into a passion,” says Sindhu Rao K S.

 “For me, it’s the best way to roam around a new destination, at a pace comfortable to me — not too fast, not too slow. I have the liberty to explore as much as I want, without hurrying to the next place.”

And she should know. Sindhu has run in various locations in Bengaluru, Coorg, Mumbai, Auroville, Mysore and many more. “My first runcation was in Coorg. I had never seen the place and it was my first solo run in a different city too,” she says, adding that she takes a few days off before such an event to explore the course, acclimatise to the new weather condition and route and explore the nearby places..

What makes a runcation more exciting than a regular trip is the ability to view a new place from an entirely different perspective, an experience sans the tourist traps.

“It is a great opportunity for me to explore spectacularly scenic routes or roads less explored and also connect with the locals who usually come out to support such events. It is also a chance to meet like-minded travelers and runners from around the world,” adds Sindhu.

Ajay Reddy agrees whole heartedly. The founder of ‘Go Heritage Runs’, an offshoot of the ‘GoUnesco group’, Ajay is vocal about the popularity of the concept.

“People have always loved to travel and even travelling for runs is not really new. But while initially there were just a few names like the London or New York Marathon and even the Mumbai Marathon closer home, nowadays the concept has caught on in a big way.”

“The USP of heritage runs is the combination of scenic locales and heritage or historical value. While males outnumber the number of females usually, there is no specific age group and we see participants from 4-84 years,” he says, adding that the runs are not races and that participants can take their time as well as stray off the path to click pictures and look around.

And at a time where sedentary lifestyle are wreaking havoc, a runcation is exactly what we need.  
“It is a great way to stay fit and have a vacation. It forces you to stay away from the digital life and engage with the real world,” says Malini Gowrishankar, founder/CEO, F5 Escapes. “I haven’t participated in a runcation yet but would love to do so very soon,” she adds.