Last weekend I made my way down to Alexandria, Virginia for a family wedding .  Aside from wedding festivities, I made plans to meet up with Sue from This Mama Runs for Cupcakes for a run around DC! When I realized that she lived right where I was traveling to, I didn’t hesitate to contact her and plan a running date.

Due to our busy schedules and my ridiculous allergy to the sun, she suggested a sunrise run and it could not have been more perfect. I love working out and getting my sweat on in a variety of ways but I really love running because it makes you appreciate life in ways that other forms of exercise can’t.  For one, you can do it pretty much anywhere even while you’re on vacation…which maybe should be my #1 reason…here are five more…

1. See the sunrise somewhere new.  

Maybe one of my FAVORITE things about running outside, is being to watch the sunrise (read my ode to sunrise running here) and the world wake up to a brand new day.  While it never gets old at home, it is even more refreshing to experience the sunrise somewhere new.

2. Best way to sightsee. 

Seriously, how else would you get to see the Washington Monument, WWII, Jefferson, Lincoln, MLK and US Marine Corps Memorial all in under an hour and 15 minutes?! All while the sun was still rising, may I add? Makes for some pretty spectacular pictures!

3. Meet up with virtual running friends! 

All of us who are part of the running community know that some of your best friends are other runners who you’ve never met! The freeing and refreshing feeling you get from running is one bonus but the other bonus of running is being part of such an awesome community.  I went from being a lonely SAHM to a runner with more friends than I could possibly imagine…and now every time I go on vacation to a new city, I already having a running buddy there.

4. Run an unplanned race. 

LONG story short, I ended up in Fredericksburg unplanned on Thursday night (more like early Friday morning) and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn which not only had a Wegman’s right out front (I was in heaven) but also was the starting line for the Marine Corps Historic Half that Sunday.  No, I did not run it BUT if I didn’t have a wedding to go to and just happened to come across it with no other plans, I totally would have.

Needless to say, it was kind of a cool experience to just happen across it and end up staying in a hotel with a bunch of other runners.  I felt right at home

5. Cross it off your running bucket list! 

While my running bucket list is still pretty long and I’ve only just gotten started, I can confidently cross some pretty cool places off the list.  My first ever race-cation was Vegas last November and since then I’ve run 200 miles through the Adirondacks, down the Westside Highway in NYC and now all around the nation’s capital.

Do You Run On Vacation? Coolest Place You’ve Ever Run?