BootsnAll Travel Community

Yes, it's Bootsnall's resident marathoner (and I will be doing my first ultramarathon next Saturday too!). I have a question about how running intersects with travel in yet another locale...

I haven't exactly figured out where I'll be going next year--hopefully Turkey, Morocco, and Egypt, though possible UAE instead of one of the countries...we'll see! Anyway, I'm guessing these countries might be a little challenging to do my marathon training in. I had hoped to go away in Feb or March (it's just a short month trip), but as I have the Boston Marathon in April, I'm worried that this will be a bad idea. (Think: Cherie runs in pink shorts and sports bras for 22 miles....I guess I could put a t-shirt on, but still...) People have advised me against running, but I wanted to hear what good ole BNA has to say! Because of my marathon, I was thinking I might just try to fly out a few days after my marathon.

Thoughts?

You can run wearing whatever you want in the Middle East. Just make certain you're not caught.

Thanks folks, I'll be here all night.

On a more useful note, you might be able to find (and join) a female-only gymnasium in some of the locations you mentioned. Some just might have tracks. But your suspicions are justified. It will be difficult to just throw on the old jogging gear and take a run in the local park without being chastised/arrested/proposed to.

It also depends on where you are - I saw a few women in one city in Turkey who were running along a roadside bike path. They were wearing t-shirts and longer pants, though - definitely not skimpy jogging gear. I think you would also have problems in Morocco and Egypt. I'm not sure about the UAE. It is one of the more sophisticated ME countries, so you'd probably be better off there (and would probably have an easier time finding a gym, also).

Dont be the naive tourista who runs around in what locals consider underwear.
Buy track pants.
Seriously. Because not doing so sends a clear message to the culture that you dont respect them...and they will send that message back to you.
Buy a long sleve shirt and put a t-shirt over it. then you will be perfectly acceptable. But please do not make things harder for yourself there. You cant change the culture so just adopt it as best you can.

P.S. i just wanted to add that even if you see arab woman running around in tank tops and shorts. Do not imitate them. They have cred there because they speak the language and are part of the culture. You are blonde. You will be an exotic fixture. So just because you see some locals doing it, err on the side of caution.

OH, I wasn't planning on donning the pink sports bra and short shorts I wore for my run this morning! I was just wondering if I should arrange my trip a bit later because I'm worried that even doing 20 miles quite covered up might not be the best idea...

You should have no problem in the bigger cities in Turkey, but I'm not sure about the rest of the Middle East. I recall reading about a female Moroccan marathoner who decided to move to Boulder so she could train without getting hassled. It might be better if you had a guy who could run with you, but as you're doing marathon training, that might be easier said than done. You might get in touch with the local British Councils, most of which have harriers clubs, and see what they have to say.

quote:

Originally posted by cherie:
OH, I wasn't planning on donning the pink sports bra and short shorts I wore for my run this morning! I was just wondering if I should arrange my trip a bit later because I'm worried that even doing 20 miles quite covered up might not be the best idea...

allthough it will do something for your edurance. I mean, if you can run 20 miles in 100 degrees you can pretty much move mountains as far as I'm concerned.

But if you go to places such as Morocco with dry heat it really isnt that bad. That and you can go to the coastal towns to do your running and it would be fairly cool.

Dubai on the other hand is grossly humid and i wouldn't reccomend running outside. However they do have a lot of really good woman's gyms there that would serve your purpose well.

And men arn't that bad in bigger cities to woman who are 'making sport outside' (that's their words). I played basketball on a mostly male court in Marrakech and went running and didnt get hassled. Actually it was one of the only times I didnt get hassled...strangly enough...