EN
The Reichstag in Berlin - However, only a locally based and knowledgeable guide running alongside can give added perspective to the sites along the tour-route. Local guides know the best routes. ©Andreas Schwarz
SightRunning – A new tourism trend in the running scene – Discover Germany
SightRunning is a modern form of exploring foreign cities for tourists who like to run, led by professional guides who know the city and its touristic highlights – and the wants and needs of the runners being guided.
Nowadays, many tourists are also runners – and don’t want to explore the city on a tour bus, but would rather see it “on the run”. Today German Road Races (GRR) begins introducing some of the professional sightrunning offers in Berlin, and it will now be continuing the series for other cities that offer this service.
In random order, we will continue to present these opportunities to run in German cities, and will also introduce you to some of those offering the tours. This practice has since propagated itself throughout the world, bringing together fun with utility for runners. Discover German cities and landscapes together with runners, who want to show you their cities from their best side.
Enjoy your running tour, and get ready for many discoveries in the cities of Germany.
Horst Milde
Sightseeing on the run – More and more holidaymakers combine their joy and passion for running as an additional way of getting to know the culture and people of foreign cities and countries. With a city map in hand or a running-track downloaded from Gpsies.com, runners are able to create and implement their own exploratory tours.
However, only a locally based and knowledgeable guide running alongside can give added perspective to the sites along the tour-route. Local guides know the best routes. While jogging alongside, they are able to provide relevant information and entertaining stories without having to constantly stop the run. This service gives each running tourist added value about the respective sights they are passing.
Sightseeing Running …
or SightRunning for short is what we call this sporty way of sightseeing. It gives people with a fair amount of physical endurance an alternative way to go sightseeing. Guided SightRunning tours cater to this segment of the population and are now offered worldwide as a way to see the sites from a runner's perspective. Today, organised professionals offer running and sightseeing tours in a dozen cities throughout Germany.
They include: Augsburg, Berlin, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Esslingen near Stuttgart, Freiburg, Hamburg, Hanover, Lüneburg, Munich, Offenbach. New cities are being added to the list regularly.
The idea for SightRunning …
developed parallel and independently from each other, around the world. In 2008 Anne Dimon, the editor of the Canadian "Travel to Wellness Magazine" began researching city running tours as a topic. She discovered that enterprises such as Cheryl Anker's Off' N Running Tours of Los Angeles already offered guided running tours as far back as 1994.
She began her business by providing tours of the celebrity-studded neighbourhoods of Beverly Hills. In 2001, Gösta Dreise's TouristJogging of Hamburg was the first company of its kind to offer jogging tours in Germany.
During the summer of 2005, both City Running Tours of New York and SightJogging of Rome almost simultaneously joined the trend in offering adventure running tours.
The idea of sightseeing runs experienced a boom in 2008 with the establishing of Mike's SightRunning in Berlin, Quebec Jogging Tours and Urban Running Tours Buenos Aires.
Jogging tour providers in Boston, London, Vienna, Prague and Amsterdam followed suit shortly thereafter. Today, running-enthusiastic holidaymakers and business travellers alike can find a wide-range of running tours in more than 30 countries around the world – according to the listings of Global Running Tours.
SightRunning Concept
Although German SightRunning-providers such as Touristjogging, LaufKultTour, City-Jogging, fitforever, Jog-ES or Run-and-See maintain their own internet presence, they also created an umbrella organisation which they branded German Running Tours, in 2010.
Purpose for establishing this association was to create joint concepts and set quality standards.
Concepts and standards are maintained through close collaboration and annual meetings. Operators agree that tours should simulate training runs which are found on long-distance routes. For example, a city tour is conducted during a leisurely and continuous run. To ensure that communication works during the runs, private tours are limited from 1 to 4 runners.
Tours for larger groups are possible. However, they are shorter and have a stop-and-go character typical of bicycle tours. Thus, runs are stopped at strategic intervals – giving participants a chance to listen to the guide's explanations.
Tours for individuals or small groups….
are ideal for the participants as they possess a very personal and almost family-like character. The SightRunning guides are committed to answering questions at any time during the runs. Tour participants typically know each other. As such, the runs are paced to the needs of the slowest runner at a feel-good speed. Consequently, even occasional runners can enjoy the experience – which can include time for taking photos or a break.
Creating individualised service for the guest is each operator's priority. Thus, routes can be adjusted according to the individual interests and experiences of each guest. Guests also decide the duration and distance as well as the meeting point of the tour. Meeting points can include the guest's hotel if it is within the touring area. Prices vary depending on city and provider.
A one-hour tour for a single person will cost between € 45 and € 60. In a group of four, the tour will cost between € 20 and € 30 per person.
SightRunning in Berlin
Berlin is a Mecca for sporting events – so the idea of combining a sporting activity together with sightseeing would seem like a natural thing to do. Mike's SightRunning ®, has capitalised on this by organising city running tours since 2008 – which has garnered it a sizeable amount of radio and television coverage.
The SightRunning-program offers entertaining tours in both German and English. Tours include: Berlin Highlights From the Brandenburg Gate to the Historic City Centre; Runs Along the Former Berlin Wall; The Government District; Tiergarten and Potsdamer Square; A Lap Around the Charlottenburg Castle Gardens; Berlin By Night; individual excursions and specialised visits to fairs or events such as the Berlin-Marathon and the Festival of Lights.
Running tours are an ideal way for adventurous visitors to Berlin, business travellers and locals – each with a moderate degree of running aptitude – to have a fun, yet active sightseeing experience.
Mike's SightRunning
Michael Horstmann
Krumme Str. 44
10627 Berlin
Germany
Phone: +49 30 530 66866
