Ever since I heard about the idea of a "running tour", I've wanted to go on one. Well, sorta -- I have wanted to have gone on one... since, well, this sort of thing makes me anxious. What sort of thing? Running with strangers, in a small group, where maybe I won't be fast enough, strong eoungh good enough to keep up. And, of course, everyone would point and laugh, forever.
And so I was nervous about doing this. So I am actually rather dorky-proud that I went ahead and booked the tour with
Tourist Run Amsterdam for Saturday, my last full day in town. Shortly after submitting my payment, I received an email from Paul, and we arranged to meet in Dam Square, near the national monument, the next morning at 9am.
Did I mention that a storm blew in on Friday night and it was pouring down rain and blustery wind? Winter Storm Gertrude had hit Scotland on Friday and blown across to the Netherlands. I decided I would wear my Gore-Tex jacket to the meeting point so that I didn't get soaked while I waited for the others. Spoiler alert: I never took it off.
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GTS ready to hit the cobblestones! |
Today we were joined by two other runners, neither of whom had ever been on a running tour either, and one of whom had never run more then 5k. So we had a nice, friendly little group. Paul wanted to get us running so we would warm up, so we ran to Museumplein and snapped a photo in front of AmsterdamIce.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GIaGRDh1ID4/VrA1Gkl1rKI/AAAAAAAAH-g/aKKXeVz7Mq0/s400/AmsterdamIce.jpg) |
doing my best Hans Brinker at Amsterdam Ice |
Paul told us a little about the area, then we ran through the Rijksmuseum (well, underneath it!) and back into the center. One regret: for some reason, probably nerves, I didn't turn my GPS on, so I don't have our tour on a map. This makes me more sad than you could possibly know.
I really can't say where all we ran ... we had lots of twists and turns, and did I mention that it was POURING DOWN RAIN still? But it was still really fun to run around a city I don't know well, not having to worry about where we were. We crisscrossed canals...
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MZ3R5bNA6k0/VrA1Gi_20ZI/AAAAAAAAH-o/XGiCfdEy5Zo/s400/TouristRun2.jpg) |
with my tour-mates on a canal |
Stopped on the Magere Brug across the Amstel river...
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T0ZttC7-QxM/VrA1Gh3QirI/AAAAAAAAH-k/JscTlD8yX94/s400/Amstel%2BRiver%2Band%2BSkinny%2BBridge.jpg) |
standing on the Magere Brug across the Amstel River |
and even ran to a point where we had a great view of the bridge...
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p0rN8K3zhvo/VrAv8yAAEqI/AAAAAAAAH94/nzhEDGZSI8M/s640/blogger-image--256140590.jpg) |
view of the Magere Brug |
(where Paul took a "sneaky pic" of me...
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Y5s3DLPxx4/VrA1HB_C1dI/AAAAAAAAH-s/AmAJerFWf7s/s400/sneakyshot.jpg) |
Paul's "sneaky pic" of me taking the pic of the Magere Brug |
and I considered what life would be like in a canal-side house:
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-H6oAmwU9B8E/VrAw-y3UDwI/AAAAAAAAH-M/_lXj6aRVy_s/s640/blogger-image-104888423.jpg) |
on the Amstel |
At one point we stopped on a bridge over a canal with a perfect view of the Zuiderkerk:
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_kXw4YceNZg/VrAv0BQi1kI/AAAAAAAAH9g/Wyvrl09dWa4/s640/blogger-image--843849273.jpg) |
Zuiderkerk |
and got a nice group shot, as well:
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TT64wqWc6Xc/VrA1GxDIPYI/AAAAAAAAH-w/zbnzvrVDf90/s400/Zuiderkerk.jpg) |
the team in front of the Zuiderkerk |
We also saw some quirky sights, like Amsterdam's narrowest street, a 1-meter wide passage in the Red Light District (okay, there's a smutty joke there...). We also saw this little beauty, by a secret artist who installs these works of art here and there through the city, each one reflective of the neighborhood.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WpIJ1pC4ogo/VrAv5yaVKoI/AAAAAAAAH9w/Br7gpx5b-Og/s640/blogger-image-1316830672.jpg) |
street art that pops up around the city -- this one in the Red Light District |
Throughout the run, Paul told us snippets of information about Amsterdam, both historical and modern-day, and pointed out lots of sights. He was funny, spoke excellent English, and kept a close eye on his runners to make sure they were having a good time -- no matter what the weather is like! The pace was pretty gentle, too, and we ran about 8k in the hour.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TsT4_T3GeeU/VrAxtWLPN4I/AAAAAAAAH-U/EBUGmS1GIXM/s640/blogger-image-181477891.jpg) |
map of a sample run -- not exactly ours, but close -- can't believe I forgot to turn on my GPS! |
So if you find yourself in Amsterdam, look
Tourist Run Amsterdam up and tell them Sunny says hi. I do wish that I had taken this tour at the beginning of my stay rather than on the last full day -- so that I could have used it to orient myself. It was a fun way to get an overview of the city, get a run in, and do something most tourists wouldn't do.
![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-geB55kGbGIQ/VrAv_xWzFxI/AAAAAAAAH-A/x0b2TQApeas/s640/blogger-image--877728000.jpg) |
#runselfie in Amsterdam! |
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