Posts Tagged ‘running’
Watching the cross country runners around Veneto’s Fimon Lake
Last October, my younger son had a cross-country championship up on northern Italy – near the spectacular town of Vicenza, located in Italy’s Veneto region. I decided to drive up to watch the race – and lucked out with a spectacular, sunny weekend. The 5K race itself was held on a beautiful course – along…
Read MoreBuild a stadium, and they will come. Or will they?
End of the week musings … In my family, my younger son is a track and field fanatic. Waking him up for school is a nightmare, but on the days I have to wake him at 6 am for his early morning, pre-school practices, he springs out of bed like a Jack-in-the-box … eager to…
Read MoreEnjoying the passeggiata in Rieti
I’ve already written about the hillside town of Rieti, in the north of Italy’s Lazio region. You can read my earlier post here and learn how Rieti claims to be the town at the center of Italy. My younger son does track and field, and runs for Rieti’s team. Although he trains in Rome, we…
Read MoreFrom lunatic asylum to ideal escape from the lunacy of NY: Randall’s Island
Randall’s Island – actually the conjoined islands of Randall’s and Ward’s – is an ideal city escape in New York’s Manhattan. Located in the East River, at the height of Harlem and Queens, this peaceful oasis allows you to feel far, far away from the chaos of daily life in New York. Not surprisingly, this…
Read MoreDrove all the way to Ancona, and all I saw was the inside of the Palaindoor…
Unless you’re a huge track and field fan, most foreign tourists in the Marche region’s Ancona will never see its famous indoor track, the Palaindoor. But for Italy’s track and field athletes, their coaches and their parents, this is the mecca during the months of January – March. It’s the closest major indoor track for…
Read MoreZipping around the aqueducts at Rome’s Parco degli Acquedotti
If it’s an early Sunday morning in the fall, there’s a good chance I’m out shivering in some Godforsaken park around Rome for one of my son’s cross-country races. Luckily, however, I do live in Rome, and some of those parks I discover on those early morning jaunts are truly spectacular. This season’s races opened…
Read More‘The most beautiful track in Italy’ – in Formia
I’ve already written about the Italian seaside town of Formia. Formia is south of Rome at the edge of Italy’s Lazio region. Since 1955, it has been famous as the site of Italy’s Olympic Committee (CONI) training center, with a beautiful campus, running track, indoor track, gym and sports facilities that hosts professional athletes from…
Read MoreSand, sun, sports (and Roman poets) in Formia
I had never been to Formia – in southern Lazio, very close to the border with Campagna – before dropping my son off there for a track and field camp. The seaside town of about 38 000 people is in a dramatic spot, developed along the sea with Mount Altino rising dramatically just behind it.…
Read MoreSprinting around the aqueducts of Rome’s Tor Fiscale Park
It’s great raising your kids in another culture and enjoying the differences in their upbringing. I reflect on this a lot as I take my younger son, a track and field and cross-country athlete, to his competitions. For his weekly workouts, he trains, arguably (for others, clearly not for me), at the most beautiful stadium…
Read MoreWhy I love New York in August
When people ask me what my summer holiday plans are on the years I return home, they tend to look at me oddly. “New York in August? Why? Isn’t it miserably hot?” My family and I try to get back every couple of years for a long holiday in NY, and this is our favorite…
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