My conference started at 8:15 so I didn't feel comfortable running in the dark in an unfamiliar city. After the conference, while most of my colleagues were rushing to the bars for happy hour, I rushed back to the hotel and changed into my running gear. Ryan couldn't meet up with me so I went to the 2nd best source of finding the safe and easy running routes, the hotel concierge. The Westin Crown Plaza was well prepared for my request. I didn't have to ask, the conceirge saw me dressed for a run and handed me this:
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Back
That's right, they handed me a handy dandy turn sheet with a 3 or 5 mile route. He then said, that I could also run through the Power and Light District and down to the banks of the Missouri River. It was an easy route, basically and out and back on Grand. The Power and Light District has a lot of nice sports bars and restaurants as well as the Sprint Center, which at one time was rumored to be the new home of the New York Islanders. Once past the Power and Light District, the run down to the rive was through a mainly industrial district with lots of warehouses. Once I reached the river, I turned around and ran back the same way towards my hotel.
I still had about 20 minutes left on my run so I decided to run the paths around the National World War One Memorial.The Memorial itself sits up on a big hill and I saw several runners doing hill repeats up there. It was a beautiful setting to finish up the run. The sun was setting, the Memorial was lit up, and the view of KC was amazing from the top of the hill.
This is what I love about running, you can do it just about anywhere. All you need are some shoes, a shirt and shorts/tights and you're set. It's a great way to explore a new city. Business travel is not a regular part of my job if I need to travel again, I will not hesitate to bring my running gear and use Twitter to reach out to my fellow runners.
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