Travelling to Toronto & Phoenix - Any Tips?

[Andy Tomlin]

I'm going to be in Toronto this week on business, and Toronto & Phoenix for three weeks in March with evenings and weekends free. I understand it's pretty chilly in Canada at the moment, but I obviously want to get some running in to get some foreign Garmin traces =P

I'll be staying near Pearson International airport in Toronto and somewhere near the Arizona Proving Ground in Phoenix, but should have a car, cab or public transport to get around the rest of the cities. Does anyone know or any nice smooth parks I might be able to get some BF mileage around? Has anyone experienced the general attitude to BFing in these areas? It would be pretty embarrassing to be arrested for vagrancy whilst on a business trip... lol

 

[Abide]

Which proving grounds in

Which proving grounds in Phoenix will you be at?

Be careful of the goatwhores I mean heads, they'll be out in force next month. They look like this. Just stay out of the desert and you should be fine.

 

[Barefooting Bob]

Toronto should not be to bad

Toronto should not be to bad this week, hovering between 0 and 10 degrees C during the day. You should get a hold of bareminimum he is the local Toronto Chapter guru, he might be able to set you up with some good running spots while you are in Toronto.

Have fun.

 

[buzgal]

Arizona typically has

Arizona typically has beautiful weather in March so hopefully you'll have lots of opportunity to be outdoors enjoying it! Most of the canals are barefoot friendly. Overall I think people are super accepting of bare feet here....unless I am just oblivious?



Have fun!!

Sarah

 

[Barefoot YOW]

I've run at this park, which is about a 30 minute drive from the airport. http://www.highparktoronto.com/ Bareminimum is the guy to contact. He can set you up with some good locations.
Toronto is getting into Spring mode now. Definitely doable barefoot in March. You could also contact VanessaRuns.com She is an experienced TO runner and could give suggestions.

 

[Andy Tomlin]

Thanks for the advice people!

I'm back off to Toronto tomorrow and then on to Arizona on March 19th for a week. Found out that I'll actually be in Yuma during the week and Phoenix for the weekend.

Unfortunately, my achilles is still giving me problems, but I'll hopefully be building up the mileage slowly again over the next couple of weeks. Perfect time to get some Invisible Shoes and proper BF miles in depending on conditions!

 

[JosephTree]

For future reference, if you're going somewhere and want to scope out runs ahead of time you can use MapMyRundotcom. It's not BF focused, but I've found nice routes of all sorts using it.

Also, when I stayed in good hotels they'd drive me nearly anywhere for a run and schedule to come back at a specified time. It's worth asking about, in any case.

 

[rickwhitelaw]

You will love Arizona. We have goatheads in So. Utah also. They tend to be on the sides of the roads and in gravel parking lots. I was in Page AZ. last fall and they were all over the sidewalks. I had to run in the road and make the cars go around me. I am sure Abide and Buzgal can recommend some good trails.