Seeing the World Through Running with the Founder of Go! Running Tours – Lena Andersson

Cory Nagler [00:00:00]: So why is it that you feel that running is maybe a superior or at the very least healthier way to see a city?

Guest [00:00:07]: I mean, there's something going for for every way of of, sort of exploring a city, but I think the way running is really a great way. Also, you can, of course, go places where you can't go with a vehicle or even with a bike sometimes. You can go into really sort of the really sort of small streets, cobble streets. But also you can actually compared to, let's say, a walking tour, you can actually get really far.

Cory Nagler [00:00:34]: You probably already explore your own city through running. So why not do the same when you travel? Back in the early 2000, today's guest, Lena Anderson, was spending over 200 days per year traveling for her job. Despite all this travel, she found she didn't have much time to actually explore the city, which made running a convenient and healthy option. Flash forward to today, and this idea is transformed into a global running tour company. They help runners experience new places on foot with private tours from like minded locals. Starting in her hometown of Copenhagen back in 2011, Lena traded in her corporate job to pursue the dream of showing cities to travelers the same way that she had done for years. I'm a huge fan of Go Running tours, and I learned about them when I personally took a tour in 2022 after running the Copenhagen marathon. It was such a cool experience, where I met with a private guide, Michael, that let me choose the pace and where to stop for pictures.

Cory Nagler [00:01:27]: The best part is, I had this incredible experience while getting in a run. I love this idea, and I was so excited to hear more about how it started. So let's get into my interview with Lena, founder of Go Running Tours. Hello, runners, and welcome to the Run to the Top podcast, where our goal is making you a better runner with each and every episode. I'm your showrunner, Corey Nagler. And I'm not an elite runner, but together, we'll explore new strategies and topics to take your running to the next level. This podcast is created and produced by the expert team of coaches at runnersconnect.net, where you can find the best running information on the Internet as well as training plans to fit every runner and every budget. Done a lot of recordings with coach Haley over in the UK, but we rarely have a ton of guests from Europe.

Cory Nagler [00:02:22]: So I'm excited, Lena, that you could join us all the way from Copenhagen.

Guest [00:02:26]: Thank you, Corey, and thank you for having me. And thank you for getting up early to record this.

Cory Nagler [00:02:30]: Definitely. I'm up early most days to get in my run, so maybe just a little extra motivation today.

Guest [00:02:37]: Excellent.

Cory Nagler [00:02:38]: Yes. And I have to say before we get going, I am a huge fan of your company. Your running tours are phenomenal. So thank you both for joining me on the show, but also for the tours that you guys put on.

Guest [00:02:50]: Thank you. It's, it's a pleasure. It's, it's a pleasure running them myself, but also that the people enjoy them, in all the destinations beyond. And thank you, of course, for the for the invitation. I was super happy to, to receive it.

Cory Nagler [00:03:04]: I'm so glad. So for a lot of people listening, they might be wondering what the heck is a running tour. So how would you explain it to them?

Guest [00:03:11]: It's a good question. It's super simple, actually. It's it's the combination of running and then sort of having a guided tour. So actually experiencing the city. So a mix of running and then sightseeing. That's basically what it comes down to. And then it's up to the individual guest how fast we run and how much we stop and we see. But it's a combination of running and, exploring a city.

Cory Nagler [00:03:32]: So like a marathon, I guess you get your money's worth more if you go slower so you can take in the sights. Right?

Guest [00:03:38]: Exactly. That's usually how I run a marathon. So, that's exactly it.

Cory Nagler [00:03:44]: And and what made you want to start doing running tours? Is that how you would typically travel on your own? Were you doing this just for friends before you started the company? What what's the origin here?

Guest [00:03:54]: The the origin was that I I used to be, I used to have a a corporate job, and I used to travel a lot. So I had, around 200 travel days every year with a daily shipping company, called Maersk. And, I would travel in all almost it felt like almost all destinations, or at least all continents. So, Kuala Lumpur, then off to New York, then Sao Paulo, then Cape Town. It was super exciting, and I would reduce running to see these places because otherwise, I wouldn't really have the time to to see these cities. And I promised myself that if I was gonna spend so much time traveling, then I would also make the effort to actually see these places. So running was really my go to. And also to be honest, Corey, also just to stay a little bit healthy or healthier.

Guest [00:04:43]: When you travel so much, you end up eating at the restaurants or eating out 3 times a day. And that was a lot of work, so it was also just for for well-being, but mostly to actually see the city. So I would run-in all these places until I came to Mumbai in India, where I have, is probably the most exciting place I've ever been. It was very chaotic, a little bit crazy compared to, what I'm used to coming from Copenhagen. So I was incredibly excited to go for my run-in Mumbai. And as I was walking through the hotel to, to go running, the the concierge, it runs after me, and and so I stopped and said that I can't run because of safety reasons. So I ended up not seeing anything of India other than what I saw from a taxi. And that's basically how it started.

Guest [00:05:38]: I was then sitting on the plane home thinking, why is it not possible? And, surely I'm not the only one with, with that problem. And that's really how how it started.

Cory Nagler [00:05:50]: Very cool. And just to take a small detour, one of my favorite things in the world is doing a run right into brunch. You mentioned doing some of these tours because you're into food. Is there a best place in the world to to run and eat?

Guest [00:06:03]: Well, Copenhagen is not a bad place. It it really depends. I think every every destination has something going. Right? So in Bangkok, we have, Reginee has a has a tour called street art to street food. So they finish off in these street food markets that are so famous in in in Thailand. In, Paris, they usually finish off with a croissant. In Mexico, sit, let's take people for a taco sometimes. So I think, I think every city has something going for it.

Cory Nagler [00:06:33]: Yeah. For sure. And to me, the classic way to get around a city is something like a hop on, hop off tour, maybe a walking tour. So why is it that you feel that running is maybe a superior or at the very least healthier way to see a city?

Guest [00:06:48]: Well well, first of all, I think I mean, most of our our running tours are private tours. That means that people would run with a private guide that would meet them at the hotel, and they would run around. So it's a very sort of intimate experience, whereas the hop on, hop off buses perhaps is is less sort of less intimate, I would say. You're usually around a lot of people. Whereas if you run-in a city, let's just say Copenhagen, then 6:30 AM, there's really not that many people around. So you get this incredible feel of Copenhagen or any city, really, because there's no no one around. And you also get all the sites to yourself. So you get to see the coliseum without a lot of people there.

Guest [00:07:31]: You can actually get pictures with no people in it. So I think there's, I mean, there's something going for for every way of of sort of exploring a city, but I think the way running is really a great way. Also, you can, of course, go places where you can't go with a vehicle or even with a bike sometimes. You can go into really sort of the really sort of small streets, cobble streets. But also you can actually, compared to, let's say, a walking tour, you can actually get really far. So usually, our tours are I mean, we start at 5 k, but mostly people book around between 8 and 12, but we also have half marathon tours where people really see a city. So but I think it's also down to to personal preference. And then also, you know, I could speak all day why this is such a great idea, right, or why you should go running.

Guest [00:08:21]: But I also think that running is for the people that are joining our tours. It's not because they sort of thought, hey. Today, I'll go running for the first time. It's part of their lifestyle. It's part of what they enjoy. It's it's how they usually spend their mornings. So I really see our our service as well a little bit sort of just the the sparkle on top of a of a lifestyle in a in a in a in a new city.

Cory Nagler [00:08:46]: You're so right that it's just embedded in Runner's DNA, and that's really how I stumbled onto it was after running the Copenhagen marathon. I had a great tour. But one of the challenges with doing your travel around racing, which is how I came about it, is, of course, typically the day after a marathon, you might not be so inclined to head out right away for a run. So if anybody else is traveling for a race, do you have any advice for how they can fit in a running tour into their vacation?

Guest [00:09:13]: Probably do it the day before or 2 days before sort of a shakeout run. But many of the big marathons as for the sports, sort of communities surrounding a marathon usually have the shakeout runs. So, maybe a couple of days before, would is a is a good time. Of course, the day after day, or 2 days after is also good, but it depends how how your recovery is going. I think as well, Corey, a lot of people use our tours in leading up to a marathon. So for example, leading now up to New York City, we can see some of the big fall marathons. We can see a lot of people throughout sort of August, September, October booking our long runs because they're traveling there on holiday or they're on business, but they sort of have to get their 20 k in or their 25 k in. And we get a lot of those requests saying, hey.

Guest [00:10:00]: You guys are only doing a marathon. I need 28 k this, this Sunday. Can you help me out? So it's also using sort of maybe our tours leading up to, to the big races when people are traveling.

Cory Nagler [00:10:13]: Yeah. I think in my case, I did it about 4 to 5 days after the marathon, hoping that my legs would be a little bit fresher. So it went over well for 10 k, but I think a a half marathon would have still been a struggle.

Guest [00:10:25]: I can understand that.

Cory Nagler [00:10:27]: Yeah. Definitely. One of the other struggles I have when traveling and running, whether that be for a race or just to run on my own, is how to pack. Because I find there's so many things to bring once you have to have your everyday clothes and then also your running clothes and your shoes. Given that you've done a ton of travel and in particular a lot of travel running, do you have any advice for runners who need to pack for a trip?

Guest [00:10:50]: Oh, well, top priority is running shoes. Right? So I would usually say when I speak to friends, you know, running shoes over stilettos. So that you need to have a hierarchy, but, of course, again, people are different. But I think the running shoes, you can't really go without. And then, you know, even when it's really cold, you can still run-in shorts. So if you're really sort of strapped for for space, you know, you know, have a good top, but for shorts, you can you can probably get by. And other than that, I think it it might be worth the next three times people travel just when they empty their suitcase or their bags, then they look at it and then figure out, okay, how much of that did I actually use? And that's a good way to start the next time. Personally, I always travel only with sort of the hand baggage.

Guest [00:11:46]: So I I I pack very very little when I go, but of course, always the running shoes.

Cory Nagler [00:11:52]: You're much better than I am. I think every time I travel, I I struggle to even just limit myself to one pair of shoes, let alone all the clothes.

Guest [00:12:01]: Yeah. It's difficult. But also, you know, even if you have to go out also to to to sort of relatively nice places, you know, it's tempting to go, have so many different outfits with you. Sometimes, I remember when I was younger, I one time saw, you you know, people would always dress up. And then David Beckham walked into this really flash restaurant in jeans. And then since then, I've sort of been like, well, what would David Beckham wear to this place? Which sort of takes the pressure off a little bit. So that's might be a good sort of rule of thumb to just ask yourself as

Cory Nagler [00:12:34]: well. Ask yourself, what would David Beckham do?

Guest [00:12:37]: What would David Beckham wear? He also wears sarongs, so go ahead with wearing the sarongs.

Cory Nagler [00:12:42]: I'm surprised we're not picking a a running icon here like Ellie Kipchoge that we're going with David Beckham for running podcast.

Guest [00:12:50]: We could do that as well.

Cory Nagler [00:12:53]: So you had mentioned before that you did a lot of travel for your corporate job before even starting the running tour company. Can you tell me a little bit more about what you did for your corporate job and how the travel piece and and maybe even the running fit in?

Guest [00:13:07]: Yes. Absolutely. So I worked for a Danish, shipping company, Maersk, a Maersk line. So they ship containers all over the the world. And if people now suddenly think, I've never heard of that company. I'm sure you'll see a container tomorrow. And you'll think, ah, that's what this lady was talking about. So, basically, I was in it's headquartered in Denmark.

Guest [00:13:28]: So I was in the the headquarter, and it was part of sort of a strategic initiative to create, sort of what is the new sort of template marketing department. So what does a marketing department look like? And then take that and then implement in, in each sort of office or each geography that the the company had. So first it was sitting, strategically looking at what does an ideal marketing department look like in a local office or a local market. In terms of both in terms of what does the team look like, what does the do the tools look like, and so on. And then take that, train people, and then travel out, and make sure that, it's implemented.

Cory Nagler [00:14:07]: And was it always your goal to get out of the corporate job and find something in running, or did that come about more spontaneously?

Guest [00:14:14]: I think it just came about. I mean, it's there's some things that I really enjoy in a in a corporate job. And then there's there was other things that I sort of felt a little bit constricted, I think. And I've I've always enjoyed all my jobs. I've always had great colleagues. I've always had interesting jobs. So it's not something I, you know, thought thought this, but this came around and, or this idea, and I was like, well, why not? I will say that while I'm not sort of I wasn't really searching for, like, getting out of corporate life, I've always had sort of a I think my risk profile is that I don't I'm not really too worried about if things don't work out. Then I was always, you know, it was more my my surroundings were a little bit more worried about you're gonna quit your job and you're gonna do what? Run run with tourists in Copenhagen.

Guest [00:15:07]: And, especially my grandma. She still still can't she keeps asking me when I get a proper job. Right? So I think it was more the surroundings, but myself, I've always been like, okay, I'll I'll give this a go. I think it's a great idea. I think it would be super fun. And if it doesn't work, I can always go back into into corporate life. So it's I I don't think it was it was it wasn't really that I didn't feel it was that big a decision, to be honest.

Cory Nagler [00:15:35]: Was it a clear cut decision where you gave up the corporate job right away and went into it, or did you start doing some tours on the side before you went full time?

Guest [00:15:43]: No. I just quit and started.

Cory Nagler [00:15:46]: You quit cold turkey. Yeah. That that is certainly a strong risk profile. So I guess is it fair to say that you went into it knowing that you wanted to grow this into a full scale business?

Guest [00:15:57]: I think I think when I just started, I just thought I'll do the tours in Copenhagen. The good thing is when you travel so much, you don't spend any of your own money because you you you you're traveling all the time, with a company credit card. So I also had a little bit of financial buffer. So financially, it wasn't really that big concern for me. And then, yeah, I don't know. It it then I just started, and then very quickly I could see that, you know, people when I had guests in Copenhagen, they wouldn't really, come back to Copenhagen, run. Then they would be off to, you know, New York City, or they would be off to Madrid. And they would write to me and say, hey, do you know one someone in these cities? And that's really how sort of the also the global business style.

Guest [00:16:49]: So I just started just in Copenhagen, did that for a few years, and then expanded with, with go running tours.

Cory Nagler [00:16:57]: And did did you start doing tours in other countries or right away did you start looking for tour guides to help expand your business?

Guest [00:17:03]: Well, the way it started was it was actually I had a partner at the time. So initially, we actually this was the Airbnb was, you know, just, you know, really growing. And we were like, we'll just do the Airbnb but for running to us. So we invited all their running guys. There's loads of sort of individual running guides to be part of the company. And that didn't really work, to be honest. We still have, I think, maybe 6 or 10 providers still on our platform now and go running through us because they've been there from the start, and and they do a great job, and and we've been working together for many years. But it didn't really work, other than because there was no really recipe what is a running tour.

Guest [00:17:45]: So there's too much variation actually the concept and also too much variation in the quality and so on. So it was very difficult to manage. And normally, you would have reviews and the algorithms would sort of manage that, but we we didn't really have enough volume for that. So that's why I changed it. And now for, I think, 8 years, we've been recruiting our own guides. So now it's not third party providers. We recruit people that we think will do a good job that fits into the company that that we wouldn't we would enjoy working with, and that also can represent, you know, are are passionate about their city as well. And then they they work just for us, and we recruit them.

Guest [00:18:25]: So it's not yeah. So it's not a platform in that way anymore.

Cory Nagler [00:18:29]: So what does that process look like? Do do I say if I wanted to be a tour guide, do I reach out to you and say I have a great idea? Or are you reaching out in locations you wanna expand to and and looking for new runner tour guides?

Guest [00:18:43]: It worked both ways. In the beginning, anyone who wrote to us would just be like, yeah. We'll we'll we'll yes. Yes. You wanna be part of it? Yes. Yes. We'll we'll do it right. So we also had some crazy destinations and never got any, any bookings whatsoever.

Guest [00:18:56]: I think that that we had the nicest colleague in Cluj, which is a city we never really had any any guests. But but there we just said yes because we were just like, that'll be do you wanna be part of it? Of course. Come join us. And since then, it's changed. So now we have some focus cities that we expand to. At the moment, we focus a lot on expanding in the US. And then sometimes we have people applying, and they say, hey, I live in this city. I'd love to be part of it.

Guest [00:19:27]: This is what I can see a tour could be. This is what I do for a living. And and really if we can feel, okay, it's a relevant city, and it's a person that seems

Cory Nagler [00:19:37]: to

Guest [00:19:37]: be the right fit, then we, I mean, then we would move with it. But other than that, for the focus cities, we do active sort of recruitment in those cities when we decide to, to go there.

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Cory Nagler [00:22:22]: If I write you an email and I say, hey, Lynn. I have this really great idea for a route. I'd love to show people around. How do you then make sure that I'm reliable and that it would make for a good tour?

Guest [00:22:32]: That's that's sometimes the the difficult, part, but, we, well, first of all, we've made the you know, just the application process a little bit more difficult because in the in the beginning, we just get so many. So the application process is pretty, I wouldn't say cumbersome, but it's not straightforward. It's not like just a one click. And the other thing sort of, you know, sort of separates already quite a few people. And then we can, of course, see in the application what a great you know, if we say I think on the application form, it says, this is your time to shine. Tell us about the the the three sites you would want to show in your city. And if people then just list 3 three things, then it's a little bit we would like the people already there already say, hey, I would like to show them what would be the Hyde Park because of this and then some descriptions. So we can already, in the application process, get a pretty good idea.

Guest [00:23:33]: Is this people that first of all grasp the concept? Is it someone that's passionate about their city? Do they have some good are they creative? Do they have some good ideas? Then they go on to sort of the first interview, with my colleague. And there we it's just a matter of sort of, sort of chatting and figuring out whether there's a good match and so on. And then maybe there's if it's a clear match, then we, we offer a contract, and then later on people talk to me. And otherwise, I might join the recruitment process a little bit early on. But it's, it's not super difficult, but it's also, I feel that we're getting better at at finding the right people. And then also, to be honest, Corey, when people have then signed the contract, they're part of the team. There's also the all the work of creating the tours, getting the pictures, getting the content online. And there we can also see if people are not really that committed or enthusiastic about about the the opportunity, then we can also see that they're struggling a little bit with this part even.

Guest [00:24:42]: That we do everything we can to support.

Cory Nagler [00:24:45]: Yeah. I'm I'm impressed with your Toronto knowledge that you're aware of High Park. Have you visited before?

Guest [00:24:50]: I haven't, but we do, we did just launch. We had tours in the past, then COVID hit. And now we just launched Toronto a few months back.

Cory Nagler [00:25:01]: Very nice. Cool. Well, I'm I'm happy to hear that my own hometown city has some tours. Aside from Toronto, what are some of your key locations that you do tours? Or maybe even what were some of the first locations after Copenhagen where you opened up?

Guest [00:25:16]: So some of the first locations where we had our own guides was Bangkok, Florence, Mexico City, Tampa. So those were some of the and also my long time colleagues. So Ratanae in Bangkok, Laban, Florence, Sydney in Mexico City, I've been working in now, I think, 8 or 7 7 years. So those were some of the the first ones. And then also the biggest cities, of course, our key cities. So New York, London, Paris, Rome, the the ones you would, yeah, sort of that has quite a lot of tourists but also have a lot of business travelers.

Cory Nagler [00:25:58]: And do you have running tours in all 6 locations with a world major or maybe I should say 7?

Guest [00:26:06]: I think so. Yeah. Well, soon. We're not live in Boston, but give me one more month, and then we're gonna be live in Boston.

Cory Nagler [00:26:13]: Exciting. Is this a preview of what's to come?

Guest [00:26:17]: It is a little bit. And also it's because I'm a little bit too excited about it because I really for many years, I wanted to I would like to have Boston, have a presence in Boston. It's it's a running city. So it's one that I've wanted for a long time. And now it looks like, we finally found the right people and the right team to to start there. So I'm super excited about it.

Cory Nagler [00:26:41]: That's amazing. Congrats. Thanks. So you talked earlier about David Beckham and being an example, but I'd love to hear for people who actually take your tour. Have you had any celebrities, be it runners or otherwise, take your tours?

Guest [00:26:58]: I don't know whether well, Taylor Swift is yet to join out to us. Let me put it that way. I don't know whether we've had I mean, we have, I guess, some semi famous people. We haven't had, like, the the real superstars, but we've had some, some famous people. So we had a Saudi princess, I think, a year ago down in wait, maybe it wasn't from Saudi. I can't remember. Running it. I think it was in Milan.

Guest [00:27:38]: I've been running with some of the man band members of, Lincoln PAC. And I don't know. I think all the others have much more exciting stories, than than I do.

Cory Nagler [00:27:51]: Yeah. I'm curious about the Taylor Swift. Are you saying she herself actually took one of the tours?

Guest [00:27:55]: No. No. No. No. No. No. No. I mean, we're yet to have her as a guest.

Guest [00:27:59]: No. No.

Cory Nagler [00:27:59]: I see.

Guest [00:28:02]: No. No. No. I wish we did. No. We don't really have any major celebrities doing our tours, I think.

Cory Nagler [00:28:06]: I I was thinking to myself. I was a little surprised you would gloss over it if, if a celebrity of that level Oh, I would call it.

Guest [00:28:12]: I would be all over that. I would probably fly in to join the tour myself. But, no.

Cory Nagler [00:28:20]: Lena, she as we're recording this, we're doing it a little early in November. She's actually in Toronto right now for her tour. So, I think you need to make sure that she's listening, and maybe we can get her one of the Toronto tours.

Guest [00:28:32]: That's a plan.

Cory Nagler [00:28:34]: Yeah. Sounds like a good one. Alright. And for you personally, do you have any favorite running destinations?

Guest [00:28:46]: Oh, that's such a good question.

Cory Nagler [00:28:50]: You you don't have to pick 1. It can be several.

Guest [00:28:54]: Well, I think it's a little bit of a mix for me. So I just came I mean, phrases in my mind, I just came back from, from Asia. And here when especially Vietnam, when I went running in in Hanoi and people were out doing aerobics with their big sort of sound system on every street corner, that just fascinated me. I thought it was so much fun. Personally, I quite I did bring my my kids a couple years ago when the kids were smaller. I actually brought them to Venice. And my colleague, Alessandro, took us on a running tour of Venice. And it was in December, and it was cold and gray.

Guest [00:29:34]: And we did this run, and when we finished, we just did 5 k. I was, you know, I was like, this was amazing. You know, when you're a little bit surprised about, you know, how your own work actually works, I was like, this is what we do, and it really it's really good. So I really enjoyed Venice. But also because Venice, for me, even after 3 days being there, was still a little bit difficult to actually navigate in terms of which bridge and where to go and not getting lost. And then I actually really like nature. So, I like going to cities, I like running there, and so on. But, I also, at least once a year, go away and I just run find a national park, and I just run and work.

Cory Nagler [00:30:21]: Cool. I was wondering with Venice, how did you map out a route in a city that does not stand out to me as particularly runnable with all the canals?

Guest [00:30:30]: Well, thankfully, Alejandro, my colleague in, the running guide we have in in Venice, he did it. So we didn't have to think. We just had to follow. And we I feel like we saw so many things of Venice. And actually to to sort of illustrate how how how he even does running tours for blind people in Venice. So he's, he has a friend that he guides, a blind friend that he guides. He's now getting the official certification. So we actually have a running tour.

Guest [00:31:03]: That's one of the few destinations, where we have a running tour where blind people can join a running tour and sort of explore explore the city of all the places into Venice with all the canals and all the bridges.

Cory Nagler [00:31:16]: I I was gonna say of all the places you picked, one of the most difficult.

Guest [00:31:20]: Well, he brought it to us, and I just thought it was great initiative. We were actually on the call with the team last week, and I am, of course, super excited that that, we're able to offer this. But even, David in in Amsterdam, he was saying to Alessandro, he's like, I'm incredibly proud that our company can offer this service. So it also sort of his work or this this effort, is also sort of, I think, giving inspiration and motivation to everyone else.

Cory Nagler [00:31:49]: Is that something you're looking to expand into, like having tours for people who maybe are, have vision or or hearing problems or or other mobility issues maybe?

Guest [00:32:01]: It's not really because I feel we have to be very, very, very good in a different way if we're gonna have to have people safely through the city. So it's it's not something we would, if people come, they have the experience and the and the skills already, then by all means. But otherwise, I think it's, it's it's, I think it's an area where you really have to have a lot of expertise.

Cory Nagler [00:32:25]: Yeah. For sure. And I know you mentioned already that you're gonna be expanding into Boston. But are there any cities right now where you don't currently have tours that you're either planning to open up tours or would be very excited to hopefully open up on down the road?

Guest [00:32:41]: There's a few. Yes. In Las Vegas, we can do the events. I would, Las Vegas, we've we've had a guide on and off, but Las Vegas, I really want would like as as steady guys. I think it's such a fascinating place, and also with the surrounding nature and so on. So that is one destination that we've sort of, very honestly, that we've sort of been struggling with, that I'm hoping that we'll nail within the next year. And then there's other destinations like Shanghai, Beijing, that I would we're not really in China. Hong Kong, we've been, we've been present, but then that was before COVID.

Guest [00:33:25]: But I would like some more sort of Asian destinations, especially China.

Cory Nagler [00:33:30]: I think once, Shanghai becomes a world major, you might have a little more appetite too for to run there.

Guest [00:33:36]: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I actually went there when I was on a business trip, and I couldn't figure out where to run. I got a little bit lost, and I ended up just running. I think it's called the people's park and just running around and round and round and round and round, every morning. So I think it would be great if we had sort of a guide there as well.

Cory Nagler [00:33:54]: One thing I think about is I ponder about the concept of having running tour guides around the world is the language barrier. Do your tour guides are there a set of languages that all of them speak, or does it really depend on which location?

Guest [00:34:08]: So everyone has to be proficient in English. That's the and then we can always add with the local languages. So if people can can speak more languages, we would add it on the tour saying this can also be done in Spanish or but English is is the main language and also how we communicate. Otherwise, we would be struggling to communicate. And I'll be honest, sometimes we have had some really really good candidates for, for running tours, but it simply didn't work out because of because of language.

Cory Nagler [00:34:41]: Yeah. Understandable. I I think part of the tour as much as it is about running and seeing the city is when I did it, I really appreciated how insightful my tour guide was in in taking those intentional breaks at key landmarks and really explaining to you the history behind it.

Guest [00:34:56]: Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And I think also one thing I saw the landmarks or the major sites or even the the hidden sites, but it's also the whole as you run through the city. I'm sure you and Michael had the same experience, Corey. If not, let me know, and I'll have to have a talk with Michael. But, is is also you end up chatting and then people I mean, for example, here in Copenhagen, then people start asking, well, you know, we've heard about what about the bike culture? What about your high taxes? What about you're the world's happiest people? You know, so there's these conversations that people are curious about that they come to us to a country or to a city, and and they actually really want to know. One thing is knowing about the the royal palace and so on, but you get this sort of curiosity or this conversation going otherwise, which I think is super important.

Guest [00:35:44]: And that's, of course, also important that that people can speak the language so we can also have an interesting conversation about things that people are are curious about or questions that they may have.

Cory Nagler [00:35:59]: Yeah. Totally. I think there's something very personal about being able to hear about the region from a local. And you do get that sometimes with the organized tours, but I find a lot of the time they're reading off some type of script given to them. So even if they might have that personal experience, it's not the focus.

Guest [00:36:16]: Yeah. It gets it just it also just becomes I think sometimes it's a dynamic if you're in a bigger group. It becomes very difficult to to sort of engage with that one person if there's 20 people in that group. So I think also just the the setup might make it a little bit more difficult.

Cory Nagler [00:36:35]: Yeah. I'd love to hear a little bit more about your own running, Lena, because I think we have talked a little bit about the company. But, obviously, you were very into this sport before starting running tours. So how is it that you first got into running?

Guest [00:36:51]: Actually, I got into running because I've always played a lot of sports, but always team sports. And I lived in when I got into running, I lived in the UK and I worked in the UK. And in that role as well I would have to travel. I lived up in Manchester, but I would have to travel to London quite often. So very often I would miss a training for this for the team sports. I wouldn't turn up because I was in a hotel in London or somewhere else actually. And I didn't want so it was sort of twofold. So one thing was I really wanted to stay fit while while while still working or still sort of in my everyday life, which I normally I would do by just playing sports with my friends.

Guest [00:37:34]: And the other thing was also I didn't want to be that one player who only turned up for the games. I really if I wanted to was part of a a team, I wanted to be part of the trainings and then the games. I've always that's always been very important. So in the end I was like, it didn't really work, because of work, and then I just started running more to to to stay healthy.

Cory Nagler [00:37:58]: And do you do you race or did you use to race or has it always been purely for the enjoyment?

Guest [00:38:04]: Only for the enjoyment. I've done a few races but nothing competitive. It's always just been, yeah, for for pure fun.

Cory Nagler [00:38:13]: So I might have to challenge you on the nothing competitive because I did stumble onto your website that you were a competitive beer miler. Is that right?

Guest [00:38:24]: I I don't know whether I'm competitive. I, I apply well, I, I joined the beer mile in Denmark, the Danish championships 1 year, and then I won. So that's the first time I've ever done a beer mile, and, I've never done it again. And so it's not really something I've trained for or or but, you know, I was there. So maybe it looks a little bit competitive, but it's it's really not very serious. It was it was there and I I, I signed up.

Cory Nagler [00:38:53]: And what time does it take to win the Danish beer miling championship?

Guest [00:38:58]: I can't remember. I think it was around 7 minutes or something like this. I mean Yeah. 7 minutes. Oh, 7 something. I can't remember, but maybe it was 8. I can't even remember. It's quite a few years ago.

Guest [00:39:10]: I did tell you what, I didn't have anything to compare it with, Chloe. So it was I don't know. I have to look it up. Tell you what. I'll look it up.

Cory Nagler [00:39:21]: We're not talking about just running a mile here. So this is running a mile and chugging 4 beers in 7 minutes something. That's pretty quick.

Guest [00:39:30]: Yeah. I had a pretty wild university time. So I'm not a very fast runner, but, I partied a lot when I was at university.

Cory Nagler [00:39:37]: What what what do you think you could run an all out mile in if you didn't have to drink any beer?

Guest [00:39:42]: I don't know. I don't know. I don't I don't even know. I haven't It's

Cory Nagler [00:39:47]: gotta be quick.

Guest [00:39:49]: No. I'll tell you what. I might try next week, and I'll, I'll let you know and see how how fast it goes. But let me double check. Maybe now that you seem so surprised, I get a little bit worried that maybe it's not even close to that. Let me just double check, and you might have to do an edit of this podcast. Let me find the time for you if I can.

Cory Nagler [00:40:08]: Yeah. Okay. I might have to look it up myself. But, yeah, that's, if you won the Danish championship, it's quite possible. But even if maybe you didn't have specific training for the beer mile, for your running in general, what is your schedule typically look like trying to get in runs for your own, but then also fitting in running tours?

Guest [00:40:27]: So, I actually I only do a few of the running tours now. So someone else is handling all the running tours. So Michael is actually, managing all the running tours in Copenhagen. I do run sometimes. It's very sort of I try to keep my, weekend mileage around 40 kilometers. Sometimes it's less. Sometimes it's more. I'm not super strict in terms of how often I run or how long or how fast.

Guest [00:40:52]: It's just how I feel. I think it's I think one of the the things I'm very grateful for is that I really, really like running. So it's not, you know, it's not like I have to think, I have to do a run today. It's more like, yay. I have time to do a run today. So in terms of getting out the door, it's it's it's really not that that that hard. So I keep it around 40 and sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes long. It's it's really just how I feel and and how my schedule looks.

Cory Nagler [00:41:24]: Are you typically running in the morning before tours, in the evening? What does your day look like?

Guest [00:41:30]: So, usually, I get up I get up, pretty early. So I usually work an hour or 2 before, the family wakes up. And then I either go running then, so I just say good morning and so on, and then I go for a run, or I run with my kids to school, and then I continue running. So usually, it's morning running, but I I like to sort of get up and work first. Also, just so I know what's in my inbox because it's a global company. Then things are happening all through the night, so I just I'd, I like to sort of get things cleared out while there's no distractions. And then I feel a little bit I I don't know karma, but then I sort of know what's then I I'm top of things. But then sometimes if I have a lot of meetings, if I then have an hour, I'm I go out and I might run, you know, 5 k.

Guest [00:42:18]: Or if I'm taking my kids to to sports training, I might, you know, swim while they're there or go for a run. It's, but usually it's morning.

Cory Nagler [00:42:30]: Yeah. Yeah. I think that makes sense, to try to fit it in before you get in the tours. And then aside from the tours, is it mostly admin work? Or if you're not giving as many tours, what is what is your role within go running tours look like these days?

Guest [00:42:43]: So it's it's really just sort of, I guess, building the company. So making sure that we we do the right things, make sure that that's a good question actually, Corey. What the hell do I do? So I'm sure my colleagues asked the same question. So there's a little bit so they split into different things. There's a typical CEO things, right, that that I that I do. So god represent the company, do the the all the the number crunching, and and sort of setting the strategy. Then it's also I quite like being part on the marketing side, so also working with new initiatives. And, of course, also, now we have, I don't know, about 70 colleagues around the world.

Guest [00:43:35]: So a lot of times it's also having meetings with them, so all our lead guides out in the cities, and just making sure everything is okay. I mean, at any one time, someone is going through a divorce or, you know, a long term injury or whatever it is, changing jobs or moving whatever it is, then we we sort of I sort of have to, sort of get involved and just make sure that that the person is okay in in whatever changes is going on, and also that they feel that that they're in a good place within the company during this time.

Cory Nagler [00:44:14]: Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot of us might ask that question of what the heck do I do when you really take a take a look back.

Guest [00:44:20]: It's a good question, though.

Cory Nagler [00:44:22]: It is. It is. Yeah. It's a little philosophical when you think about it.

Guest [00:44:27]: But it's interesting because sometimes I also sort of, think about it. So I've actually you know, now I actually scheduled in my calendar. So, okay, meetings on Monday, Wednesdays. I do these things on during the morning times where I'm more productive and so on. And that sort of helps us well to actually know what did I do today. So today has always been about following up on conferences and and sort of partnerships.

Cory Nagler [00:44:54]: Yeah. And I appreciate making the time for the podcast as well, I might add.

Guest [00:44:57]: Of course. Of course.

Cory Nagler [00:45:00]: So, Lyn, I have to ask you a rather selfish question. But

Guest [00:45:02]: Mhmm.

Cory Nagler [00:45:03]: If I'm going off to Spain soon, I do believe you have some tours in Madrid. Are there any that you can recommend?

Guest [00:45:12]: Oh, I think I can recommend all of them. Yeah. I I would be hard. I know we have one of the 3 pack, which is a nice pack. I actually ran them myself. But also just seeing the main sites. Our guide, Philip, in in Madrid is such a nice he's Irish as well just like Michael. So so I'm sure you'll have a good time.

Guest [00:45:41]: And then, of course, we also have something when I think 2 years ago when you ran with us, Corey, we had just the sightseeing tours. But now we have some new tours which are called just run, which basically means that we don't stop as long or we don't stop by the main sites, but we still run a super interesting route so people still get to see the city, but we'd let at the start stopping. So that's another option. And there are people there, the guide would just adjust it to where you're staying and what you want to see.

Cory Nagler [00:46:11]: Yeah. I think that makes a lot of sense, especially for routes that are more like parks or trails where it's maybe not key landmarks so much as the nature round that you're looking at. Yeah. Yeah. So after listening to this entire podcast, if anybody's kind of on the edge over whether to sign up for running tour on their next trip, what would be your final pitch to them?

Guest [00:46:35]: Well, I think I don't really know whether I have a final pitch. I'm not really into pitching. I think it would I mean, if they're interested, they should have chose to it. I think we don't. We rarely have people that that regret it. So put it that way. So if you're sitting thinking, should I do it or should I not do it? Then you should definitely do it. And if you still don't know, then go on the website and you can look at all the reviews.

Guest [00:47:07]: So I think that would that would be it, that people rarely regret it. Just the opposite. A lot of times people just write super super happy to do it. And I think as well that it was, you know, some some people as, you know, depending on where they travel, it might be somehow they might miss a run. Right? But if you have a running tour, if you have a guide waiting in the reception, you don't miss it. So it's also I know actually this I find this really funny that some of our guests, they actually book the run. One thing is they want to do it, but also because they then they make sure that they're actually going running. And also especially business travelers, they book it because then they know they get to bed early, and they get up and run as opposed to being in the bar all night.

Guest [00:47:53]: But however, people, it works into into their lifestyle, then that's that's great.

Cory Nagler [00:48:00]: I'm already a fan, but I think somebody running to my hotel lobby to make sure I get in my run is a pretty good pitch.

Guest [00:48:07]: True. And they're all really nice. All all the colleagues, just really, really nice people.

Cory Nagler [00:48:13]: Yeah. No. My experience was fantastic, and I hope to take more in the future. So, Lena, for anybody who does wanna sign up, where can they go to either learn more or to register on their next trip?

Guest [00:48:23]: Just go to go running tours.com, and then find the city you want to run-in, find the tour and the distance, and then click, and then that's it. Right? Which will tell you staying at, what time you would like to run, and what date, and that's it.

Cory Nagler [00:48:39]: Sweet and simple. I love it. And we'll put that in the show notes as well. But, Lena, thank you so much for coming on and talking all about Go Running Tours.

Guest [00:48:45]: My pleasure. Thank you, Corey, and thank you for for running with us 2 years ago and now also soon in Madrid again.

Cory Nagler [00:48:52]: Absolutely. I had a great time, and it was fun chatting. Thanks, Elena.

Guest [00:48:55]: Thank you.

Cory Nagler [00:48:57]: Hey, RC. Just one more thing before we wrap up. But if you enjoyed this interview and wanted to get go running tour for yourself, we have a special offer just for you. You can go to their website and use code g r t x runners connect 10 at checkout for 10% off of any running tour, and we've included this code in the show notes. Thank you for listening, and I hope you enjoyed my interview with Lana. Thanks for listening to the Run to the Top podcast. I'm the showrunner at Runners Connect, where as always, our mission is to help you become a better runner with every episode. You can connect with me on Instagram at Corey underscore Nagler.

Cory Nagler [00:49:45]: Worth your Strava by searching Corey Nagler, and please consider connecting with the rest of our team at runnersconnect.net. If you're loving the show, you can help us reach more runners by leaving a rating on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Lastly, if you want bonus content, behind the scenes experiences with guests, and premier access to contests, then consider subscribing to our newsletter by going to runnersconnect.netforward/podcast. I'll see you on the next show. But until then, happy running, everyone.